Style Sensei: Home Staging 201 De-Cluttering
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Here are some rules I always try to remember when de-cluttering a house prior to putting it on the market.
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Rule 1: If it cannot be seen, it cannot be sold.
Ideally, every surface, no matter what should be 80 to 95 % empty. That means all those mixers, coffee makers, blenders, food processors, bowls, banana hangers (really why does anyone ever need one of those?), paper towel holders, newspapers, telephone directories, and even your prize shot glass collection need to go.? Keep only the most universally attractive things out.? Perhaps you have a stainless steel paper towel holder and matching tiered fruit baskets in iron scrollwork. They would?pair nicely with your stainless steel toaster and super-cute red teapot and KitchenAid mixer.? Leave those out, but find a place in a cabinet for essential items (fyi?.4 large Yankee candles with competing scents are not essential items) and then pack up the rest until you reach your new home.
Pack, donate, or sell as many books as you can.? Shelves should be mostly empty with only a few interesting things on them.? Only leave fairly classic books out.? Remember buyers walk through houses and their minds start drifting. Who lives here?? Why are they moving?? What do they do for a living? What college did they go to?? Why do they have so many shoes? They are creating an image of the type of people who live in the house and seeing if it matches the image they have of themselves. Don?t give them any material that will take their minds off of what you are really selling, your house.
Rule 2.? If it is an over-the-counter drug, or prescription, hide it well.
Hide medicine, prescription drugs, and medical equipment.? A treasure trove of anti-heartburn medications next to your anti-anxiety pills hardly gives off images of the Zen-like retreat you hoped to portray in your newly redone bathroom. Besides being unsightly, these drugs can be dangerous to small children and valuable to potential thieves.
Rule 3. If it is valuable for sentimental or financial reasons, pack it up.
Don?t leave expensive jewelry or artwork out or anything that is intrinsically personally valuable.? Also don?t leave out things that are personally valuable to you (e.g. the awesome broad sword you got at ?Renfest? last year, or your Giants bobble-head with the players signature on it)? out for potential buyers to see.? Even if it is not something that might be stolen, it could be damaged.
Pack up your alcohol.? A little wine rack is fine but don?t display thousands of dollars of alcohol. It can be distracting and a potential temptation to thieves.
Rule 4. If it might have a gross-out factor, pack it up.?
By gross I mean anything that has a strong smell or makes people think about personal hygiene, animals or (even worse) disease.? Stinky foods, litter boxes, dog food bowls, athlete?s foot spray, trashcans, toilet bowl cleaners, Q tips, and diapers should all be hidden or eliminated. One time I showed a house where the owners were fermenting cabbage in the kitchen and left a stinky diaper pail in the bathroom. My client practically started dry heaving during her tour.? Despite being a great house in a great location, she and her husband only remembered the strong smells.
Rule 3.? This is not a time to embrace your quirky or controversial side.
Like your choice of literature, any items that may elicit a strong reaction from visitors should be stored.
Consider the reaction you might have to seeing something like the ?leg-lamp? in the movie ?The Christmas story, ? in someone?s living room or the response a politically-active (we are in the D.C. area)? individual may have to your collection of one party?s presidential election posters. You may be so used to living with something that you are not aware that something could evoke an emotional response.? Rely on your real estate agent or stager to tell you if they think something needs to go.?? Remember, don?t take it personally? if they ask you to pack away the your work of art masterpiece nude sketch that you are uber-proud of from college art class or that picture of you and your buddies dressed in camo with hunting rifles.? Again the goal here is to make this house appealing to ALL that enter not to broadcast to the whole world how you live. This is a business transaction, treat it that way.
Rule 5.? Put away your personal and financial information.
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Hide your family photos, bills and bank statements (I cannot tell you how many times, I have shown houses with the American Express or Discover Card statement lying open on the counter.) Don?t leave your computer open to your Facebook page.? Always minimize or hide personal pictures or calendars. Again, this is for your safety.? You don?t know who is going to be in your house and you don?t want to open yourself up to identity theft.? People are always interested in the people who live in a home; you really don?t want your children?s pictures to prove more interesting than your house.?
A note on storing your prized possessions?
One last thing, many of my clients rent storage units.? This is particularly useful if they are going to be moving into a bigger house. There are many options available that may even include boxes or pods which can be delivered directly to your doorstep. Once they are filled, a truck picks them up and brings them to a climate- controlled storage warehouse to be delivered at some future date to your new home.? These services are easy to find and extremely helpful to home sellers.?
Remember, that after you de-clutter, you will be rewarded by getting a higher sales price. Another bonus is, since you are planning on moving anyway, you will get a great jumpstart on the pre-move packing and cleaning process.???
Meghan Wasinger is the a licensed Real Estate agent serving Washington D.C., Virginia and Maryland. She is also a Accredited Home Staging professional. For more information, visit the website www.wasingerco.com
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Source: http://www.dcsuburbia.com/home-a-garden/155-style-sensei
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