Organizing Your Home for Sale

Are you a realtor overwhelmed by clutter in your client’s home? Are you, yourself, overwhelmed by the goal of decluttering your realtor has given you? We are here to help and have some tips and tricks to help you get your home ready for those beautiful photos to get your home listed, as well as for packing & showings.

Tip Number One: Clear clutter from the counters.
Cut the clutter by being honest about what you actually need out on counters. Begin by eliminating the obvious trash, recycle items, and start finding new homes for the items you’re not using daily. You want clear, open spaces for the photos to list your home to maximize the appearance of how large your space is. A cluttered counter truly makes a kitchen or bathroom look smaller than it is. Time and time again, our clients are amazed by how much bigger an organized space looks and feels.  Keep your counters clear by creating homes for everything within cabinets and drawers. This also makes it easier to be prepared for open houses and showings. Instead of scrambling to clear counters at the last minute, they will already be ready for visitors.

Tip Number Two: Make sure your floors are clear of clutter.  
No dirty clothes on the laundry room floor, no toys strewn about the playroom floor, and no shoes all over the mudroom floor. Not only does this make the space look bigger when the floor is clear of clutter but it’s safer for you and others walking through your home since there aren’t tripping hazards. Create more permanent homes for those items like a hamper in the laundry room, cubbies with cubes in them for toys in the playroom, and shoe racks in the mudroom for shoes. The way your floor looks changes the look of the whole room and in turn your house. Nobody wants to step over dirty laundry during a showing.

Tip Number Three: Get matching hangers for your closets.  
If this is something you’ve been putting off, now is the time. It makes the closet so much tidier and photographs much better than mismatched plastic hangers and dry cleaning hangers. You’ll need hangers in your new home so it’s a wise investment. While you’re changing out the hangers, it’s also a great time to purge what you no longer need, use & love out of your clothing. We love velvet hangers and that’s what we typically recommend for our clients. Be sure that you buy all the same colors including the metal of the hook so that it looks uniform and beautiful.

Tip Number Four: Take down personal items.
Most realtors will tell you to do this but we’re going to reinforce this rule, start taking down and storing anything specific to your family. Family photos, plaques with your last name on them, vision boards, anything that makes it hard for someone to see their family living in your space. While you’re at it go ahead and purge any that you don’t see yourself using in your new home. Items that you’ve outgrown or just don’t suit your taste anymore are great contenders to move out of the space. You want someone to be able to easily imagine their family in your home when they walk through it. 

Tip Number Five: Purge expired food from your pantry.  
You’re not going to want to move expired food anyway so now is the time to clear up some clutter in a space you want to showcase. The first step is to get rid of the food your family hasn’t been eating that has gone out of code. This will make it easier to organize what remains and makes the space look bigger. If your family didn’t eat it, don't rebuy it, wait to buy items when you have a recipe you need it for especially since you’ll have a move coming up.

Tip Number Six: Sort items like with like and to the room you use the items in.  
Even if you hire us to pack your items for you (which is a service we offer) this will make the packing process so much easier if you do this throughout your home. This way, similar items are packed together and labeled with the correct room on the box for where they belong. This will also allow you to purge more readily as once you see how many you have of one item it becomes easier to let some of them go especially if there are a few that are more worn out than others. Think of each item as a category and sort your home this way to make life easier on both sides of the move. 

Tip Number Seven: Unpack and purge old boxes from your last move.
Do you still have boxes or totes from a previous move that never got unpacked? Why would you move those again? Now is the time to go through that storage room and unpack those containers. If you haven’t used the items since you moved into your home you likely won’t use them in your new home. Anything that you want to keep should get stored on shelves in totes clearly labeled making it easy to move and store in your new home. Storage rooms can become a catch-all, and this is the time where every door in your home will be opened by strangers.  It’s time to get honest about what you are keeping. 

Tip Number Eight: Organize that garage!  
It’s time to show that cars do fit in the garage for both the photos and showings. Get this space tidied up and organized so that people can envision parking there. Once they buy your home the garage is the last thing they’ll see when they leave the home and the first space they’ll see when they return so to make sure they like the space. Not to mention, who is going to move all those nails, random tools, and pieces of wood you’ve been storing? Not you, once it’s organized! Garages are like basements; they can become a dumping ground so it’s time to clear the clutter in this forgotten space as well.

Tip Number Nine: Create a good flow in each room.
Staging your home is really important. Make sure the room’s pathways are clear of unnecessary items and furniture. Eliminate any furniture (you can put it in storage) that makes a room feel cramped or smaller than it is. You want each room to clearly show its purpose and create a welcoming environment. Create a cohesive look by clearing the clutter on bookshelves and creating vignettes where things are grouped in an aesthetically pleasing way. Organizing books by color is an eye-catching way to organize a space, for example. You’re creating a space that looks great in photographs by staging it well. A few matching throw pillows, a blanket, and a rug that ties the room together can make all the difference. Healthy plants can also add depth and character to a room and create warmth. You want your home to feel welcoming and clutter-free. 

Feeling overwhelmed and not sure how to accomplish all of this? We’re here to help you in all aspects of preparing your home for sale, maintaining it during showings, helping you pack once you’ve sold it, and getting you organized in your new home. Schedule your discovery call with us today to find out what availability we have in the next two weeks as well as further out in the future if you’re a planner. No matter what stage you’re in, we're here to help. You’ll be grateful for the organization and will love showing off your home. Happy selling!

- Melissa Fortino