

This includes everything from scripture verses to that “live, laugh, love” script you have above your dining table. It’s wise to take down anything that makes a statement. Don’t be afraid to let the room breathe.) (Speaking of art – you don’t need to hang something on every wall. Replace them with neutral pieces of art that help bring out the room’s best characteristics. Family pictures are always great decor, but they should be purged prior to listing.

If it doesn’t cost too much, you should remove these items and decorate the room with a more neutral theme. It might be fun to have a princess-themed bedroom for your five-year-old or a sports-themed man cave in the basement, but neither is great for resale value. If decluttering is the act of minimizing the number of possessions you have in your house, depersonalizing is the act of removing items that are indicative of your own personal experiences.
DECLUTTER HOME FOR SHOWING HOW TO
Anything you do on the front end will save you time down the road.) How to Depersonalizing Your House

(Remember, you’ll eventually have to pack up everything in order to move out. Once you get some momentum in these areas, tackle the rest of the house. These are just a few easy suggestions – the low-hanging fruit, if you will. It’s okay to leave a few toys out in the open (to show the versatility of the space), but you should severely limit how many. Take time to declutter play areas, such as kids’ rooms and playrooms. Cluttered shelves will make closets feel smaller than they are. Buyers will open up closets to see how much storage space you have. Remember when you were a kid and your mom told you to clean up your room, so you crammed everything into the closets? Don’t do that. You should remove everything before showing the home. Countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms are huge problem areas. So why not start here? Decluttering the outside of your home looks like cleaning up the landscaping, removing weeds and leaves, and simplifying your front porch down to just a couple of essential pops of color. Your home’s curb appeal sets the first impression. Not sure where to begin? Here are several tips to help you declutter with ease: Not only that, but it streamlines the moving process by making packing easier after the house goes under contract. This works against you and could actually keep a qualified buyer from putting in an offer.ĭecluttering makes your house appear bigger and helps you accentuate the rooms and design elements that are most likely to influence buyers. And if your house appears cluttered, it also appears smaller than it is. They want more space for their growing families and possessions. The biggest reason people move is lack of space. While you ideally want to declutter and depersonalize all aspects of the home, the kitchen, living room, master bedroom, and dining room are the four key rooms to focus on. “Get your realtor and your stager – they work as a team to help you get the most money for your property.” “You have to take your personal experiences out of the house and let the professionals come in,” home designer Michelle Vassey says. Clutter and personal effects make this an uphill battle. Think of it like this: You’re trying to show people how the house could be lived in – not how the home is currently being lived in. But if you have lots of clutter and personal mementos strewed about, it’s nearly impossible for people to imagine themselves living there. When selling a house, your goal is to make it to where prospective buyers can picture themselves in your home. The Importance of Decluttering and Depersonalizing A failure to do so could compromise your listing and leave prospective buyers overwhelmed. It’s about the next homeowner.Īs difficult and emotional as it can be to process, you have to declutter and depersonalize before listing your house. Suddenly, it’s no longer about you and your family. But when it comes time to sell, you have to forget about this. It’s your place – personal, special, and intimate. It’s the place you retreat to when the world gets stressful and chaotic. Home is characterized by words like warmth and safety.
