It’s essential to declutter your home before selling your property. If your house seems cramped because you have too much stuff, it will send out the wrong signals to a potential buyer. After making the momentous decision to put your home on the market, you’ll want to get the best price possible. If you’re about to embark on this epic journey, please read my tips on how to declutter your home before selling your property.
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Declutter Your Home Before Selling Your Property Benefits
Before you start staging your house to sell it, you’ll need to declutter first. I know it’s not easy for everyone to declutter, and I have many friends who struggle with this very task. Decluttering before selling your home is essential because it will make your interiors appear more spacious to potential buyers. It sends out the wrong signals if you have wardrobes full of clothes and kitchen cupboards stuffed with pots and pans. You don’t want to give the impression that the house or apartment is small and cramped.
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Decluttering before you invite estate agents to give you a property valuation will help you achieve the maximum price. When you’re ready to move out, it means ordering fewer packing boxes. This results in a smaller removal van that will be cheaper. If you do need to put your belongings in storage, you can rent a smaller unit. When you move into your new abode, you will have less to unpack. You can see how decluttering has multiple benefits before you sell and move home.
Declutter Your Home Before Selling Your Property Tips
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Here are some simple decluttering tips before you invite an estate agent over to give you that vital property valuation:
• Hallway: The hallway is the first area a buyer sees, so ensure you provide a great first impression. Remove excess coats from the coat rack. Reduce the number of shoes left at the entrance. Clean away any clutter that’s amassed on your hallway console table.
• Kitchen: Throw away broken or chipped items, such as mugs and plates. Reduce items on the kitchen countertop. Only leave out essentials like the toaster and kettle and a few decorative objects. Put cleaning products away in a cupboard.
• Bathroom: Ditch empty shampoo bottles and tidy what you can inside a bathroom cabinet. Reduce the number of towels on your towel rail. Put dirty clothes into the laundry basket.
• Living Room: Put toys into boxes. Dispose of magazines and newspapers. Thin down your books by donating to the charity shop. Giveaway old-fashioned ornaments and put personal knick-knacks away. Get rid of overly large, excess or broken furniture.
• Bedroom: Put bedside personal items away like unsightly earplugs. Reduce your clothes so that wardrobe doors shut and drawers close easily.
• Home Office: Shred documents you no longer need. Clear your paperwork piles from your desk. Put pens and office sundries in a filing cabinet or suitable container.
• Loft / Basement: Throw away anything you no longer use. Tidy up so the buyer can view this space.
How To Dispose Of Items When You Declutter Your Home Before Selling Your Property
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Disposing of unwanted clutter is time-consuming. It’s a good idea to tackle one room at a time, whether one room per day or one per week. Get yourself organised and buy plenty of refuse bags. Once you’ve decided what you want to throw away, you need to dispose of these items which require some consideration:
• Street Salvage: Put small things outside your house that you think passers-by can pick up and take away without transport.
• Ask Your Neighbours: You can ask your neighbours if they would like specific items you want to give away. Presumably, they have a similar style and size property, so your furniture or window dressings will likely suit their house.
• Freecycle: Give items away to people who are willing to collect it.
• Charity Shop: Take clothes, books and ornaments to the charity shop.
• Charity Furniture Shops: Contact local charity furniture shops who may be able to pick up dining tables, chairs and sofas. They usually require one week’s notice, a picture and the dimensions.
• Clothes Banks: Drop off unwanted garments at clothes banks.
• Car Boot Sale: If you have a collection of items to sell, you might want to get yourself along to a local car boot sale where you can make some cash.
• Selling Online: You can also sell items on eBay or through Preloved.
• Hire a Skip: If you have a lot of rubbish to dispose of, you may need to hire a skip.
• Council Bulky Waste: Your local council will pick up bulky items and charge you a price for a set number of pieces or give you a quote for a more substantial collection.
Good luck with your decluttering!
Homegirl London provides the following House Staging and Styling Services: London Show Home Staging, London House Staging, London Rental Staging and London Interior Styling.
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Credits – Author: Homegirl London. You can buy the products shown in this article from notonthehighstreet.com. Featured image: Wire Memo Board from Peastyle at notonthehighstreet.com (product code: 772600).
