Decluttering your home
Ok, so you've decided that you want to put your property on the market, congratulations! This can be a time where you may experience mixed emotions. You may feel sad that you're leaving your 'home', but excited for what's new to come.
Then there's that moment when it dawns on you that your house needs to look in tip top shape before advertising it for sale. All of those household jobs on your 'to-do' list will need to be done- such as trimming the hedges, fixing broken items etc. Then there's the other job you'll need to tackle: de-cluttering. It's a reality that most home owners need to face, but unfortunately not all of them do.
If there was only one thing I could suggest to home owners to do in preparing their house for sale, it would be to remove clutter. Seriously. It is relatively cheap (if not free if you have somewhere to store the items), and can add value to your home when it comes time to sell. The best part about de- cluttering, is that when it comes time to move house, some of your packing is already done - bonus!!
Like all home owners, we want to receive a high sale price so we can move forward with our lives. In order to do this, you need to look at your home objectively- "would a potential buyer see this as clutter?". This is the first step is to start removing items that can distract a potential buyer. The second step is knowing how to successfully de-clutter your home. Below is a quick list of how you can start:
Treat this as a business transaction. Your house needs to be looking in top form to receive a fantastic sale price. This is where you’ve got to become ruthless in what you feel should stay or get packed into boxes.
Think about storage options. Can you pack items away in boxes and store in the garage? Do you need to hire storage space? What are your options with storage spaces. Eg PODS.
You’ll always need more boxes than you expect.
Tackle one room at a time.
Have time focused goals once you’ve completed an area. You may reward yourself with a cup of tea/ chocolate/ 15 min rest etc.
Sort your items into the following categories: Keep, Trash, Unsure, Sell/ Charity, Fix. Pack these items away into their correct boxes.
You may choose to put coloured stickers on each box per room. For example, for all items you’re keeping from your daughters room you could have a pink sticker on the boxes, so when it comes time to unpack, you’ll know that all the pink stickered boxes will go straight into your daughters new bedroom.
Create a list of reasons why you want to sell your house. Write these down. It will help you to fight off any negative thoughts during the de- cluttering process and help to keep you motivated.
Make a note to remind yourself of why you’re going to so much effort in preparing your house for sale. This could also include photos of what you'll use the extra money on, or inspirational quotes.
Please feel free to contact Bethany on 0431109737 for more information on how we can help you prepare your home for sale, or for an obligation free quote for property styling.
Wishing you all the best!
The Little Styling Co.