Part 1 in Getting your home ready to sell
How To Decluttur Your Home to Sell
- Peter and Sharon Bare
- November 2, 2021
- 4:11 am
The goal of decluttering your home before you list it is not just a spring cleaning-type effort. Your number one goal is to remove all your less frequently used stuff from the house, either throwing it out (donating, recycling) or storing it before you move into your next home.
Potential buyers need to be able to visualize their own furniture fitting into your home; by decluttering, you open the possibilities of each room so they can picture their own life and belongings there.
Removing excess furniture and décor will also make life easier when you host open houses or viewings because it gives your guests more room to move about the space. A decluttered space also takes less time and effort to keep clean.
Remember to pace yourself, do one room at a time, but do it thoroughly – make sure to wipe down any surfaces and vacuum as you go. Not having to deep clean from scratch will save you a ton of time down the road.
Here’s our room-by-room guide to decluttering your home before you list it:
Closets
This is a big one! No, closets aren’t a room, but they’re where we tend to hide most of our clutter, so they get a section all to themselves.
You want to show off the size of your closet space and storage areas. These spaces are very important to a buyer, most home buyers are moving to upsize — so they’re looking for functional storage options.
Start with the seasonal stuff – jackets, winter boots, seasonal sports equipment – anything that’s off-season when you’re decluttering is what you should remove first. Either set it aside to donate or pack it up for storage.
Then, go through everything left in your closets with a garbage bag for things you’re tossing, boxes for the things you’re storing, and a bag for everything you plan on donating. If you’re doing it right, you should be left with a completely empty closet.
Bathroom
Here’s a really easy one – you only really need one of everything, except for toilet paper. Everything else has to go!
If you’re like us and buy things like Q-tips, razors, and other hygiene products in bulk, then transfer everything except what you’ll need for 1-2months into a box or tote bad and put them in the back corner of one of the closets you’ve cleared out. Same goes for towels, you only need half a dozen at most, but don’t pack the excess yet – we’ll use them to wrap fragile items.
Hot Tip!
Spend a couple of bucks and get yourself a set of rubber gardening gloves. These gloves are great for handling furniture as they literally double your grip.
Garage
It may seem like decluttering your garage next is out of sequence but we’re doing this space now because as you get further into the job, you’re going to need room to move, store, and organize all your outgoing belongings.
You may have a small car that doesn’t take up much room, but your prospective buyer might have an SUV or truck: the only place you should store stuff in a garage is on the back wall.
It’s typically the off-season items that take up the most room. In summer we tend to store things like skis, snow tires, or hockey equipment in our garages and in winter, it’s garden furniture and bikes. Stack, store, or donate anything you won’t be using in the next 1-2 months.
Consider reaching out to friends or family to borrow space from them in their garage in the meantime or consider a storage locker.
Have Questions?
The home selling process can be confusing and stressful, but we’re here to help!
Basement or utility area
This one might be a big one for you, we hide a lot of the things we don’t use often in these spaces. That means you’ve got a tough job ahead of you – what items in these spaces do you really need?
Ask yourself some tricky questions:
- Have you used it in the last 3 years?
- Can you give a specific example of when you’ll use it in the next year?
- Is this item worth taking up the space for a different item?
It’s so important to thoroughly clean and organize these spaces – if you have a million things dusty, piled up, and organized, the first thing a home inspector or buyer is going to think is, “I’ll bet they’ve never changed the furnace filter since they moved in.”
That’s an actual quote from one of the hundreds of home inspections we’ve been to.
Make sure you clean out old lint and dust from behind your washer and dryer, wiping down each machine. Then clear out any cleaning products you’re storing nearby that you don’t use regularly and won’t need to deep clean your home (you don’t need 3 bulk boxes of dryer sheets, transfer a stack to a Tupperware, or just leave one box).
Kitchen
The kitchen is the most important room in decluttering your home to get ready to sell. This is because people choose one home over another because of the kitchen.
Wedding gifts you’ve never used take up cabinet space, you’ll also likely have 3 of the same spices or condiments in your pantry. Assume you’re only going to be living here for another couple of months.
It’s unlikely you’ll need fondue pots, big-serving platters, or a million utensils. Remember the towels you set aside in the bathroom? Use those to line the boxes you wrap and place fragile china in.
Try and show off as much counter space as possible. People don’t think about day-to-day living when they view a kitchen, they talk about get together’s and family occasions where they’ll need lots of counter space. Store all appliances except a coffee maker in a cupboard for showings.
Living Space
Whether it’s a living room, a rec room, or a dining room – the same rule applies: leave only what’s necessary.
Make sure to pack up all knick-knacks, small decorative items, and family photos. They can be perched on window ledges, on top of cupboards, or even on the fridge. Unfortunately, these things have to go, these are personal items that make it harder for a buyer to picture making the space theirs.
Remember, some people can’t picture their zen yoga space fitting into your hockey themed sports bar set up, and vice versa. You’ll want to tone down your themed rec spaces as much as possible. It’s as simple as just packing up anything that’s not absolutely essential.
Don’t worry if it doesn’t look “homey,” staging will take care of the final touches.
Remember, some people can’t picture their zen yoga space fitting into your hockey themed sports bar set up, and vice versa. You’ll want to tone down your themed rec spaces as much as possible. It’s as simple as just packing up anything that’s not absolutely essential.
Bedrooms
Bedrooms are even easier than bathrooms! All bedrooms really need are a bed, a lamp, a dresser, and a side table – this provides a great foundation for staging. Your closet should already be tidied and organized from the first step of this process.
What's the next step?
It’s time to make some small, affordable, and easy repairs that can increase the curb appeal of your home and help the property feel more move-in-ready to prospective buyers. Wait for our next blog to find out more.