Decluttering your Home to Sell

I think it’s because of our clients 🙂 We continually hear from our Buyers and Sellers in the Georgian Triangle that they can’t believe how much STUFF they have accumulated over the years in their home and had no idea so many items were hiding in storage. It seems that we become blind to what we really have in our homes and leave decluttering these items until it is time to move. This can’t be good for our overall enjoyment of the home and mind space let’s start decluttering now.

One client recently told me he found 30 Barbies in his basement which would be fine except I think his kids have recently finished University. It’s as if they took up camp between the rafters, flanked the storage exit, and tormented the last two remaining Ken dolls with their hot pink convertible and high heels. It’s time we dig deep into the trenches and give those items away now before we have to deal with them on moving day

I wish we could enjoy the feeling of a staged home that is all ready to sell or the feeling of a big purge before selling without actually going anywhere. It’s such a great feeling to enjoy the home you’re in while it isn’t on the market. So many of our clients wish they had decluttered their homes and enjoyed them for the years they were in the home with their family and not just when it came time to sell the home. So…. how do we get motivated to move our house into a home! I think we need to pretend we are moving and get motivated to declutter our homes of these unused items now before they need to be dealt with on moving day which apparently is the most stressful time in a person’s life before marriage or kids. CRAZY! So let’s do ourselves a favour and purge now so we get to enjoy our largest investment in life before we sell it to someone else.

How do we move our house into a home!

1. Treat yourself to some packing materials. I find fresh boxes rather exciting and motivating to fill. They can be purchased at Home Depot for around $3.00 each

2. Schedule a yard sale and pick up companies like the Reuse Store or the Junk Butlers so you have to have items out by a certain date to stay motivated.

3. Treat yourself to a cleaning company after you purge as a reward for doing a great job! Molly Maid will do one-off cleaning jobs at a great price.

4. Hire someone to play with the kids so you can stay focused.

5. Clean at least one appliance you know you would usually only clean when you go to sell the home. Hint, Hint… the oven

Also, view our Pinterest page for great home staging ideas!