Declutter Your Home for a Successful Sale
As the busiest time of the year for buying and selling real estate approaches, we continue on with the plan for preparing to list your home by decluttering. We’ve talked about the January Home Inventory and Repair List and The 2023 Top Buyer Turn-offs. Now we need to discuss the dreaded decluttering.
If you’re planning to sell your home, decluttering should be at the top of your to-do list. With potential buyers coming to see your home, you want to make sure it looks as spacious and organized as possible. In this guide, we’ll share practical tips on how to declutter your home, depersonalize, and create storage space. Plus, we’ll show you how to rent a storage unit and what to do with all the extra items. By the end of this guide, you’ll have a clutter-free home that’s ready for a quick sale.
If you are a neat-freak, you have managed to keep manageable “stuff” in your life and have a place for everything in your home, you may be able to skip this step. Even if you are organized and clutter-free, remove personal items like photos and mementos. For the majority of home owners, it is time to get serious about clutter.
Depersonalize and Declutter to Help Prospective Buyers Visualize Themselves in the Space
When showing a home to sell it is important to give the buyers a clean slate to walk through and imagine themselves and their own possessions in the home. Which bedroom will be whose, where the furniture will be arranged, how their lives will be living in this home. To do that, prospective buyers must be able to see the house for the layout, storage space, and features. Not the way you, the current owners, have decorated or lived in it.
Rent a Storage Unit and Create Throw Away, Sell, and Donate Piles
A general rule of thumb is to get rid, or store, one third to one half of the current furniture and “stuff”. Every room and every closet, the garage and storage area included. Every square foot will be scrutinized by a prospective buyer. Rent a storage unit and while packing create throw away, sell, and donate piles.
Be Ruthless in Getting Rid of Excess Furniture and Belongings
When decluttering your home before selling it, it’s important to be ruthless and fast in your decision-making. This means being willing to get rid of excess furniture and belongings, and doing so quickly. However, the benefits of decluttering go beyond just preparing your home for sale. With a clean and clutter-free home, you’ll already be halfway packed and ready to go when it’s time to move out. This will make the moving process much smoother and less stressful, allowing you to focus on settling into your new home rather than dealing with the excess clutter from your old one.
“The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo: A Best-Selling Guide to Decluttering and Organizing Your Home
A best-selling book about organizing, decluttering, and living with what you need and love is The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, by Marie Kondo. Long on the best-seller list, the book guides you in a different way to organize your life and home. The added bonus is being already half-packed and completely decluttered for the move when the house sells.
Conclusion
Decluttering your home is essential when selling it in a competitive real estate market. Remove personal items, rent a storage unit, and be ruthless in getting rid of excess furniture and belongings. Consider reading “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo for guidance on the decluttering process. Not only will this increase the appeal of your home to prospective buyers, but it will also benefit your overall well-being.