When getting ready to sell your home, there are a plethora of things that you can do to make the space feel more appealing to buyers. If you’re working with a good agent, they’ll likely provide you with a checklist or packet to help give you an idea of some simple things that you can do to encourage buyers to pay top dollar for your home. Some of those things might be at a minimal cost to you but will reap a much larger reward when it comes to buyers seeing value in your home. Believe it or not, one of the best things that you can do is absolutely FREE- get rid of your clutter! Yup, that’s right. In this post, we’re going to take a look into Why It’s Important to Declutter Before You List Your Home and what you can do to help minimize your clutter and showcase your space for potential buyers. 

What Is Clutter?

If your home is lived in, you most likely have lots of things. If you have pets you probably have more things. Maybe you have kids. You probably have even more things. If you have pets and kids… well, you get the idea. Living in a space means it’s natural to collect things over the years. Some of that stuff you might use every day. Some might hold sentimental value and some might be just forgotten odds and ends that simply don’t belong in any one place. Whatever the reason for your stuff, I’m sure we can all agree sometimes it can get a bit messy and a bit all over the place. (I mean let’s face it, life is messy!) 

We call this stuff clutter. While it might make your house feel more like a home, it does nothing to showcase your home. In fact, it makes it much more difficult to show off the amazingly spacious living area or highlight the beautiful natural light that floods in from the bay window in your kitchen. It severely detracts from the buyer’s impression of your home and the space they want to envision themselves living in. This is one of the biggest reasons why it’s important to declutter before you list your home.

Why Do Buyers Care So Much About My Clutter? 

Buyers don’t necessarily care if your home is cluttered. It’s really more of a subconscious thing. Things like overcrowded counters, closets stuffed to the brim, and surfaces scattered with odds and ends make a space feel small and cramped. When a home is cluttered, it becomes very difficult for buyers to look past the mess and envision themselves living in the space. Even if your clutter isn’t “messy” when your space is overcrowded with personal items, it shows to buyers as YOUR space not potentially THEIR space. You get it? 

As a seller, your top priority when a potential buyer walks into your home should be for them to say “Wow, I can see myself living here. I can see myself making this my home.” From the second the buyer pulls up to your property, you want them to start picturing what it would be like if they lived there. There are tons of things you can do to help a buyer feel “at home” when they see your house. [Check out our post “Home Seller Etiquette Tips from the Pros” for more information on how you can make  buyers feel at home!]

Does Decluttering Really Make a Difference?

So much of real estate is built off of first impressions. Did you know that when a buyer comes to see your home, they know within the first 10 seconds if they’re interested and want to see the rest of the home? Yeah. It’s that important. Think of private showings and open houses like interviews between the potential buyer and your home. How you dress, behave, speak, and meet the needs of the position are all very important parts of a successful interview. You wouldn’t go on a serious job interview wearing baggy sweatpants, a stained tee shirt, and flip flops would you? I didn’t think so! 

If you’re still not sure if decluttering your home before you list makes a difference take a look at some of the before and after pictures below! 

Kitchen Pantry Before & After

The before picture of this pantry shows a nice sized closet with deep shelves. A buyer seeing the pantry presented in the BEFORE picture would see the good-sized closet but their initial thoughts would be “Those deep shelves will make it difficult to keep this closet organized and it’s so jam-packed, I don’t know if all of our things will fit”. 

The after picture of the pantry truly shows off the versatility and space available in the closet. A buyer seeing the pantry presented in the AFTER picture would see the space highlighted and their initial thoughts would be “Wow, this is a great sized pantry. Our things will definitely fit in here.” Additionally, the subtle stylized organization choices will give buyers an idea of how they can use this pantry in the same way. 

Bedroom Closet Before & After

The before picture shows a closet that is very over packed, disorganized, and downright messy. A buyer seeing this closet wouldn’t be able to appreciate the size or functionality of having a closet this size in their home because they wouldn’t be able to overlook all of the stuff! 

The after picture shows a beautifully versatile and spacious walk-in bedroom closet. With the clothes, shoes, bags, and bins all put to use in an organized way, the buyer can see and appreciate the custom built-in shelving and picture their own things in this space. 

Just as I mentioned before, you can see how clutter can really make or break a buyer’s impression of your home! 

Why It’s Important To Declutter Before You List Your Home

There are many reasons why it’s important to declutter before you list your home. Whether you’re decluttering to sell or just to optimize your space, here are some of the top reasons to get rid of your excess stuff before you move!

It Will Help You Prepare Emotionally to Move

Homes are for memories. If you’ve lived in the same place for a while, it can be very difficult to move on to somewhere new even if you’re upgrading your current situation. The gradual process of decluttering reminds you that all of the important things will be coming with you to your new home and ready for the new adventure that awaits you. 

