Storage while you sell your home

A home on the market is a stage, and a stage works best when it is uncluttered. Buyers walk through in minutes and judge the size of a room by how much floor they can see. That is why so many sellers in Reno, Sparks and Carson City clear out a third of their belongings before the first showing. The question is where that third goes while you wait for an offer. A garage full of boxes is still part of the house, and a buyer opens garage doors. O'Brien's Moving & Storage has stored household goods in its Sparks warehouse for generations, and a listing is one of the most common reasons a family calls us.

At a glance

• Wooden vaults, 7 ft x 7 ft x 5 ft, in a 30,000 sq ft warehouse
• Vault storage from $40 per month
• About 2 to 3 weeks notice to ship your goods
• Packing and loading by O'Brien's crews

What to put in storage before the first showing

Start with the rooms buyers judge by size: the living room, the primary bedroom and the garage. Take out one piece of furniture from each room, then take out the second one. A sofa that seemed fine for years can make a room read as small once a stranger is standing in it. Extra dining chairs, bookcases, the exercise bike and the desk in the corner are the usual first candidates.

Closets and shelves matter as much as floors. Buyers open closet doors, and a packed closet reads as a house without enough storage. Seasonal clothes, holiday decorations and boxes of papers can all go to the warehouse and come back out at your new address. Your estimator will look at the house with you and mark what to pack and what stays for staging.

• Oversized sofas, extra chairs and spare tables
• Out-of-season clothing and holiday decorations
• Personal photos, collections and keepsakes
• Garage items, tools and sports gear

How vault storage works for a seller

Your goods are packed by our crew, wrapped and padded, and loaded into a wooden storage vault that measures 7 ft x 7 ft x 5 ft. The vaults sit in our 30,000 sq ft warehouse at 2277 Glendale Ave in Sparks, the same site as our office and truck yard. Vault storage starts at $40 per month, and the estimator tells you how many vaults your list is likely to need after the in-home visit. Storage can run short term or long term, so a listing that sells in a few weeks and one that sits through a season both fit.

Because the crew packs and inventories the goods, you are not hauling boxes to a storage unit yourself on a Saturday while you also clean for a showing. Read more about the format on our vault storage page, or size your list with the storage vault sizer.

The sale closes: getting your goods back

When your closing date is set, call the office on 775-359-6683 and tell us the delivery address. Stored goods generally ship on about 2 to 3 weeks notice, which is how far ahead we book the crew and truck. If your new home is in the Reno area, the goods come on one of our trucks. If you are leaving Northern Nevada, the shipment can ride the Bekins network under a written estimate, and your delivery window comes from that estimate.

If your closing slips by a few days, your goods stay where they are and the plan moves with you. That flexibility is the reason many sellers choose storage over trying to time a move to a closing date that is still only a hope.

Pair storage with a staging and de-clutter visit

Some sellers want help deciding what goes. Our crews also rearrange furniture and de-clutter rooms for home staging, and that service is described on the home staging and de-clutter page. Many sellers combine the two: one visit to thin the rooms, one load to the warehouse, and a house that photographs well.

If you are also planning the move itself, ask your estimator to price both parts together on one written estimate, with the free in-home visit and 10 free heavy-duty boxes included.