Are you getting ready to sell your home, and want it to look it’s very best to maximize it’s value? We here at Ditch the Clutter have some great pointers for how to organize and stage to get you there!
1.) Disassociate Yourself With Your Home
When getting ready to sell, it is important that you remember that this is not your home, but a house. And like some products, it is meant to be shared and sold at some point. To help prepare yourself for the big moment, say farewell to honor each room as you imagine yourself handing over the keys to the new owner.
2.) Depersonalize
Make sure that personal items like family photos and heirlooms are packed up. These things will distract the new buyer and your goal is to allow them to envision their new home in the house you are selling. As they are walking through the house, they will begin to imagine their photos along the walls and think about what it would be like to live here, instead of worrying about what the previous owner was like.
3.) Declutter
Take the time to declutter your space. Over the years you’ve lived in your home, you have collected many things and depending on how long you’ve been in your home, you have likely gone through life events - marriage, merge, new additions, passing of a loved one. By selling your home, you are now going through another life event and will transition. You will want to think about your life as it is now and will be in your next space. Go through each room and assess what it contains by putting like with like. Ask yourself questions about each item in a category. For example - is the item still relevant, functional or something you find beautiful? Have you used it in the last year? Can you see it in your new space? If the answer is no to any of these questions - If you don’t need an item anymore, you can dispose, donate or consider selling (encouraged for only high value items, as selling is an exercise that will take up your valuable time).
4.) Rent a Storage Unit
For the furniture that either blocks a path or seems excessive that you will want to hang onto for your next space, rent a storage unit and opt to have these items live there while your home is on the market.. You don’t want to get rid of all of the furniture in the rooms, you just want enough to where the buyer can look at the room and have an idea of what it used for, and move freely about.
5.) Create Order in Your Closets and Cabinets
Just because it’s behind a door, doesn’t mean it won’t get looked at. With storage space being so valuable, one of the things that a buyer will inspect are the cabinets and closets. 95 % of buyer’s agents say that home staging has some effect on on the buyer’s view of the home. That’s why it should be in your best interest to make sure that those areas are neat and organized. You can do this by alphabetizing items, neatly stacking them, make sure that items are facing the same direction and so on. Imagine how happy the buyer will be to see that the previous owner took such good care of everything. With this thought in mind, they will be more likely to buy the home from you.