You’ll Be More Ready to Move

Throwing things away and decluttering your space means fewer things to pack! If you have any experience with packing and moving you’ll know that it can be a tremendous undertaking. The more you can do before you list, the less you’ll have to do later on in the selling process! 

Buyers Can Focus on What’s Important 

With fewer things around your home, buyers are able to hone in on the really important things about your home. Things like the flow, natural light, feel of the space, size of the rooms and closets are able to shine through. Those features will be the selling points for your home. Not only will it bring in more buyers to view your property but also increases the value buyers see. 

Your Home Will Be Seen as More Move-In Ready

With less personal items and more neutral spaces, buyers will view your home in a different way. Your home will serve as the template or blank slate for buyers to envision their own personal touches when they make the home their own. That will make your home much more appealing when buyers come to view it.  

What Kinds of Clutter Do I Have Around My Home?

Knowing what kind of clutter you have around your home will help you when trying to sort through, store, organize, and throw away your things. 

Frequent Use Stuff 

These are the things that you keep out and around your home because you use them frequently. In its nature, these things are not considered clutter because you use them! But if they’re not stored properly, they can be an eyesore for buyers. 

Some Examples: 

• Laptops 
• Notebooks, notepads, pens 
• Vitamins or daily medications 
• Mail 
• Headphones 
• Purses, bags, or backpacks 
• Shoes 

The Solution: 

Keep them handy but out of sight. It’s important to keep these items on hand to make your life easier but you don’t want them to be out in the open because they can detract from the view of a space and be an eyesore. 

Instead of keeping these items out on surfaces like countertops or tables, store them out of sight in an organized way. For example: In our home, my wife and I have an open space under the ottoman in our living room. She bought a couple of decorative baskets that fit underneath and we use them to each store our laptops, chargers, and headphones. This keeps those items out of sight, easily accessible, and organized.  

“What If” Stuff 

This is the stuff that you bought “just in case”, thought you were going to use, or are keeping on hand because “you never know”. My wife is famous for collecting things in this category. I bust her chops about it all the time. “What It” stuff is not bad to have on hand but, there comes a point where you can’t store all of this stuff on the mere possibility of needing it in the future. 

Some Examples: 

• Random Odds and Ends (like buttons or scraps of paper/ fabric) 
• Promotional Notepads you get in the mail 
• Coupons 
• Receipts 
• Broken Things
• Clothes or Items that you think “might come back in style”
• Other gadgets that don’t serve a purpose anymore 
• Things you’ve replaced but hold on to 

The Solution: 

Go through these things. Choose what you think is important to keep. Be selective with what you save. Keep them organized and store them in a place that’s out of sight and out of your way (since you won’t be using these things regularly). 

Here are some ideas for how to store “What If” Stuff: 

• Have a designated “Junk Drawer” for small odds and ends (Just don’t let your “Junk Drawer” invade other spaces!)
• Repurpose a medium-sized box for storing these things and place it in your laundry room, garage, or tucked away in a closet 

However, you choose to store your “What If” items, make sure you set yourself a limit. Choose ONE box to use and stick to that. Throw away anything that isn’t selected to be in that box! 

Stuff You’ve Never Used 

Sometimes we hold onto things we never really use. There could be many reasons why we hold onto things we don’t use but whatever the reason, it’s a good thing to evaluate when you’re in the process of decluttering. 

Some Examples: 

• Gifts you thought might grow on you
• Stuff you bought on an impulse 
• Things you forgot you had 

The Solution: 

Many professional organizers and home stagers will probably agree- if you haven’t used it or worn it in the last year, you’re probably not going to. I can always tell the things I never use because they end up at the back of my closet or drawer. If you’re trying to decide whether or not to keep an item, ask yourself when you last used it. If you’ve never used it or haven’t used it in the last year, throw it out. Make space for organizing the stuff you use. 

Stuff Not Great for Selling Your Home

 Decluttering your home to sell is a little bit different than general decluttering. If you’re getting your home ready to sell on the market, there are a few extra steps you can take when decluttering to help present your home to buyers at its best. 

Some Examples: 

• Too many personal items 
• Using a room for its incorrect purpose [Ex: a laundry room as a bedroom] 
• Furniture that overcrowds a space 
• Home Decor that is Unique or Eclectic 
• Having too much “stuff” in your home 

The Solution: 

Take a good look at your home. Aside from any general decluttering and organizing, do your rooms check off any of the above boxes? It might be hard to view your home subjectively. That’s why it can be helpful to meet with your agent before you decide to list. 

Too many personal items:

Too many personal items such as family photos and personal knick-knacks can clutter up a space and cause a buyer to detach from a property. When decluttering your home to sell, think about taking away some of your personalized decor items and tucking them into storage while your home is on the market. Not only will this clear up the space but it will also make less work for you when you move out. 

