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

Organize, Organize, ORGANIZE!

Okay.  You've completed the first 5 items on the list.  (By the way, you do NOT have to do them in this exact order.  These are guides!)  Now, you're wondering what's next?  The next step is to organize everything!  This is to include closets, cupboards, pantries, EVERYTHING! Whether you realize it or not, potential buyers WILL look through everything.  (And on a side note, please make sure that you lock up things like guns, ammunition, prescription meds, etc.)  After all, they want to see how their things will fit into this potential future home.  Yes, there are some that are just being nosey, unfortunately.  It's an unfortunate fact of life, but if you lock away things that you need to or don't want anyone to see, you should be just fine!

Anyway, starting in the bathroom, you should go through all of your medicines.  It's a good idea to do this periodically to ensure that your medicines aren't expired, and in this case, to help you pare things down a bit.  Any bathroom appliances like old curling irons you haven't used in 10 years need to GO.  Old make-up, empty shampoo bottles, anything that's old needs to be tossed out as well.  If you have a linen closet in or close to the bathroom, make sure that the towels, washcloths, etc., are all folded and stacked neatly.  Make it look like it would at a high-end hotel.  Get rid of towels that have a ton of holes in them or are worn down to nearly nothing.  (I would just hide them somewhere because I LOVE those ones to put my hair in when it's wet!)  Wipe the drawers, shelves, and cabinets out clean and replace what's left.  Keep it looking nice!!!  It's super-easy to maintain with limited time if you just keep it up. 

Closets are next.  Coat closets and bedroom closets are where you need to head to.  Depending on the time of year, that will determine what needs to be in your closets.  And keep it as MINIMAL as possible.  You want to give perspective buyers the idea that there's a TON of storage space in your home.  You can't typically do that if you have your entire wardrobe stuffed into your closet.  As much of a pain as it is, store things that are out of season.  Coat closets do need to have something in them, even during the summer, so maybe some light jackets or house sweaters (don't judge...) would suffice.  You can even go a step further and color coordinate the hangers, or buy hangers all of one color.  It's just an extra finishing touch that's nice, but that one's not exactly necessary.

The pantry and kitchen cupboards are next.  Get rid of the expired stuff!  You don't need it, and you shouldn't eat it.  Get things together.  For example, all of the spices should be together.  The baking items should be together.  If you can afford it, get some pretty jars to keep some of this stuff in.  Again, not necessary, but a very nice added touch!  Wipe the inside of the cupboards/pantry/cabinets down.  Get them CLEAN.  Get under that kitchen sink and make it look as glorious as you possibly can!  People WILL look under there.  When putting things away, make sure that it's neat and tidy.  If that's not how you typically live, you will need to do it while your home is on the market.  This is a non-negotiable!

Finally, any kind of storage areas like the garage, attic, and any other storage places need to be organized, cleaned out, and swept if at all possible!  Again, people WILL be looking into these places, trying to envision their things in your house!

Make sure that, while your house is on the market that you keep up with everything every single day.  Yes, it's exhausting, but well worth the effort.  When a showing call comes in, you won't be running around like a crazy person trying to tie up loose ends.

Happy selling!!!