10 Spruce-Up Tips in 10 Days. Get More Added Value to Your Home Before You Put it on the Market!!

De-cluttering the Day Away...Day 2

So you've read about curb appeal, which I believe is very important in selling your home.  This tip is another one that many people overlook, at times without realizing it.  You assume that, because you LOVE your wedding pictures on the walls~all 20 of them~that everyone else is going to LOVE them, too.  Wrong answer!  This is one of those times that you need a friend, a real friend who's going to be completely honest with you, to help you with this task. 

The first thing I would recommend doing is getting a place to store all of your items that you're going to pack away.  (Don't go into shock!  This could potentially get you more for your home!  Suck it up and do it!)  If you have a garage, it may be okay.  However, remember that, with all of the boxes that are stored there along with everything else that you normally keep there, you're losing the visual square footage.  And you know what that means, right?  You're losing DOLLARS!  So, if your budget can stand it, rent a storage space.  If you can't, make due with what you can, but make it as visually appealing as possible.

The second thing I would do is pack away everything you can that's personal.  Typically how I would start the process is pack away as much as I can, and then bring out a few of the items to help make the place homey.  Just not TOO many.  Pack up some of the kids' toys.  Little Johnny will be alright.  I promise that it won't scar him for life!  You want to pack up enough things so that it looks clean, but not plain.  Adding a few items on tabletops is okay.  However, having 50 things on your coffee table is NOT.

Third, go through your kitchen.  If it's summer and you have a ton of baking pans that you only use all of during the Holiday Season, pack up as many as you can.  Pack up the cookie cutters, the decorative dishes, and things that you don't use that often.  If you think that buyers don't go through your cabinets, you couldn't be more wrong!

This is also a great time to get rid of expired medicines.  So number 4 on the list is bathrooms!  Again, buyers will go through your medicine cabinets, drawers, etc., when looking at your home as potentially theirs.  Go through your bathroom(s), and get rid of things you don't use.  I promise that you will survive.

Finally, I highly recommend getting rid of old magazines, newspapers, books that you dust and don't read, and so on.  If you save your children's artwork and schoolwork, pare it down!  Also, a great idea that I've seen a friend do is keep what's most special and put these things into three-ring binders.  You can get one for every school year.  It's great to look through the years, kind of like scrapbooks, to see how your child has progressed.  Then, you can pack the binders away as well!

Basically, if something pulls at your heartstrings, it probably won't for potential buyers.  Keep that in mind as you pack.  And one huge benefit is that you've already started packing for your next home!  You'll be way ahead of the game when you move, and opening those boxes will be like a treasure hunt when you get to open them!

Good luck and happy packing!