Organizing Your Home to Sell

For the past month or so my husband and I have been looking at houses with the intent of buying. We've been to numerous open houses, and we've done multiple private walk-throughs with our realtor.  We've been in newly constructed homes and homes that have seen a lot of life. Some of these homes were empty, some were staged to sell, and still others had a decidedly lived-in vibe.

​As I walk through other people's homes, I find myself taking mental notes regarding best practices for organizing a home to sell, notes that I fully intend to use when the time comes to put our current home on the market. Some of my tips will only apply to homes that are going to be viewed while occupied. Others are applicable whether or not your home is occupied while on the market. 

Declutter

---

It will come as no surprise that my first tip for organizing your home to sell is to declutter. It takes effort, I know, but it is effort well spent. Not only will it help you to sell your current home, it will make moving and settling into your new home that much easier. 

Keep the following in mind as you declutter:

• Allow more time than you think you will need - The moment you decide to sell your home is the moment your decluttering should begin (if not before!). This is true even if you don't plan to put your home on the market for months. It is going to take longer than you think to do a thorough, whole house declutter. Even with a thorough declutter, you will most likely find yourself wondering "Why did we keep this?" as you unpack in your new location. It happens. Your efforts will be much more effective if you are able to work in chunks over several weeks or months as opposed to making a mad dash at the last minute.
• Work with the new house in mind -  Even if you haven't purchased a new home yet, you can use the idea of moving to both motivate and inform your decluttering process. This is an opportunity to rethink your relationship with stuff. Consider carefully how you would like the new space to function and feel, and only keep those things that support your vision. Instead of focusing on what you have to get rid of, try concentrating on what you want to keep. It's a process I call Positive Purging, and it is a great way to reduce the anxiety and guilt often associated with getting rid of things. 
• Work systematically - Systematic decluttering can be approached in a variety of ways. The two most common methods are decluttering according to categories such as books or clothing, or decluttering individual spaces one a time. In either case, the idea is to work on one area until it is completed before moving on to the next category or space. It doesn't really matter which method you decide to employ, but it is important to choose a method and stick with it. Doing so will help you track your progress.
• Pack as  you go - As you identify items you are keeping, but that you do not need at the old house, consider packing those things up in preparation for your upcoming move. This will save you time and energy later by limiting the number of times each item in your home passes through your hands before making it onto the moving truck. Keep in mind that the intent is to declutter the home you are selling, so you may want to consider renting a storage unit for a couple of months rather than piling up boxes in corners and closets. 

Organize

---

Organizing and decluttering are not the same thing, but they do go hand in hand. Decluttering is the process of removing excess stuff from your life, while organizing is about what you do with the stuff you're keeping. One definition of organizing is to systematize. Systems are at the heart of the organizing process.

The old adage "A place for everything and everything in it's place" (attributed to Benjamin Franklin) is well-known. However, there is more to systematizing (or organizing) than simply finding a place to put stuff. True organization is designed to be functional. This means that everything is in a logical place where it can be (relatively) easily retrieved and easily returned when no longer in use. 

There really is no way to sell a home without inviting people in to look at it, and potential buyers want to see all of it. If I'm considering buying your home, you can bet I'm going to open your cupboards because I want to see if you have soft close doors or pull out shelves or other nifty features that interest me. I'm going to open your closets to get a feel for their storage capacity and the layout of the shelving and rods. I'm even going to pull back the shower curtain to examine the condition and quality of the tub/shower. I'm not doing it because I'm nosy. I'm doing it because I want to determine if your space will meet my needs. As a potential buyer, I'm there to judge. 

The good news is, you can do a lot to ensure that potential buyers judge your home favorably. One such thing is organizing. Cupboards, closets, pantries, and storage areas that are neatly arranged and well organized appear bigger and more functional and leave home searchers feeling impressed with the space. In contrast, a cluttered closet or pantry leaves people feeling like the space is insufficient to meet their needs. 

Clean House

---

I recommend doing a thorough, top to bottom, inside and out cleaning of your home before you put it on the market. Now's the time to actually tackle all those tasks you've been meaning to do for ages like washing the windows, cleaning the carpets, de-gunkifying grout lines, dusting baseboards, and so forth. Pressure wash your home's exterior as well. Depending on your schedule and budget, you might consider hiring professionals to do some or all of the work. 

I can't promise you that home buyers will notice the work you put into cleaning, but I can promise you they will notice if you don't. Even something as simple as failing to sweep the floors before a viewing can be a turn off to potential buyers. 

Keep up the  Exterior

---

A buyer's first and last impression of your home occurs outside, so it's worth the effort to keep up the curb appeal. A well-manicured lawn and tidy flower beds leave people feeling impressed. On the flip side, a weed-infested landscape shouts "You've got your work cut out for you!" 
​
On our very first day of house hunting we visited a home that looked great in the pictures, but I knew before we entered the door that I wasn't interested in buying that house. There were tons of flowerbeds surrounding the house and pool, all of which were completely overgrown, and both the side porch and front porch were in serious need of refinishing or replacing. As a potential buyer all I saw was weeks of hard work and a whole lot of expense.

Fix the Little Things

---

Leaking faucets, loose hinges, wobbly stair rails, stained ceilings, and other common flaws are a turn off to potential buyers. Take the time to complete these sorts of simple repairs before inviting house hunters into your home. 

Paint

---

Repainting interior walls is not always necessary in order to sell a home, but there are certainly circumstances in which it makes a big difference. If your walls are painted in the matte finish applied by most builders, you should consider painting. Matte paint has a dull, uninspiring quality to it, it shows off smudges and flaws, and it's difficult to clean.

---

A Major Undertaking

---

We were living in the United Arab Emirates when my husband purchased our current home on a business trip back to the United States. I did not see the house except in pictures until the day we closed on it. The house was eight years old at the time, and the matte finish on the walls was definitely showing its age. I had planned to do some painting of interior walls just to give the house my own touch, but I quickly realized that every wall in the house needed to be repainted just to cover up nearly a decade's worth of dirt and grime. Needless to say, it was a major undertaking. Had I seen the house in person, I would definitely have thought twice before sealing the deal. 

If you have bold colors on your walls, this is another instance in which you should definitely consider painting before attempting to sell. The more widely appealing your home's interior the better. Anything that communicates work to be done will cause potential buyers to think twice. 

As an example, I had a home saved on Zillow that I really liked except for the fact that there were several rooms that would need to be repainted. One of the bedrooms was a vibrant fuschia color. Another was painted a vivid purple. The focal wall in the living room was dark coffee brown, and that wall, which extends about 20 feet high to a vaulted ceiling, proved to be the clincher for me. There is no way we could paint it ourselves. We would have to hire a professional, and it would need to be done before we could move in. Ultimately, I unsaved the house. I just don't think I like it THAT much. 

Be Careful Where You Stash Stuff

---

Showing a home while you're living in it provides a number of challenges. Not least of these is the constant need to keep things tidy. It can be tempting when you are busy to take short cuts. At a recent open house we attended, we pulled back the shower curtain to examine the tub and found it to be overflowing with stuff. The owners, perhaps in an attempt to make the closets look more spacious, had removed a bunch of stuff and tossed in the tub where they no doubt hoped it would remain out of sight. While a tub full of stuff is not a deal breaker, it does communicate something to house hunters that is less than positive. If you feel the need to stash stuff during a viewing of your home, try putting it in your car!

Every step you take to organize your home to sell is time and effort well spent. It will help you sell your current home, but it will also help you prepare for your move and get organized on the other end. 

Vertical Divider