5 Items You Can Leave Behind When Moving

My husband and I recently moved into a new home and on our closing day we found a few things waiting for us in our new home. No not random items that the previous homeowners accidentally left behind. Instead, they left us with some thoughtful and extremely helpful items that made our first few days of homeownership that much better.

If you’re selling your home or moving out soon, you may want to make a little pile of the following items for the future homeowners.

1. Keys

This one is fairly obvious, but it’s a good reminder to gather each and every key for your home. And not just the front door keys. Wrangle up the storage room key, back gate keys, garage door keys (& opener)….everything & anything you can find. Bonus points if you label them and categorize them to help out the new homeowners.

2. Paint

The new tenants may decide to add their own style & personality to the space with paint, but you should give them the option to simply touch up your paint color choices. Leave any remaining cans of wall, trim, & door paint. It will be oh so helpful for the new homeowners. If you don’t have any leftover paint, write down the color, brand, & sheen so they can match what’s already up on their new walls.

3. Directions

Every home has its quirks, and it would be nice if you could share a few of those with the new homeowners. Perhaps your A/C unit is a little wonky, or your back gate needs to be shut tightly in order for it to lock. Whatever it may be, it’s a nice gesture to give the new homeowners a little “cheat sheet” to the ins and outs of their new pad.

4. Manuals/Warranties/Paperwork

Sure, most manuals can be found online these days. But consider sharing all of the warranties and manuals for the appliances in your home for the future homeowners. The previous homeowners of our new house even left us the blueprints for the entire building. It was such an amazing surprise and it made for some great personal art in our space! Consider holding onto any and all home documents if you think it may benefit someone down the road.

5. Welcome Gift for New Homeowners

For extra credit, you may want to leave behind a note or gift for whomever will be moving in after you’ve moved on. It doesn’t need to be extravagant, instead a nice gesture can go a long way. It could be a friendly note with a list of your favorite neighborhood restaurants. Or perhaps it’s a bottle of champagne chilled in the fridge (you can even use this free printable to tie onto the bottle!). Or a plant, vase of flowers, or a more extravagant homeowner gift.

Think of how much you’d appreciate a gesture like this when you first moved into your space. The new homeowners will be thrilled, and the good karma will be sure to follow you into your next home.

So don’t just focus on what you can’t leave behind in your home. Instead be sure to leave a little pile of goodies for the new homeowners.