Decluttering Checklist For Homeowners
Do you need a decluttering checklist? De-cluttering a home is significant work but will be worth it.
When you own a house, it is easy to accumulate more stuff than you intend to. You can quickly fill your home even with enough closets, spare bedrooms, and a garage or shed. Eventually, it will be bursting at the seams.
Your family might start calling it a hoarding house if things get bad enough!
Unfortunately, all your belongings can get in the way when you sell your house. This is why we have put together a guide on de-cluttering a house.
Buyers want and need to see the full potential of your house to picture themselves in it, but that can be difficult to do when it is covered up in your things – no matter how important they may be to you.
This is a situation real estate agents run into frequently. To have a cluttered home, you do not have to suffer from a hoarding condition.
A surprising number of people come to agents looking for help selling a cluttered property.
Selling a cluttered home is problematic because many people do not have the vision to see beyond it.
Appearance is critical in real estate sales. Luckily, there are solutions and things you can do now to make your home look its best and sell more reliably.
When you’re downsizing to a smaller home, decluttering will feel liberating.
What is Clutter?
Although the word “clutter” has multiple meanings for different individuals, it is essential to comprehend what clutter means to one’s life. Clutter is generally considered items that are scattered and disorganized.
Decluttering a home be achieved through thoughtful self-analysis so that appropriate decisions are made regarding how best to deal with possessions that may be deemed no longer necessary.
Recognize that the definition of clutter may differ from what it is to members of your family, which can be a factor in tackling the process. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure is something that always comes to mind.
Remain steadfast as you begin decluttering. Don’t lose sight of what’s left!
What is The Meaning of Declutter?
In simple terms, decluttering means getting rid of any unnecessary items in a space to make it look and feel more desirable.
When you declutter, it is far easier to visualize the potential uses for areas of a home. Decluttering also makes a home feel more spacious, which can attract a more significant percentage of buyers.
Understanding how to get rid of clutter in your home can put the wheels in motion for a successful sale. It is one of the vital steps in staging a home.
Real estate agents often recommend decluttering when you want to get your house ready to sell. Clutter cleanup is often the first step in the preparation process.
How to Start Decluttering When Overwhelmed
The easiest way to start decluttering a home is to start with the small stuff first. Remove things you know aren’t useful anymore.
Start by doing a little bit each day. Before you know it, you’ll be a minimalist!
16 Quick De-cluttering and Staging Tips
Understanding how to declutter a home before selling will make the process easier. Here are some things to tackle right off the bat. Use this as part of your decluttering checklist.
- Minimize the furniture in each room to make your home appear more prominent.
- Make sure all high-traffic areas are kept clear.
- Move things like exercise equipment that don’t belong in a family or living room.
- All closets should be thinned out.
- Get boxes for moving and start packing and labeling them.
- Everything but the bare-bone essentials should be removed from the kitchen and bath counters.
- Get rid of old, unsightly plants.
- Put away excess nick knacks and family and pet photos.
- Get rid of old magazines and newspapers that are just lying around.
- Clean up bookcases of clutter and arrange books neatly.
- Organize wires from televisions and computers around the home so they don’t look unsightly.
- Clear out excess shoes that may be lying around in your foyer or mudroom.
- Always put away dirty laundry and make the beds.
- If you have a deck, clear it of any nonessentials.
- Don’t forget your garage! Remove anything that is no longer necessary to have.
- Remember to declutter your yard as well. Remove any junk you have accumulated.
While these are some things to consider when sprucing up a cluttered home, let’s talk about the big stuff.
Rent A Storage Space As Part of Your Decluttering Checklist
One of the best tips for selling a cluttered home is to rent a storage space. This may be the most straightforward solution out there. When you start looking at selling your house, you will see all possible investments you can put into your home to yield more significant returns on your sale.
If your home is cluttered, consider a storage unit rental nearby as a small investment that could considerably increase your sale price.
Rent a large enough unit to store all of your non-essentials. You can keep the couch and the television, but your collection of comic books or elephant figurines may be better off in storage until your house is sold.
