A guide to decluttering your home

A win, win situation!

Just as someone is unlikely to buy an outfit that they struggle to squeeze into, they are even less likely to invest in a home that won’t accommodate their possessions. It stands to reason that ensuring that the home you are selling looks tidy, uncluttered, and easy to maintain will make it, unequivocally, more appealing.

The decluttering process

A great starting point is to photograph each room from several different angles.

Armed with these images, assess each room for evidence of lack of storage, awkward spaces, and unsightly clutter. Remember this; the first time your property is seen, it will be in photographic/video form. Are there things stuffed under beds or crammed on top of wardrobes/cupboards? Clothes piled up on a bedroom chair or over a radiator? Books and paperwork piling up on surfaces or stuffed into a corner. If so, these issues need to be addressed.

Whether the clutter is down to lack of storage, bad habits or poorly utilised space your aim is to get rid of it and by so doing, convince buyers that your property will easily accommodate them and their current, or aspirational, lifestyle.

Simpler said than done?

Whilst for some, this process may just be a little time consuming and tedious. For others, it can be both intimidating and hugely emotional. Perhaps a relationship has broken down, or a death in the family has meant that a home full of memories needs to be sorted and packed away. In scenarios such as these there is professional help available. We can work alongside clients, providing advice and a shoulder of support throughout the process. Or we manage everything from packing up memories, the sale of unwanted items, right through to the staging for sale and the final clearance.

Financial gain

Moving house is a great opportunity to take a more ruthless approach to tidying and organisation and potentially make money in the process. Whilst decluttering, consider which things can be packed in preparation for your new home, which can be used for staging your property, and which can be discarded. As they say, 'one man’s trash is another man’s treasure' and it is worth listing your unwanted furniture and possessions online on platforms such as Ebay, Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace, taking a pitch at a Car Boot or even holding a garage sale. Not only will you increase the saleability of your property by decluttering, but it could also be a fabulous way of raising the funds to have it professionally staged or even for decorating your new home!

For more details on how to stage your home, visit the Space Stagers website.