Before putting your home on the market, you will want to declutter to give buyers a true idea of the space your home has. Buyers should be able to envision themselves in your home so it’s best to clear out the knick knacks and other personal items. Here are a few decluttering tips to follow before putting your home on the market.
- Sort – Start with the rooms that generally collect the most junk. This may seem like a big task to handle, but tackling them first can make clearing the rest of the home a breeze.Closets can be a real problem. Everyone wants storage space these days. It seems to almost be human instinct to cram closets full of stuff people want to get out of sight. Closets are important to buyers when they look at your home. No buyer wants to open a closet door to find it chock full of stuff. This closet rule goes for all the closets in your home: remove items from all your closets so they are not full, and there is still space. Give the buyers the feeling that there is more than enough closet space in your home.When you declutter, don’t just shove everything in the basement. For one thing, when you move, you will have to carry it all back upstairs! Even if you have an old, or unfinished basement, buyers want to see the space. Perhaps they want to imagine finishing it down the road, or if it is an older basement, they may want to get a good look at the condition. It’s hard to get a feeling for a space full of the seller’s stuff.The garage is another area that seems to collect all sorts of things. It doesn’t matter if you have a small or very large garage, you don’t want to pack it to the gills with your belongings. If your garage is small, it will only look smaller. If you have a large garage, buyers may be wanting to put a boat, extra car, or workshop area in the space, but they need to get a feel for the size without it being packed full.
- Toss – Pre-move decluttering is an excellent time to sort out and toss out items you never use. Why move things you have not touched in years? Hold a garage sale, or donate items others may be able to use, and toss the rest. Using a service such as 1-800-GOT JUNK make the clearing out process easy and smooth. Additionally, when they haul away your unwanted items, they will ensure that your trash is recycled, donated, or responsibly disposed of.
- Store – The best way to have your home come out looking open and spacious is to take your extra items (knick knacks, pieces that aren’t in season, etc) to a storage facility. You can also rent a storage container such as a Pod, for convenience. They will drop off a storage container of your own size preference right in your driveway, you fill it up, and they will haul it away when you’re ready. Take the opportunity when you are putting away your excess items to pack them up properly, so they are all ready for the move ahead of time.
The main thing to keep in mind is to have a game plan when tackling this large project and to remember that buyers love to see homes with space, not stuff. For more resources or tips on getting your home ready for sale, contact a RE/MAX Results agent at results.net.