The idea is to create space for buyers to envision themselves living in your home, so anything you can remove to allow for that is probably a good idea.
Storage units are usually inexpensive, charge month-to-month, and offer climate-controlled options. Go for a storage provider that emphasizes security because your things are worth protecting.
Any suitable storage space will make security part of its operating procedures, so it should be easy to find a provider that is serious about it. Here are some of the best storage companies to consider.
Types of Storage Space Decluttering a Home
There are a couple of different types of storage options that you can choose from, including storage of your property onsite somewhere in your yard or at an actual storage facility.
A company like Pods will provide you with a storage container that you can house somewhere right on your property. A Pod comes in different sizes to accommodate your storage needs.
Moving with Pods offers the convenience of being located right at your home, so if you need something, you won’t have to travel far to get it.
A storage facility will typically be the route that most people selling a cluttered home need some extra space that a Pod will not be able to handle.
Most storage facilities are very secure and monitored pretty heavily. Both storage options can transform a cluttered home into something far more appealing to a home buyer.
What Are Clutter Removal Services?
Clutter removal services will take items you no longer need or want from your home. The cost of a de-cluttering service can vary depending on location and how much things need to be removed.
You can expect to pay a few hundred dollars to a few thousand depending on the square footage of your home and the junk it contains.
You can find clutter removal services by asking a real estate agent or searching online. When you head to Google and search for clutter removal services near me, you will likely see junk removal companies.
Calling a clutter removal service is often the first step in decluttering a home. Let’s look at some of the best companies for decluttering.
Get Rid of Your Clutter By Calling a Junk Company
While storing things you want to keep is essential to selling a cluttered home, you also want to eliminate things you don’t intend to keep.
Preparing a home for sale is the perfect opportunity to discard unwanted items.
Many of us have problems disposing of things we don’t use weekly or monthly.
Often, many of the items we hold onto have some sentimental value. Psychologically it makes it harder for us to get rid of these things.
The first step is to overcome that fear of saying goodbye to something you have held onto.
Some folks hoard even what would be considered by most people to be “junk.”
If you have items in your home that will not be coming with you and you need to get rid of them, one of the best solutions is a company like Junk King or 1-800- Got Junk.
These companies will come to your home and haul away any unwanted clutter. Big or small, it doesn’t matter. Junk removal companies will take just about anything. Pricing will be dependent on what you are getting rid of.
The cost will be impacted by the size and weight of what you are getting removed.
Donate Your Unwanted Items to Charity
Another great way to get rid of things you no longer need or want is to give them to charity. Some companies will pick up donations right at your home.
Old clothes, coats, shoes, and furniture are the perfect things to give to a charity.
Not only will you be putting a smile on the face of someone who needs it, but your home will also look better. Some folks also like to have a yard sale to eliminate excess clutter.
As the saying goes, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.
Get A Professional Cleaning After Decluttering
Depending on your personality, this may be a difficult move – even if small. Some people take pride in keeping a clean house, and many have spent years working to ensure that their homes are spotless.
However, unless you happen to run your own cleaning service, you will probably benefit from the skills of a professional.
While a professional cleaning doesn’t necessarily get rid of clutter, it can dramatically change a home’s final appearance after you have tackled the heavy lifting and removed the more significant items from your home.
Some cleaning companies specialize in prepping houses for sale and can do an amazingly in-depth cleaning job quickly.
Once you have removed as much clutter as possible, bringing in a cleaner is the next best step to get your home ready for sale.
From carpet cleaning to dusting the mini blinds, they can whip your home into shape – making it stand out to buyers through pictures and in person.
Doing everything it takes to prepare a home for sale before you list can go a long way in determining how successful you are in not only selling your home but maximizing the profits you receive.
What to Do After Decluttering a Home
Look at the best qualities of your home and emphasize them!
Like anything, your home has some areas where it stands out and others where it lacks. This is normal and something that any good real estate agent will know how to work with. This is important for you to focus on as well.
