Selling Your Home? Why Decluttering Is Your First Step

Anyone who has ever worked with me before knows how much importance I place on cleanliness when selling a house. I tell clients that everyone wants to buy the cleanest, nicest, prettiest house on the block.

Renovations and upgrades can positively impact the value of your sale, but absolutely nothing matters more than simply being clean, well-maintained, and organized. In this post, I’ll give you some of my top tips for decluttering your home, whether for your own enjoyment or to put it on the market.

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Everything Revolves Around the Buyer

Clutter is a fact of modern life. Between the ease of online shopping and the endless shopping options (especially here in Edmonton!), it’s no wonder our homes tend to fill up faster than we realize. Before long, closets are crammed, garages lose their parking spots, and that “extra storage space” we thought we had disappears.

Now think of how all of this looks to a buyer. Too much stuff distracts from the beauty and functionality of your home and gets in the way of its full potential. By the way, even if you don’t list your home, there is still a buyer – you! Every day you live in this house, it’s like you’re choosing it all over again. Decluttering will breathe new life into your space and reignite the joy you felt the day you first moved in. You’re worth it!

Imagine the disappointment a buyer feels walking into a mess – counters covered, dressers piled high, closets bursting at the seams. It becomes almost impossible for them to picture the home as their own. Buyers purchase with their emotions, and the last thing they want is to feel the same stress and overwhelm they may already have in their current home. In fact, that might be exactly why they’re moving in the first place.

Unlike your smartphone, you can’t just hit “delete” on the distractions in your home. Buyers will never unsee the laundry piles on the floor, and they’ll never unsmell the garbage or cat litter box. And remember – there’s a big difference between a home that’s dirty and one that’s just messy. Clutter is overwhelming too, and when buyers start saying things like, “wow, it’ll take them forever to move,” that’s not the impression you want to leave. The truth is: when it comes time to sell, you need to clean and declutter like you’ve never done before.

The opposite is also true. If they step inside and it’s clean, fresh, and there’s a place for everything, they’ll be excited and feel as though they’ve just found their new home. And so will their agent!

Homes in Edmonton are in high demand! Why? The posts below might shed light on this mystery:

Prepare to Love Being Organized

Now that you see the vision, it’s easier to stay motivated throughout the decluttering process. Now decide what path forward works best for your personality.

Are you the type of person who, once you start a project, can’t stop until it’s finished?
Or do you get overwhelmed by the very idea of starting to declutter and give up to binge-watch the entire next season of your favourite show?

Each style can succeed. You just need a customized plan that works with you and not against you. In any case, we can begin by gathering up some boxes, the more the better.

If you’re the kind of person to get caught up in the momentum, start in the room where you spend the most time, likely the kitchen or perhaps the living room. Put every item you know you don’t need into boxes to take to a local charity or to throw out.

Next, go through each item where you may be on the fence. Take a moment to make a decision. If in doubt, put it aside in a separate box to revisit. Do the same throughout the house until each room sparkles with unlimited potential.

If you think getting started feels overwhelming, you can start small – one drawer, one closet – just enough to build momentum. Then reward yourself (yes, an episode of your favorite show counts … but save the full binge for later!). The real payoff comes when your home is sparkling, organized, and you can hardly believe it’s really yours. Because you deserve to enjoy your home every day, not just when it’s time to sell.

Do you want even more tips for keeping your house dream-worthy? Follow @gocleanco and @gosimplified for more! Learn more at housework.com & go-simplified.com.

Are you getting ready for a home sale? The posts below can help maximize your results:

Here’s to a Bright and Clutter-Free Future!

Getting your house clutter-free from top to bottom is an achievement worth celebrating. However, the real trick is in maintaining it. If you’re not careful, all this space could just inspire you to collect more stuff that you will just have to declutter again later.

Fortunately, there are a few lifestyle habits you can adopt from now on that will help you maintain this effect you’ve worked so hard to create.

The one-in, one-out rule: If you buy something new, something old must go. No exceptions! Well, maybe the occasional acquisition is okay, but only if it’s something really valuable or functional.
The love it or like it principle: Hit the pause button whenever you find a cool item while shopping that you “absolutely must” have. Ask yourself, do you really, really love it? Or do you just like it a lot? If you can live without it, put it back! This guideline won’t just keep your house tidy, it will save you money, too.
No more containers: A few decorative bins or baskets are great, but here’s the rule: once they’re full, that’s it. No new containers. No more stuff until something else goes. It’s like the one-in, one-out rule, with a little extra flexibility. At the end of the day, you don’t need more storage … you need less stuff.

Before you know it, staying on top of things will become an automatic habit. When that happens, you can look forward to living in and loving a transformed space. If selling, you’ll be proud to pass your beautiful home on to an excited buyer.

Thinking of selling or buying a home in Edmonton? Send me an email to jolene@jolenelangelle.com or give me a call at 780.910.1317 today to chat about the possibilities.