Skip to main content

Declutter Time: Weeding through all that stuff

My wife and I are lazy. We don't store our winter clothes in the summer or our summer clothes in the winter. Our closet is just a jam-packed, year-round mashup of multi-seasonal clothing.

We also love to cook, so our kitchen is full of pots and pans and widgets and gadgets. And we live in an old house that we're fixing up, so we have every tool known to man crowding the corners of our basement.

We prefer our home this way. It's not dirty or messy. But we keep the things we want or need close at-hand. Still, when it's time for us to sell, we're going to have to seriously declutter before the first potential buyer walks through.

Why? Because clutter makes spaces seem small. It can obstruct pathways through a room, making them feel tight and unmanageable. And clutter just adds noise for buyers, who should really only be focused on how they can make the space their own.

Example: Our closet is actually a generously-sized walk-in. But we have hundreds of hangers, and shoes...oh, Lord, the shoes! All of that stuff gives the impression that there isn't a reasonable amount of space to store clothes. So, when we go to sell, we'll weed out the off-season items, and voila! Our closet will feel twice the size it does now.

The word "clutter" has negative associations with hoarding and dirty, messy spaces. So when most people hear the word "declutter", they're probably either offended or think it doesn't apply to them.

But real estate agents mean something different when we say "declutter". Maybe we should come up with a better word. Like "sparsify". Only that's not a word. But conceptually, that's the idea. It's not cleaning, and it's not tidying up. It's making less. Like, unrealistically less--the way no one actually lives. Except for minimalists, I suppose, and lucky them. Because when it comes to selling your home, less (stuff) is more.

So whether you "declutter" or "sparsify" or just "pare down", the point is to put away a bunch of your stuff. It's not dirt or trash or anything to be ashamed of. But it needs to go (or have the appearance of being gone), for the time being.

Tips & Tricks

  • Make sure each room has wide walkways and plenty of open floor space.
    - Store excess furniture and other items that are "cluttering" pathways.
    - Don't make potential buyers wonder "What's under all that stuff?!" They WILL imagine the worst.
  • Clear kitchen counter tops.
    - Store items you'll still need in a laundry basket that you can easily bring in and out as needed.
  • Likewise, clear bathroom counter tops.
    - Store items in a bin you can keep under the sink or under your bed.
  • Use your garage and/or unfinished basement areas for storage.
    - Place items for storage in bins, and stack those neatly in the space.
  • Consider renting a storage unit or Pod.
    - Rented storage space gets items you can live without for awhile out of your hair.
  • Don't forget the outside (lawn, pool, deck, patio, etc.)

Ready to Buy or Sell Your Home in NoVa?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

From Gray to Beige and Everywhere in Between: What IS Neutral?

Paint Color: Sherwin Williams' Reflection Why It Matters A new coat of paint does wonders to freshen up a room. But also, if your walls are currently painted in unusual (i.e., non-neutral) colors, that could turn off potential buyers. Whether positive or negative, people have a visceral reaction to strong colors. Have you ever been in a room and just cringed from the paint color? That's not what you want your potential buyers to do. Most people aren't going to fall in love with a neutral paint color. But they aren't going to hate it, either. Most will barely notice it and focus on where a TV could go, what kind of furniture they'd want to fill the room with, etc. (All the good stuff that you want them to be thinking about.) But...What's Neutral? Advising sellers to paint their walls in neutral tones is nothing new. What's changing is the definition of "neutral". It used to be that white was considered neutral. Savvy sellers would p
Post a Comment
Read more

Selling Your Home? Know Your Market.

Regardless of where you are in your decision to sell your home, "decision" is the key word. Prepare to make lots of those. And pretty fast. Your realtor should be a valuable and trusted resource for you, guiding you along every step of the way. Still, nobody likes to feel in the dark when it comes to selling their home. Having a little background knowledge will give you more confidence as you navigate the waters of your home sale. To that end, here are some tips and resources as you get ready to list. (If you have any to add, let us know in the comments section.) Keep up with your local market and national trends. Do you know of a Metro stop coming your way in the near future? Or a shopping complex? Depending on your flexibility, knowing of imminent developments could impact your home's value and help decide your timeline. Simpler yet, just monitoring homes for sale in your neighborhood can be eye-opening. How many are there? How much traffic is going through? Ho
Post a Comment
Read more

The Smelly Blog Post

Smell plays a much bigger role in our perception of things than we realize. It's the sense most closely linked to memory, so it can actually cause an emotional response in people. It also influences the part of the brain that affects our mood, so a "bad" smell can trigger a visceral response in how we feel. What does this mean for you when selling your home? You don't want it to smell bad to people. That's all. Of course, smell is largely individual. My wife loves the smell of tea rose; I think it smells like stinkbugs. On the other hand, who doesn't love the smell of baking cookies, which is why your realtor may put a batch in your oven if you have an open house. General Tips to Keep Your Home S(m)elling-Fresh Weather permitting, open windows around your house from time to time to air the place out. With the windows open, run your HVAC on fan mode for extra ventilation. Replace your HVAC filters, if it's time. Beware of scented room sprays
Post a Comment
Read more