All estate agents offer advice on how to prepare your home for a sale – Home Sellers Guide.
These guides however only address the work of preparing your home for a sale.
If you have been living in your home for several years, it is just as important (probably more so) that you prepare yourself and your family emotionally, financially and psychologically for the sale.
When we work with clients that are moving home after 20,30 or 40+ years in a home. We find that it is far better to make a planned, considered move than to be forced by circumstances into an unplanned ill considered decision. Even if you are not ready to make the decision in the next 12 months or so, it is important to build momentum slowly and consistently and to put together a framework for how you would like the next move to work out.
Spruce.com is a great website offering loads of advice of what you should consider before moving.
You may also want to discuss the financial implications of a sale with a financial advisor / tax consultant.
Ticking boxes and checking finances is vital but it is just as important to focus your creative energy on your new home and the new life style that will come along with it. You should try to shift your mind, your dreams and your activities, even while staying in your old home. This will help you be better prepared for the move when you finally decide it is time and will help you to establish a clean break.
A recent blog post on Thinking about downsizing may also be useful.