
While you’re at it, put in some sweat equity. A new layer of mulch, some fresh flowers, and buyers may overlook some of the yard’s flaws. And these fixes are often cheap and add a lot to curb appeal. Yard and garden: Mow, trim, plant, hide and tossĪdding a firepit, lighting, or seating can spruce up a starter home - 14% of agents in the Homelight survey recommended it. In other words, if you’re holding onto an item for fear of losing a memory, let it go and trust yourself to remember the good.ġ0. “They just might not need to be stories you’re still telling yourself.” “The story you may be telling yourself about how exciting the hunt to find it was, or how much fun you had when you were drinking cocktails with your friends are all good stories,” he says. Mellen recommends paying close attention to these moments - namely, “the story you tell yourself” when you’re assessing whether or not to keep an item. Buyers will be poking their noses behind closed doors!īe picky about sentimental items - like your prom dress or a concert t-shirt. Create space in your closet, and make sure closet doors can open and shut easily. Sort through your clothes and donate items you haven’t worn in years. Move under-bed storage out to the garage. Tidy up books, tissues, and old glasses from the nightstand. Clear off the bed so you’ll have somewhere to set laundry baskets, etc., while you clean. Making your own furniture visible can help.

In your bedroom, you want buyers to see that their bed, nightstands, and dressers will fit in the space. Bedrooms: Open space in closets, drawers, under beds “Emptying that out helps it feel like a bigger area.”Ĥ. “A lot of times, we see that people just have too much furniture in the room for the size that it is,” Jeremy Kahler, a top real estate agent serving Rapid City, South Dakota, says.
#Declutter home for showing how to#
You really need only one sofa and an accent table to indicate how to use the space. Then, move them to their respective rooms.Īnd pack away personal photos and mementos - buyers have a hard time envisioning themselves living in a home if it’s your kid’s pictures hanging on the walls.

If items from around the house have landed in the living room, sort them into bins color-coded by family members. Start by clearing out everything that belongs in the trash or recycling bin - including old magazines or a broken lamp. How important is the living room? The National Association of Realtors 2023 Profile of Home Staging found that staging the living room was most important for buyers. All of these will distract from the room’s appeal. Old magazines in the rack beside the couch, books you haven’t read in years piled haphazardly on shelves, and that old armchair with the stuffing bursting from the arms - take a hard look at your living room when it’s time to get a house ready to sell. Living room: Take away excess furniture, family photos After all, anyone can do anything for 15 minutes, right? Repeat until your house is clutter-free.įollow this 10-space checklist, and your home will be ready to sell in no time.ģ. Set a timer for 15 minutes, and devote the time to one step of the cleaning process. If you’re overwhelmed and unsure where to start, take it room by room and try the “timer trick.” This method, favored by productivity and organization bloggers, gives you a structured chunk of time to focus solely on cleaning.

Room-by-room decluttering checklist to sell a house You can redirect buyers’ eyes away from flaws.Helps you emotionally separate from the house.It highlights your home’s best features.

Here’s a list of decluttering benefits for home sellers: One survey by Consumer Reports suggests that, as a home seller, you could see 3%-5% higher proceeds simply by decluttering and depersonalizing the space inside your home. “When potential buyers are touring the house, they can better envision themselves and their possessions living there - their furniture, their belongings - which will enhance their interest and their offer amount,” he says. Find Agent Why declutter a house to sell?ĭoes decluttering and cleaning a house before selling really make a difference? Warwick says yes!
