Tips for Decluttering and Staging Your Home to Sell

If someone decided to look at your property with a magnifying glass, would they be happy with what they see? When a potential buyer is touring your home, that’s exactly what is happening. They are checking for cleanliness and signs that the house is well maintained and ready for a move-in. They’re also looking for a house that they can picture decorating in their own style. They want to see themselves living in that space. Here are some helpful tips for decluttering and staging your home to sell.

Keep your main goal in mind. You’re trying to create a space that appeals to a broad range of potential buyers. Start by decluttering the property and home. Use neutral colors with accept pops of color to create interest. Remember the importance of a first impression and focus on building curb appeal. Organize cabinets, drawers, closets, and pantries. Remove personal items like photos and collections. Turn office spaces back into bedrooms. Maximize the space of smaller rooms by removing large pieces of furniture.

The thought of decluttering a house can be overwhelming. This is especially true if you’ve lived in the home for many years. Make a plan to tackle the process room by room to make things more manageable. Set yourself up for success by having a designated box or area for placing items that are meant for denotation. Have large trash bags on hand for collecting items that are meant to be thrown away. If it makes sense for your situation, secure a storage facility to help remove boxed items from the property until it’s time for you to move.

You may love the bright pink wall color in the bedroom, but this color may cause some buyers to walk the other way. Repaint rooms with a neutral color that suits the home’s style. To create interest, use pops of color for accents and pieces of décor. Choose a color like grey or taupe for living spaces. A light blue in a kitchen or bathroom can be appealing. White cabinets are sale points for many buyers, but you may want to avoid painting the kitchen red, as it could lower the value of the home. When it comes to outside colors, yellow seems to be a color that doesn’t appeal to the majority of buyers.

Making a lasting, good first impression is important when it comes to staging a home. You want to start outside with curb appeal. The outside of your home should make a potential buyer want to see what’s on the inside. Remember, many buyers will see your home in photographs before they even make an appointment to visit in person. It may be worthwhile to consider some professional landscaping. Check with your real estate agent to see if this would add value and create interest. Place outdoor furniture in conversational settings that help the buyer see themselves relaxing and entertaining outside. Freshen flower beds and add colorful plants or flowers. Paint the front door an inviting color and place a plant by the entrance.

Buyers are going to be looking at every inch of your property and that includes looking inside cabinets, closets, drawers, and pantry areas. A well-organized cabinet or closet tells buyers that you pay attention to small details and gives the impression that you take good care of the property. Organize kitchen cabinets and the pantry area according to size, color, and use. Tackle closets in much the same way, organizing clothing by color and style. Make sure there’s nothing left on the closet floor because that makes the space look smaller and messy.

Remove all personal photographs, collections, and anything that could be seen as controversial. You want the buyer to see themselves living in the space, and that becomes more difficult to do when they are distracted by the smiling faces of your household and your large collection of roosters in the kitchen. Bookshelves don’t have to be full. In fact, choosing special pieces of décor and a few books on various shelves make the space look bigger.

If you’ve turned a bedroom into a fitness room, home office, or play room, you’ll most likely want to make it a bedroom during the staging process. Buyers want to see the bedroom used as it should be used, and this switch can be less distracting. Having the bedroom set up as it was originally intended allows the buyer to make their own decisions about what they would use the room for if they don’t need it as a bedroom.

If you have small room that you fear will turn away buyers, there are things you can do. Remove hampers and trash cans from bathrooms to keep the space from looking cramped. Place living room furniture away from walls and remove oversized pieces that make the room crowded. Make sure the bedroom furniture fits the size of the bedroom. Lighting can make all the difference when it comes to making a room seem spacious and appealing.