Ready….list…sell!!! We all wish it was that easy…and it can be, if you prepare your home before listing! Commit to declutter and organize your spaces now! Your home really needs to be in “showroom” condition when it hits the market…and that means get rid of everything you don’t use and clean up and organize everything else!
There are many tricks of the real estate trade to make your home appear larger and present itself as offering tons of storage! Decluttering and staging can be fun! (OK, well if you are a bit OCD like me it can be anyway!) As with all challenges just getting started is half the battle. Once you start it will become easier for you to determine exactly what you actually use and what you don’t. For this installation of decluttering we are going to cover your bathroom. Your bathroom is usually the smallest, and most scrutinized, room in your house.
If you have children in the 8 and under (some households 18 and under) you know that your home is constantly covered in their clutter. Toys, clothes, crayons, bathroom paraphanelia …you name it, if they own it you could find it anywhere in your house. (I fully admit I have found TOOTHBRUSHES in the oddest places, because someone was distracted, or simply too lazy to walk back upstairs to put their toothbrush away…why they were brushing their teeth in the family room I’ll never understand, but I guess I can’t complain too much, they WERE brushing!) So while were talking about bathroom activities let’s start with throwing a bathroom drawer organizer out there as an inexpensive and HELPFUL organization tool.
The 6 space organizer (pictured above) can be found on Amazon.com for around $9 and can save your bathroom counter tops from being covered in hair ribbons, bows, make-up, TOOTHBRUSHES and the like. All while keeping the drawer organized as well(a 2 fer!!) You can expect prospective buyers to be sizing up the available storage space for all of their needs, so keep it neat and simple. Cleaning products and other in your bathroom cabinets should be gone through and dispose of any unnecessary items while placing those remaining in plastic organizing bins.
Need to maximize your linen closet space? You can use baskets for various soaps, extra shampoo and conditioners as well as miscellaneous bathroom products to contain and declutter. There are also great shelf dividers available to maximize and organize all of those towels and sheets! Make sure you pack up and/or donate any towels/sheets/blankets that you currently have stored, but can live without. (Hint, animal shelters always welcome donations of such items!!)
Your shower and tub areas should be organized as well. Limit the number of shower products or removing them completely daily is advised when showing your home. Nobody needs (or wants) to know the brand and scent of shower gel you are using. Don’t put them on display. Use a shower caddy that you can stow in a cabinet quickly and neatly for those last minute home showings.
Have a shower curtain in your bath? Make sure to change out the shower curtain liner!! Nothing will turn off a prospective buyer than whipping open that shower curtain to find a liner with mildew. The last thing a showing REALTOR® wants to hear is a buyer exclaim “Ewwwww!!” at any time during their tour of the home. A fresh up to date shower curtain will also transform the look and style of your space with very little investment.
Last but not least go through your medicine cabinets. Yes, buyers will most likely open them. Hide any products you do not want public and place as many items as possible into bins under the sink. You will want to lock prescription medicine away and out of sight.
It goes without saying that once you have your bath in tip top shape, cleaned from top to bottom and ready to show…that your family will have to use the neighbors bathroom, until your house sells! 🙂
In our next installment we will cover the art of decluttering the kitchen.