What will I need?
The supplies that actually get used when a house is being emptied, in the order you will need them. What to look for, not what to buy — this page has no ads and no affiliate links.
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Boxes and bags
Sturdy boxes are the first thing you run out of and the last thing you think to buy. Small boxes get heavy fast; big boxes get impossible fast.
Look for
- Medium boxes with handles for books and records — the small ones, not the big ones.
- Double-wall boxes for anything breakable or heavy.
- Reusable plastic totes if the stuff is going into storage; they stack and they do not collapse in damp.
- Paper bags and bin bags for the things that are leaving today.
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Tape, markers and labels
A box with no label is a box you open twice. Label the side, not the lid, so you can read it when the boxes are stacked.
Look for
- Packing tape and a dispenser that does not fight you.
- A thick permanent marker; thin ones fade and smudge.
- Removable labels for anything going to a specific person.
- A clipboard or notebook for the box list, because the list is the actual system.
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Cleaning supplies
Everything sells for more clean. A bucket of warm water, a cloth and an hour is worth more than any listing upgrade.
Look for
- Microfibre cloths and a gentle all-purpose cleaner.
- Leather conditioner for shoes, bags and furniture.
- Glass cleaner for the inside of oven doors, mirrors and picture frames.
- Rubber gloves, and a bin bag for the cloths you will throw away.
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Shredding and document disposal
Anything with an account number, a signature or a date of birth on it should be shredded, not binned.
Look for
- A cross-cut shredder, or a local shredding service for a whole filing cabinet.
- A separate box for documents that must be kept: deeds, wills, tax returns, military records.
- A box for recycling the rest — most junk mail does not need shredding.
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Photo and document scanning
Scanning is how you keep the memory and lose the box. Do it before the albums are divided up, not after.
Look for
- A flatbed scanner for prints and documents; a phone scanning app is enough for paperwork.
- A photo service for large batches, if the albums are the bottleneck.
- A naming convention decided in advance — date first, then who or what.
- One external drive and one cloud copy, because two copies in the same house is one copy.
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Document and archive storage
Paper that has to be kept needs to be dry, dark and findable. A cardboard box in a damp basement is none of those.
Look for
- Acid-free archive boxes for photographs and old documents.
- A lockable fireproof box for the handful of documents that would be hard to replace.
- Silica packets in any box that lives in a basement or garage.
- A written list of what is in each box, taped to the outside.
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Moving and lifting help
The most common reason a sale falls through is that the buyer cannot move the thing. A trolley and a second pair of hands solve it.
Look for
- A furniture trolley or a set of moving straps.
- Furniture sliders for anything staying in the house.
- A friend with a van, or a local mover who will do a single item.
- Blankets and straps for the trip, because a scratched table is a discounted table.
Why there are no product links
This prototype does not sell anything, and nothing on this page is sponsored. If affiliate links are added later, they will be disclosed clearly and only where a specific product genuinely helps.