How You Can Declutter and Stage Your Home for Success
Although it can often seem tedious and exhausting, de-cluttering and staging your house doesn’t have to be a complete and utter burden. In fact, it can be downright easy when you know precisely what to do and where to focus. Here are a few ways you can get your home ready for the market without derailing your household budget.
Clear Your Closets
When putting your house on the market, the first step to take is to clean it out and declutter. Unfortunately, that means dealing with closets, a place many people often use to hide their clutter. However, viewers will be looking to see how much storage you have, and they might be turned off if it seems full. So, get rid of clutter whenever possible by going through your wardrobe. If you're hesitant, try the KonMari method to help determine what should be kept or let go of. Essentially, if something doesn't give you joy, consider donating or selling it. Once the closets have been emptied, it’s time to organize everything that remains. While it’s empty, give things a good clean, and consider which layout will offer the most spaciousness. Again, when putting stuff back, the focus should be on making rooms appear open.
Pare Down Your Possessions
Once you’ve finished with the closets, keep your motivation up by making a schedule for the rest of the home. It helps, of course, if you start with some of the easier areas so that you can quickly see tangible progress. To get started, go through your junk drawers and look for any duplicates. If you really end up struggling over decisions, give yourself a gentler scale of what to keep or toss. For instance, a slow-cooker might not have been used in the last six months, but it may be useful during the winter holidays. These belongings are okay to keep, but consider using storage to clear space while your property is being sold.
Elevate Everything
Chances are, you may only have last-minute notice for some showings to prep your home. That’s why it’s a good idea to learn how to “fake clean” quickly. At the least, clear away surfaces so that they can be given an easy and fast wipe down. In particular, keep possessions where they actually belong, such as keys on the key hook and books on shelves. Also, to help free up space and cut down on what you have to clean, consider having your flat-screen television mounted on a wall. And while that might sound easy enough to do on your own, it’s just as easy to make a serious misstep. Thankfully, it’s an inexpensive service to have a professional do it for you, with prices ranging from $136 to $364 in Tampa.
Depersonalize
Your next step is to turn your home into a blank canvas without it coming across as cold. After all, you want everything to appear inviting, but you need it depersonalized enough that a viewer can picture themselves living in the space. This boils down to removing personal mementos, such as sports collections and family photos, and replacing loud patterns with neutral and appealing alternatives. If you want to add charisma, limit yourself to colorful accent pieces that don’t dominate the room, such as throw pillows or a rug under the coffee table.
Sparkle
Lastly, one of the best actions you can take to make your home look clean, modern, and fresh is to get everything sparkling. With that in mind, you may have to purchase a squeegee (you can pick up an affordable window-washing tool at Lowe’s for $13.98) to get your windows shining, and detail-clean the corners with cotton swabs to grab every bit of stubborn dust. Luckily, you don’t need a fancy spray to get things crystal clear — just use a little rubbing alcohol, water, and vinegar. With that solution, your efforts should dry quickly, and be streak-free, which is particularly important for last-minute showings.
By following these steps, you’re on your way to getting your home ready. Whether that means a photography session or prepping your property for an open house, you can be sure it will look its best. Remember, never overlook the small things when it comes to ensuring perfection.