If you’re in the market to sell your house, you’ll want it to look presentable for potential buyers. The ideal way to make a presentable house is to clean it up, and this includes decluttering. A cluttered house is unappealing to potential buyers; the lack of visible space tends to make it hard for them to imagine what the house would look like as theirs. Plus, a decluttered and clean house makes the home look well cared for, easing some surface suspicions a buyer might have. Compiled below are some tips for when it comes time to declutter to sell your house.
One of the quickest ways to start decluttering your house is to start packing. Well, quickest may not be the best word—we all know packing isn’t quick—but the act of packing gets the ball rolling. Personal items, decorations, and utility items that aren’t needed soon can be put away into boxes, relieving spaces in your house of unnecessary clutter. Find a space somewhere in your house—like a garage, basement, or shed—to keep your packed items out of site. You’ll still be showing these places to your potential buyers, but the important thing is that the essential spaces in your house are filled with boxes, suitcases, and uncatergorized stuff waiting to be boxed.
Go ahead and get rid of all your unnecessary junk. People tend to accumulate things they don’t need over the course of their lives, and it starts filling up closets, shelves, floors, table surfaces, etc. Moving gives you a great opportunity to sift through all the things you’ve collected and decide what you want to keep and what you don’t really need anymore. That doesn’t mean tossing items with sentimental value just because the items don’t have a utility, but old clothes; decorations that you don’t have room for anymore; old papers and files that have outlived what they were made for; rusty, scratched up, or warped kitchen supplies; doubles of something; and anything else you can think of can all be thrown out, given to friends or donated to a thrift store.
You don’t have to clear your house bare of decoration and other items when showcasing your home, but you do want to limit things to make as much space as possible. A few decorations, shelves, tables, couches, etc. can help give the house a homey feel, a sense for your potential buyers about how the house might look when it’s lived in. However, take down personal items like family photos to help buyers project themselves as the homeowners as you give them a tour of the house, and keep in mind that, in this case, less is best.
Stage your decluttered house for potential buyers. After decluttering your house, it’s a good idea to remove dying plants, trash, personal items like razors, your face wash, or used soap bars. When it comes to decluttering to sell your house, you can also do some scrubbing and cleaning up. Make the house look as spotless as you can so that when you showcase it, buyers see a sparkling, clean environment they can live in!
Decluttering to sell your house can be stressful, but the accomplished feeling you get after getting everything packed, thrown out, or donated is worth it. Not only is your house spotless and ready to be showcased, but you have half the packing done already!
For more tips and advice for homeowners, continue following the Ryan Roberts Realtor blog. For all your real estate needs in Auburn, Opelika and Lake Martin, contact Ryan Roberts at 334-750-9872, or email [email protected]!
