You’re going to put your home on the market. One of the very first things you need to do before you list it or even stage it, is to declutter. Decluttering is a priority of utmost importance for several reasons. It creates space…and buyers pay a premium for space. Also, you’re selling your home and not your things. Too many personal effects become a distraction for the buyer. Do you want the buyer to be in awe over the view or caught up in your impressive spoon collection?
Of course, with the mention of that word creeps up a sense of overwhelm and questions. What to do? How to do it? Where to begin? I’m here to help make the whole process easier for you. I’ve provided 7 tips to help you know how to declutter your home for staging.
1. Focus on one space at a time
This first step sounds easy enough, but it’s crucial. Tackle one room at a time. You’re breaking it down into bite sized chunks. It keeps you focused and it prevents the overwhelm of looking at the entire picture. Not to mention it makes it ten-fold easier.
2. Block off a few hours
Continue the break down into blocks of time. For example, blocking off a 3 hour period, Saturday morning from 9-12 allows you to keep focus and helps you to become more efficient in the process. You will be amazed at what you can accomplish in that time.
3. Create designated item destinations
Before you start tackling the pre-packing, you need to create 3-4 categories: Keep, Donate, Sell, and Purge. You may want to have some boxes ready in advance. One thing to consider when processing your “keep” items is whether or not you will need them while your home is on the market, or if it’s something that can be prepacked for your next home.
4. Box up personal effects
Since you’re going to need to pack up all your belongings anyway, consider this as a great head start. You will have less to do later. You will need to pre-pack any personal effects that are not going to be in the final staging or listing photos. This includes personal pictures, any collections, or any religious paraphanelia. As well, this is a great time to be packing up any out of season items, such as clothes etc.
5. Keep it guilt-free
Often during the process, comes guilt. Getting rid of items, be it expensive, gifts, heirlooms or made by the kids can tug heavily at the heartstrings.
6. Take photos for memory keepsakes
Take pictures. This is a great way to preserve items that you no longer want or need, but still holds sentimental value. It’s one less thing to take with you, it saves space and you still have a visual memory of it.
7. Use appealing organization bins
Baskets, baskets, baskets. Especially nice-looking, wicker, woven or canvas lined ones! These are great for visible areas because they look pretty, but they also quite nicely hide things that are hard to organize, like cords, etc. Of course they keep everything looking neat while your home is on the market. An added bonus is you will be able to use them in your next home! Dymon Storage has a great selection to help you get organized.
It’s not a fun process, but knowing how to declutter your home for staging is absolutely necessary one. A home that has been properly decluttered and prepared will be easier to sell than a home that is packed to the gills. When you realize it’s all going to have to be packed anyway, why not get a jump on it now? Rest assured we will be as involved as you need us to be along the way, whether you need an extra set of hands or have some questions.
Not sure whether an item should stay or go for your final listing? Ask us in the comments below!
Until next time,
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