Clean Home, Easy Sale

Are you a clutter-bug or a pack-rat? It's OK, we all are to some degree. Many people accumulate treasures and "stuff" over the years.

One of the biggest headaches homeowners run into when selling their home is the process of preparing it for sale. When preparing a home for sale, you need to be mindful of your "stuff." The best way to begin this process is to take a quick walk through your home. Make a list of everything that you have not used in the past 6 - 12 months. Now, this is the hard part, get rid of it! Seem a bit extreme? It might be, but things that you have not used in half a year are not likely to get used in the future. Remember we are trying to get rid of some "stuff" so that buyers can see the house, not what's in it. Another alternative is renting a storage space if you find that you just can't part with your "stuff". This is also a good idea if you have a lot of things.

There is a common line of thought that home buyers want to see the "personality" of the current owners home. This is not true. Buyers want to be able to see their belongings in the home. They want to put their personality into it to see if they could see themselves living there. A backlog of your "stuff" will get in the way of them doing this. Go through every room in your home and remove the clutter. This includes the closets, shelves and cupboards. Also, remove excess furniture if the room seems too crowded. Here is another important thing to remember, don't put all this "stuff" in the garage! Buyers will go through the garage like any other room in your home. Aside from that, you can use this as an opportunity to rid yourself of the things that you never use.

The minimalist approach is a good thing to utilize when showing your home. The lack of personal effects will make it easier for buyers to place themselves in your home. This will also make the moving process easier on you. With less things to pack when moving day comes, you can dedicate more time to creating your perfect space in your new home.