Using a Room for an Incorrect Purpose:

How you use the rooms in your home is completely up to you. However, when you go to sell, nothing leaves buyers scratching their heads more than using designated rooms for incorrect purposes. Buyers want to see your space for what it is. They want to see how they can utilize it- not what you’ve decided to use it for because you needed extra space. If you’re currently using your Formal Dining Room as an Office, a Laundry Room as a Bedroom, or your Foyer as a Playroom, use the time before you list to readjust that space to fit its original purpose. If buyers see that you ran out of space or that your home wasn’t suited for your needs, it’s going to get them thinking it might not fit their needs either. 

Furniture That Overcrowds a Space:

Some people like big furniture and that’s great! However, if you’ve always wanted an 8 piece sectional and jam pack it into your family room leaving buyers to wiggle their way to the kitchen, it will make your space feel small and crowded (even if it’s not)! Think about renting a storage unit for a short period of time and doing without that furniture while your home is being shown. Trust me, an empty room will show better than an overstuffed room any day. 

Home Decor That’s Unique or Eclectic:

Everyone is entitled to their own personal taste in home decor. However, when you’re presenting your home for potential buyers you want to make sure that it appeals to the broadest range of buyers possible. After all- more buyers in the door means more offers for you! If you have decor around your home that would only appeal to a small group of buyers, consider taking it down while your home is being shown. Pack it away for your move or store it in a storage unit temporarily. 

You Have Too Much “Stuff” in Your Home:

If you’re upgrading to a larger home, not having enough space for your things might not be an issue after you move! However, if you have random things that are simply taking up space and are serving no purpose to you or your home, use this time before you list to go through and throw things out! 

Where Do I Start?  

Now that you know why it’s important to declutter before you sell your home, you might be wondering where to start? If you’ve got an entire home to declutter it can be overwhelming. Here are some quick tips:

Room View Experiment 

Before you start your decluttering try this out. I heard about this “experiment” a few years ago from a colleague of mine who is a professional stager. After using it a couple of times with my clients, they all say it works wonders. 

Go to each room of your home and take a picture. I suggest starting from your main entrance (or the entrance buyers will enter from) and taking pictures on your phone as the buyer would see them. (After all, your agent will be taking pictures of your home AND it will be what a buyer sees before anything else). 

Next, look at each picture. No, seriously! Really LOOK at each picture. What do you notice? Where does your focus go? To the room itself or the stuff you have in it? 

If you said that you mostly focused on the stuff in the room, it’s time to make some changes. Maybe you need to rework the layout of the room or the lighting or you need to declutter. Whatever the change, you’re a step above where you were before. 

Start Small 

Pick a room and start. This is one of the most difficult things for sellers to do. Doing something is always better than doing nothing. Even if all you do is a single drawer, that’s okay! 

I actually suggest clients start in the kitchen. Pick a cabinet or two, maybe a drawer or closet, and take it one step at a time. 

Store Items You Can Live Without  

One of the easiest places to start is to store items that may be taking up a lot of space and that you can live without until you move. Rent a storage unit or see if a friend could lend you space in their massive garage. This is especially important for sellers who have a lot of big furniture. Big furniture takes up space. Depending on room size, this can make a room feel small or cramped. Take out some of that furniture and showcase that space. 

Give Every Room A Purpose

Show a distinct purpose for every room. This might be easy for the kitchen and the bathroom. But, if you have a spare bedroom, set it up as an office, guest room, workout room, or playroom. By doing this, you’re basically telling buyers “Look what you can do in here!” and buyers will love that. 

Create A Lifestyle 

Once a home checks off the practical features for a buyer, the next thing they look to invest in is a lifestyle. They want to see what kind of lifestyle your home will foster. Think about how you can showcase a particular lifestyle to potential buyers. A really great example of this is a seller I worked with a few years back. They had a great screened-in porch on the back of their home. It was right off the living area and opened up into the backyard. They set up the space to showcase a lifestyle of indoor/outdoor living during the warmer months by using particular furniture and decor to show clients how great it would be to have this extra living space. 

Decluttering an entire home takes some time. Give yourself a couple of weeks to get your home ready to sell. Set yourself realistic goals for each day. Ready to get started? Check out our post “How to Declutter Your Home Before You Sell”. 

The Takeaway 

Sellers are sometimes under the impression that their home will sell itself and in some cases that’s true! However, for the sellers who want to receive top dollar for their home and are motivated to sell fast, a little bit of work can go a very long way. Decluttering is one of those things that can take your home from being a “nice house with potential” to being a “home that I want to purchase right now”.  It might seem like a lot of work at first, but trust me. You’ll see this returned to you 10 fold. 

Thinking about selling? Contact Me or fill out our Home Valuation Form to find out how much your home is worth!

Have any reasons of your own why it’s important to declutter before you list your home? Leave them in the comments below!