When trying to get your home moving off the market, advice I’ve heard from stagers when asked about staging a home for sale is, “Try to see it through a buyers eyes”. You want your home to move quickly through the sale process, so everything you do should be moving you towards this goal. Scrutinizing your home “unattached” means not being sentimental. You need to be able to clear your home and make everything look as appealing and clutter free as possible. I know you love your pictures and all your personal items, but for selling a home, these are not essential items. Take a walk through a model home, it can help give you some ideas for clearing and staging.
TOP PRIORITY:
De-clutter and make spacious! Box up loose items. Tip: When packing use plenty of paper! If you don’t want to get your hands gray, you can buy plain newsprint from moving and storage companies. If you need help getting started or just want to hire someone to do it all, you can call on someone like Organizer Amanda of Kuzaks Closet to help. Check out some of her before and after photo’s below.
FURNITURE:
When I was going through this process, my realtor advised storing my custom-built dining table, and staging with a smaller one. That alone “enlarged” the space incredibly. Many Bay Area moving companies provide storage facilities. Ask about storage services as part of your staging plan.
BOTTOM LINE: Remove superfluous furniture—regardless of size— to a reputable storage facility, or to your garage. See prior blog on Home Moving Security.
COUNTERTOPS:
Make countertops clean beautiful spaces. Remove everything that isn’t absolutely necessary! The phone message pad, the can full of pens, extra cookbooks and wine bottles . . . put them all away. Buyers are unlikely to look inside drawers, but a spacious, clean countertop is essential. Box up items you can live without. Display one or two tasteful, decorative items. Consider something fragrant, like a candle or potpourri crystals.
CLOSETS:
Buyers will look inside closets. Pull everything out of closets and make three piles: “Donate/Sell”,“Seasonal,” and “Keep.” Remove any items not currently in season—clothing and decorations! Pare off another 25-50% of non-essential “Keep” items, and remove them too. Hang clothes in closets nicely spaced apart, with like colors near each other. Line shoes up neatly, and fold items on shelves without overhang.