5 ways to get yourself psyched for a de-cluttering marathon

De-cluttering and organizing a home for sale is a daunting task. My home selling clients stare at me in horror when I suggest that the collections, the personal objets d’art and the excess furniture have to go in order for the house to sell.  “Clutter eats equity.”

Here are 5 tips for starting the de-cluttering process:

1.  Psych yourself up for the move.  Think of it as packing up for the day you are on to your next place.  When you get to the other end, there will be so much less to unpack.

2.  Take pictures of your house.  Remember,  this is how buyers will see your home.  The open toilet seats, the piles of dirty laundry, the toys, the mess …all of it.  You had no idea it looked like that, did you?  Kind of like when you gained a little weight and someone took your picture. When you saw it you were horrified but it was just what you needed to start a new eating plan, right?  Post a few photos of the trouble spots  on your fridge to remind everyone that mess is something that will need to go while the house is on the market.

3.  Pick a closet, a cupboard, a drawer just to flex your unused de-cluttering muscles.    Try getting rid of a few things…you might like it!  Donating is a wonderful thing.  It feels good and it’s good for you.

4.  Do you love it?   As you start your de-cluttering plan, ask yourself that question over and over about every item that you don’t truly need.

5.  Rome wasn’t built in a day.  Start slow and gather momentum.

I like to think of de-cluttering as a crash diet and exercise plan for you and your home.  Fortunately, unlike a crash diet, this one is healthy. Unfortunately, you don’t have months to get ready for bathing suit season and to run a marathon.  It must be done quickly.  But it can be done, one step at a time.

Declare your independence from clutter

Of the 15 properties I showed last week, two received offers.  8 of the properties were a cluttered mess.  Can you guess which ones now have buyers?   That’s right, the ones that were clean and bright with a minimal amount of STUFF.  The founder of Staged Homes, Barb Swarz has a saying…

“Clutter eats equity.”

In other words, the more clutter in the house that you’re trying to sell, the less value in the eyes of the buyer.  Think about it…if you can’t see a house, why would you buy it?   Buyers aren’t purchasing your furnishings, your collections, your personal photos…they’re buying a house. When you go to a clothing store to purchase something, you”ll  look at it and if you like it you,you’ll usually try it on to see if it fits.  In a cluttered house with rooms crammed full of furniture, the buyer can’t try it on.  They don’t know if it will fit or if it looks good on them.  And guess what?  A house can’t be returned, like an item of clothing.  So they leave the store, without buying.

Of all the staging dilemmas I deal with, clutter is the #1 enemy.  Homes languish on the market for months when buyers can’t see if the house fits their lifestyle.  Next week we’ll talk about how to de-clutter and simplify.  True, there will be some pain and it won’t be easy, but I promise there will be lots and lots of gain…

Not one, not two, but THREE offers after staging!

When I entered the screened entry door of the golf course home, I could feel a tired, slightly neglected vibe.  Yellowing newspapers had piled up along the front door along with dead leaves and debris from the unusually hard winter.  A rolled up notice from the homeowner’s association was stuffed inside the door handle. Unlocking the door, the echo of tile floors and a sea of white walls greeted me.  Although the house seemed very clean, the vibe continued.  As I opened closet doors, hangers remained from the previous owners.  A half full cruet of wine vinegar sat on the kitchen counter, along with a soap dispenser and some well-used sponges.  A Santa tissue box on the master bath sink stared back at me, even though it was late January.   Lovingly stenciled fish on the master bath walls gave me the impression that the previous owners had a sense of humor.  Dead plants on the patio showed that the former owners liked to garden a little.   Baseball magnets were an attempt at patching the holes in the screen left by errant golf balls.  A left behind barbecue grill showed that the owners liked to cook outside.  Why isn’t this home selling, the real estate agent wondered?  It’s priced great, the neighborhood is outstanding, the golf course view can’t be beat!  It’s clean, it’s in move-in condition…why is it still on the market?  And so, she called me.

In my opinion, prospective buyers couldn’t see themselves living there. If I felt the vibe, buyers did, too. After clearing out the evidence of the former owners and furnishing the home with clean, bright neutral furnishings and accessories, the home (which was neither a short sale nor a foreclosure) received MULTIPLE OFFERS.  That’s almost unheard of in today’s difficult FL real estate market.

Here is what was said by the realtors:

” I actually had showed that property twice before and staging it really helped. I thought I was in a different house when I walked in”, wrote Kelley, an agent who wrote one of the three offers to purchase.

THOUGHT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS, THE PROPERTY HAS A CONTRACT WITH 3 OFFERS SINCE YOUR STAGING!!! wrote Linda, the listing agent.

This is why I’m a professional home stager.  I love my job!