De-Cluttering and Selling Your Home

Published: 01/21/2009 by Daphane Sabastiani

As the New Year begins, many of us get motivated to give our homes a good cleaning. Feng Shui of sorts, is a way to clear the physical and mental clutter. If you're planning to sell your home, it's a must-do to help attract buyers.

Cleaning up and de-cluttering can net you thousands of dollars at the time of the sale and cost you as little as a few hundred dollars, if you use experts, to get the job done. However, it does take time, but is worth the investment.

Most of us have more than we need. Having more stuff than you need in a home is not appealing to buyers. It can make them feel overwhelmed, and possibly uncomfortable in your home which may result in a lower offer. You want a potential buyer to feel comfortable and see the potential in your home. Clutter inhibits the buyer from seeing or feeling potential. De-cluttering a home can be a huge task that can be made more psychologically time consuming if you're not careful. The best approach to de-cluttering is to have an organized plan. Make a list of all the areas that need to be organized. Take one project at a time, otherwise you run the risk of becoming overwhelmed and then give up.

So, if you're rolling up your sleeves and are ready to get started, a good place to start de-cluttering is the hall or bedroom closet. Why? Buyers are certain to open a closet and check it out for space. Keep in mind that it doesn't matter if a closet is big or small, if it looks crowded then the buyer will perceive it as small.

What people tend to do is empty a closet and then don't know what to do next because they've just created a mountain of stuff. A better approach is to take a systematic approach. Start with everything on the floor. Pull those items out and leave everything on shelves inside. Go through the items and get rid of the things that you don't have a use for. Then move from shelf to shelf. When you are challenged with what to throw away try asking yourself, "What will make me use this or what will make me need this in the next six months to a year?" If you don't see a use in the six months to a year... LET IT GO! "Recycle, donate or throw away," must become your mantra. Then move and organize the items you are utilizing back into the closet.

Once you've decided on the items that you're ready to get rid of, you must take action immediately. Many sellers attempt to store items until they can have a yard sale. This can be a very costly mistake because procrastination takes over and the seller often pays for storage year after year and then when they finally look at it, they decide to take it to Good Will. Have your yard sale now or make those donations now.

Aside from de-cluttering to increase the sale price of your home, the de-cluttering process is important for when you move into your new home. A common mistake people make is not making a decision before they pack for the move. They tend to move the clutter from one home to the other thus making a move to a new home psychologically draining.

The sooner you get your house de-cluttered and ready to sell, the better decisions you'll make and the more time you will save when you move into your new home.