Declutter and Reclaim Useful Space
In real estate, buyers buy space. The more space you’re able to show, whether it be living or storage space, the more you’re able to ask for your house. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done. Many people are packrats. Rooms have too much furniture and you’ll find stuff jammed
in every nook and cranny. There’s little space for walking sometimes, much less for living. Decluttering is the process of reclaiming the space in your house from years of accumulation.
Take Inventory and Categorize:
Go through each room of the house and focus on one area at a time. Separate items into these three categories:
Trash
► Expired food and medications
► Dated newspapers and magazines
► Broken items that can’t be easily fixed
Donate/Sell
Consider donating items that are in good condition
but of no further use to you. Another option is selling
them on websites such as Facebook Marketplace,
LetGo or Craigslist.
► Clothing, shoes and accessories that are out of
style or no longer fit
► Electronics that have been replaced: old
computers, TVs, stereo equipment, phones, etc.
Keep
Take this category very seriously. Ask yourself the
following questions and answer them honestly:
► Do you know what it does?
► Did you even remember that you have it?
► Have you used it since your last move?
If you answered ‘no’ to any of these questions, then
you should consider moving the item to one of the
other piles.
Restore Rooms to Core Functions
Give the rooms a functional identity and return
them to their original intended use. For example,
if your living room is doubling as an exercise room,
change it back to a living room. When the rooms are
in disarray with mixed functions, buyers will likely
think the design of your house isn’t laid out very well
or worse, they’ll think a room is missing altogether.
Depersonalize
You want your buyers to visualize themselves living
in your house, not you living in it. Personal artifacts
are distracting so you have to put them away –
photographs, souvenirs, trophies, medals, certificates,
posters, religious items and family heirlooms.
Pack for Moving
Once you’ve thrown away all the junk, returned
other people’s things, donated all the stuff you
don’t need and returned the rooms to their core
functions, the house will feel a whole lot lighter
and spacious. Create even more space by packing
overstocked, seasonal or rarely used items. Store
the boxed items in an offsite storage location or in a
corner of the attic, basement or crawlspace.
Now that you’ve sorted, cleaned and straightened, we have provided a list of recycle and haul service to assist with the clean up. Click here to preview that list.
Are you ready to make a move?
It’s proven that home that are staged, sell faster and for more! We can help you prepare you home for sale by arranging to have a complimentary staging consultation and provide you with a check list on what you need to focus on.
If it’s decided that your home needs a little extra attention, we can provide you with a list of staging consultants that you can hire to take your home staging to the next level.
