No, I really don’t have anything to sell, but I have sold two houses really quickly and helped hundreds of other people sell theirs.  Okay, now before you tune out and think, “I’m not moving anytime soon… no need to read this post.” give me a second!  There’s two reasons to keep reading… # 1- You probably know someone that’s struggling to sell a home in this market #2- People love their homes right before they sell because it’s in the best shape ever.  You could follow a  few of these tips and love your house even more! Ready?  Here are my first 5 tips!

1.Declutter. Pack half of your stuff.  Seriously, I actually mean half of everything.  It’s a pain, but you’ll have to pack it anyway.  This will make your house seem like it has sufficient storage and room to grow.  It’s tough to want to move into someone’s home that seems jam packed! (FYI- don’t do this if you’re not selling… that would just be crazy!)

2. Depersonalize. Your kids are adorable… I get it, but now get rid of their pics.  We don’t want potential buyers looking at your vacation pics and thinking they really need to get back to the Outer Banks and totally not noticing your recessed lighting.  Now, don’t get too crazy… we didn’t get rid of 100% of our pics, but honestly we replaced a lot with generic art from Homegoods and Marshalls.  The second part of depersonalization is STYLE.  If you’re reading a DIY and design blog you either have great style or are style challenged! LOL… make sure the style of your house would appeal to the masses.  Not too modern, too country, too plain, too bold.  Purple..Tone it down a bit.

3. Declutter. Wait, she already said that!! Lame post!  Nope, I don’t have short term memory loss… now we’re talking Pantries, Closets, Garages, Storage areas.  You need to keep feeding your family, but you also need to show off the space you have.  Donate, eat, or toss HALF of what you have stored.  You don’t need six cans of cream of chicken soup.  Keep two.

(House of Smiths weren’t selling, but man they have a rockin’ pantry before and after)

Same applies to closets… anything you won’t wear in the next month should be packed up.  If you’re near a change of season, just box and store at your BFF’s house.  That’s what friends are for! (We have about 20 boxes of friend’s stuff in our basement right now because they’re selling).  Any place that you would usually hide your junk needs to be super neat and spacious.

4. Give it a Purpose. This is a simple stager’s rule.  Every room should have a purpose.  You want a buyer to see a value in each space.  If you have a toy/craft/tv/junk room but already have a playroom, and family room with tv… well what are they paying for the random room for?  Choose a purpose.  Make it a specific craft/sewing room etc.

5. Clean. I’m not talking lived in clean… I’m talking Martha Stewart clean.  A clean house gives the impression of a well cared for, well maintained house.  You don’t want anything creeping out buyers.  Maybe dirty baseboards are just a part of life, but they’re not a part of a buyer’s dream home.  Seriously, who dreams of a kinda dirty, lived in dream house?  Does Pottery Barn have gross toilet rings in the Bed & Bath issue?  We’ve done it two ways… once we did an insane deep clean and for our second house we hired someone to do it.  Either way is fine, just get it done and then maintain it. Make a little pre-showing, last minute cleaning list.  It was a huge help to me!

Okay, so 5 simple, totally FREE steps so far… Nothing too revolutionary, but things that really make a difference.  Last spring we sold our home in less than 3 weeks… the market was struggling, we didn’t know what to expect, but we believed it was the right time for our family and so we busted our tails to get the house ready.  Now, you’re armed with part one… either share the post with a friend that might find it helpful, or take a look at your own home.  Part two is a little more design friendly and exciting, but first you’ve gotta get through the dirty work of steps 1-5.
I’ll be back Wednesday with more!

P.S.  I bought paint tonight for a super-fun family room project.  I can’t wait to share it with you!
P.P.S. Did you know that we’re only 3 people away from 100 followers?  We know way more of you read the blog… let’s make it official! Let’s take our relationship to the next step?  And if you’re really into us, you could like us on Facebook too! Imagine that! It’s like going steady!