In a recent blog post we offered you a practical guide to decluttering… So you’ve been decisive and had a massive cull… You’re on first name terms with the good people at your local op shop because you’ve donated so frequently… And yet still not everything has a place.

When you present your house at an open home, one of the ways you can make a great first impression is to have a sense of order. Clean surfaces and tidy corners will give your home that all important feeling of space, an attractive proposition to your discerning buyers. However, let’s face it, prior to your sale you still have to live in your house… We know how difficult it is to keep on top of things, especially in a family home, so we thought we’d put together a list of 5 storage solutions that you can use to clear your corners faster than Mary Poppins could sing a verse of that famous tidy up song “A Spoonful of Sugar”!

1. Have a few large wicker baskets handy. Use these for quickly gathering and storing toys, shoes or any other manner of household detrius.
2. Invest in some secret storage furniture you can take with you when you move, a footstool or ottoman with hidden space is one of the most useful items you can own.
3. Purchase a colourful hanging bathroom bag for each member of the family; install some hooks on the wall or back of the bathroom door. When you have an open home everybody’s personal items can be gathered from the surface and hidden away.
4. Allocate an “In” tray. Head to the stationary stop and pick up a letter tray so you can keep all your paperwork into one spot.
5. Check out those very same op shops that you’ve been donating to, for some vintage style suitcases. Pop one in each of the bedrooms and family rooms; either on top of the wardrobe, on a wide shelf or a small stand. Placed artfully against a wall these can make fabulous retro feature pieces, but are so practical; you can quickly gather up loose items and hide them away in the blink of an eye!

Let’s face it we all collect “stuff”… But if you’re thinking of listing your house for sale it’s important to think about decluttering, for several reasons…

• You want to introduce your home to prospective purchasers at its very best.
• Each room should reflect its ideal use.
• Clutter can make your home look and feel smaller than it is.
• You’re not just selling a house, you’re selling a dream… The purchase of your property is the next step in your prospective buyers life journey, they don’t want that to be filled with items that don’t fit; present your viewers with a calm, ordered space that they will be able make their own.
  

  ---

A practical guide to help you declutter…

1. Prepare your tools – Cartons, box tape, marker pen and labels are essential in your bid to restore order.
2. Do it in earnest – All those guides that suggest you declutter for 15 minutes a day or tackle one drawer at a time… They may be misguided. If you tidy one draw in one room, then go back to it two days later you’ll be constantly chasing your tail. As fast as you’re decluttering, that draw will become full again. Pick as big a space as you can manage. The whole house in a weekend might be too much, but tackle sizable chunks. Think rooms rather than drawers.
3. Shift your focus – Instead of focusing on what you should get rid of, focus on what you can’t live without. Japanese tidiness expert, Marie Kondo, says “As you hold each item in your hand if the item ‘brings you joy’, you’ll feel it straight away. If it doesn’t, it’s time to let it go.“
4. Be decisive – There’s no “maybe” in decluttering. There should be two categories “keep” and “discard”. A “maybe” pile makes it too easy to dilute the process.
5. A place for everything – Each item that goes into your “keep” category should be placed in it’s rightful place. So consider whether it’s in the right room or whether it’s “out of season” and needs to be stored temporarily until it’s needed again.
6. Start packing early – Potential buyers will often focus on kitchen cupboard space, so you don’t want yours to be stuffed to overflowing. Go through your kitchen cabinets and pack away any items you don’t use on a regular basis.
7. Consider temporary storage – Similarly to point 6, sometimes an item is just not going to contribute to selling your home… We’re talking about the treadmill in the spare bedroom. Remember you want to present each room as it should be used. Pack up these items and store them temporarily.
8. Ask an expert – The team at Bayleys Marlborough are happy to give you an impartial opinion of where you should focus your decluttering efforts. You can contact us HERE.