Take a good look at your home, especially if it suffers from too much clutter, and consider how to emphasize your home’s strong suits.
If your home has good lighting, mention that in your ad and emphasize it to potential buyers. When you have excellent storage space, demonstrate it by keeping closets and storage areas at least half empty and organized.
If your yard is expansive or well cared for, keep it clean and show it to all interested parties.
You may still have a garage full of stuff, scuffed wood floors that you couldn’t afford to fix before the sale or even a dated kitchen. However, you can still encourage a sale by demonstrating what is great about your home.
Not every buyer is looking for a turnkey home.
There are many ways to market real estate; often, some of the simplest ways are overlooked.
A skilled real estate agent should be able to help highlight the things that are most special and deserve emphasis for your home.
Now that the clutter in your home has been minimized, it is time to get your home prepped for the market by showing off all the hard work you have put in.
Take The Right Pictures
Having exceptional photography goes along with stressing the strong suits of your home.
The photos you put up on your listing are the first thing most potential buyers will see, and they need to put the home’s best foot forward.
To accomplish this, you need to have someone take your pictures that knows what they’re doing, and they need to be pictures that emphasize the best parts of your home.
If your home has good lighting, your photographs must demonstrate it. Taking the pictures at the right time of day, and using professional quality settings on the camera, is vital to get the best pictures.
The same can be said of any other good quality your home possesses. The right angle, time, and settings can significantly affect buyers’ perception of your home.
There are not many things that are more important in marketing real estate than having quality photography. It is the first thing every buyer looks at when perusing listings on the internet.
This can make or break your sale. It is also an area of real estate where you can see the difference between a great Realtor and one who should not be in our business.
Use a Professional Photographer When Selling a Home
The two types of indiscretions include taking only a few photos when the home deserves far more and providing terrible real estate photography. If you want to see what I mean, click the link.
It is hard to believe these photos exist, but lousy real estate agents took them.
One of my biggest pet peeves as a Realtor is seeing a seller who has hired some schmuck who puts no effort into selling a home. They throw a sign in the yard, put the home in the Multiple listing service, and then pray for their big payday.
If you are going to go through the time and expense of preparing your home for sale, make sure you don’t skimp on doing your homework for the real estate agent who will represent you.
Selling a home is a team sport, so you want someone who will put as much effort into the process as you did getting it ready!
Look to a Realtor For Solutions
If your home is piled high with clutter, you still have ways to sell it. Use the above ideas as a starting point, and consider contacting a real estate agent for tips specific to your situation.
A real estate agent can go over your property with a fine tooth comb and offer suggestions based on the experience of selling homes like yours.
Don’t be offended by any advice you get, as the Realtor is trying to guide you in a way that gets your home sold quickly for the most money possible.
While decluttering a home, it is an excellent time to look at any necessary work that needs to be addressed before you put it up for sale. Eventually, the buyer for your home is going to have a home inspection.
Nothing is more important than being well prepared for the home inspection, as it is a significant hurdle to cross in any real estate transaction. More sales fall apart at a home inspection than at any other point in the sale.
De-cluttering your home will allow you to look it over with a finer eye for things you may notice during your day-to-day life.
More Home Sale Preparation Resources
- Secrets of home staging – Get exceptional advice on making your home look its best before listing for sale.
- Massachusetts home staging will help to maximize what you can sell your home for. Use the guidance found in the home staging article to pull everything all together.
The above Real Estate information on decluttering a home with this checklist was provided by Bill Gassett, a Nationally recognized leader in his field. Bill can be reached via email at billgassett@remaxexec.com or by phone at 508-625-0191. Bill has helped people move in and out of many Metrowest towns for the last 37+ Years.
Are you thinking of selling your home? I am passionate about real estate and love sharing my marketing expertise!
I service Real Estate sales in the following Metrowest MA towns: Ashland, Bellingham, Douglas, Framingham, Franklin, Grafton, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hopedale, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millbury, Millville, Natick, Northborough, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Sutton, Wayland, Westborough, Whitinsville, Worcester, Upton and Uxbridge MA.
