Your Realtor Said ‘De-Clutter’! – so What’s Clutter?

To de-clutter your house, you need to be able to ‘see’ clutter. It’s all very well for someone to say, “Just step back and look at your home through the eyes of a buyer…” But who are they kidding? Nobody can really do that unless they have the emotional capabilities of a cabbage. Some of us can grit our teeth and get pretty ruthless with our stuff, but de-cluttering is especially hard if you’ve lived in and among your belongings for years. De-cluttering is really de-personalizing, and no matter how you try, you find it hard to believe that other people are really not interested in your family photo-wall or your ashtray collection or your children’s artwork. So, try de-cluttering one step at a time.

1. First, start with one room – do not try to de-clutter your whole home at once. Start with the room that buyers will enter first when looking at your home. That may be a foyer or entryway, the living room or family room, or maybe even the kitchen. Whatever room it is, it will be the buyer’s first impression and it needs to be a good one. If you have a digital camera, take a picture of the room before and after you de-clutter. It will help you with the other rooms later.

2. Next, count the pieces of furniture in the room. Are there more pieces than are really needed? How do you know if there’s too much furniture? Maybe everyone in your family has a favorite seat in the family room, but if there are more than one sofa, two chairs and a couple of tables, there’s probably too much furniture for a buyer to be able to see the room. In a kitchen, buyers are mostly interested in the appliances, but a small table and one or two chairs can reveal the potential of a breakfast nook. A dining room is all about the table and chairs — how many can fit comfortably? One or, at the most, two other pieces of furniture, such as a hutch or sideboard, should not make the room feel crowded. You want buyers to visualize their own furniture in that space, not admire your cozy arrangements. So try moving a couple of pieces of furniture out of the room, if there are more than what’s described above.

3. If you have small children whose toys reside in your ‘first-impression’ room, move all the toys to one corner of the room, or, better yet, remove them to a different room. Toys tend to be brightly colored and can distract from the overall look of a room. So, if toys need to stay in the room, organize them, either in a toy-box or hamper, or on shelves, and put them in a corner that is out of sight from the main entrance.

4. Take everything off of every flat surface in the room. Yes, everything! Leave books on book-shelves but everything else must go. (You may find some places that need dusting as you do this.) Coffee tables may have one or two items on them – a low vase of fresh flowers, a low fat candle on a plate, a book or magazine, or a small flat dish of potpourri. End tables may have up to three items: a lamp, a framed picture, a short candle (or two), a small basket or decorative dish, or a book. Bookshelves without books on them should only have one or two items on one or two shelves.

The same goes for mantle-shelves. Dining room tables, hutches, and sideboards should only have one or two items on each. A simple vase of fresh flowers on the table is always a good idea. (If you’re not good at this decorator stuff, get a friend or family member to help.) Pack everything else away, or decide what you really want to keep and get rid of the rest.

5. Take down all but one or two framed pictures from the walls. Remove all unframed posters and all family photos. This is a good time to repair any holes in the walls and freshen the paint, if needed.

6. Lastly, take a look at the fabrics in the room, including window curtains and drapes, furniture upholstery, covers, and cushions, and carpets and rugs. Talk to your Realtor about this part. He or she will know best how your current fabrics could make or break a sale. In general, it’s best to strip windows down to one or two layers of fabric, if possible: for example, straight panel drapes over sheer curtains, or a window-shade with a valance. Make furniture in a room match with inexpensive slip-covers, and only leave one or two decorative pillows in place. Have carpets cleaned and it may be a good idea to roll up area rugs and put them away.

And that’s it! If you followed these steps, you have de-cluttered at least one room. You may be asking, however, what you should do with all the extra stuff taken out of your de-cluttered room. If you have an attic, basement, or garage, place extra belongings where they can be as out of sight as possible. If you have sufficient space, and without creating more clutter, store extra furniture, pictures, and knick-knacks in closets, cabinets, drawers, and even other rooms. Otherwise, it may be worthwhile to rent a storage space at a local mini-storage facility. You could also ask a friend for some borrowed space in their garage until you have your own new place to move into. If none of these options will work for you, then you may have to desgnate a room in your home as temporary storage space. If so, just keep the space as organized as possible.

Now step back and look at your newly de-cluttered room. Take another picture and compare it with the one you took before. Then follow these steps for the other rooms in your home, and you will soon have de-cluttered every area and will be ready for an impressed buyer to make it their own.