If you plan on selling your home, getting organized and creating a list of tips will help immensely. Sellers need to “detach” themselves from their homes and this is often not an easy thing to do.
The goal of staging a home is to make a home look it’s best by showing off all it’s unique characteristics. Most home buyers want spacious homes with charm and personality; they want to connect emotionally with a home. Making that happen takes a bit of planning. Here are a few tips to help prepare a home for sale.
- CURB APPEAL Make a good first impression by decluttering your porch, touching up seasonal landscaping, painting the door, sweeping the porch and cleaning the outdoor light fixture. Add a cheerful welcome mat and a pot of colorful flowers for an extra touch of pizazz.
- THE NOSE KNOWS Make sure you have a fresh, clean smelling home. If you have pets, wash their bedding and bowls. Put their food in sealed containers and open a few windows. Turn on overhead fans and use bowls of coffee beans to absorb stale smells.
- FOCUS Every room should have a ‘generic’ focal point. That means removing portraits, photos, collections, awards, trophies, and memorabilia. Pick a spot in a room to “wow’ potential buyers – the fireplace, for example. Declutter the surrounding areas by packing and purging clutter & excess furniture. Clear the counters in the kitchen and bath. Make the bedroom as un-personal as possible.
- HO-HUM COLOR Use no more than 2 or 3 colors in your home. Beige, gray, white, and cream are much less dramatic and preferred over bolder, brighter colors when selling a home.
- CLEAN FREAK Clean every window, carpet, cabinet and closet in your home. Appliances should sparkle and floors should be buffed and polished. Open the blinds and let the sun shine in. Buyers respond favorably to brighter, happier, clean homes.
- PATIO PERFECTION If your home has an outdoor gathering place, don’t forget to make it as cheerful as possible by “staging” the area with colorful pitchers, serving platters, placemats and potted plants so potential buyers can visualize themselves entertaining and enjoying life in this space.
Create a space that buyers can’t wait to move into with a few simple, inexpensive organizing tips.
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Professional Organizer Geralin Thomas has been past President of the NC chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers and featured on The Nate Berkus Show, Today, and South Africa’s The Home Channel. http://metropolitanorganizing.com
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Geralin Thomas,
home organizing,
home staging,
selling a home