Organize, Depersonalize & Declutter, Oh My: Tips for Selling Your Home in NC
We've all heard that it's all about the little things, right? Well, it's not a fable AND it can make a big difference when you're trying to sell your home.
When you decide to sell your North Carolina home, one of the first things you should do is clean out! And although it sounds daunting, it's best to start decluttering and clearing out prior to putting your home on the market.
Here are some great tips that Jill Rigsbee of NC Pro Realty Group recommends.
Organize Bedroom Closets and Storage Cabinets
If you want to sell a home, sell it to a woman. And what’s a great way to sell a home to a woman? Fabulous closets. Yup! We said it! Fabulous closets. Prospective home buyers will be curious about storage space and will want to check closets and cabinets by opening every door. It's important to make sure these are organized, as it sends a negative message if your storage spaces are cluttered with items falling out.
When a buyer sees everything organized down to the last detail, it shows that you take care of your possessions and likely took good care of the house.
Some ways to do that in the kitchen are:
- By alphabetizing the spice jars
- Neatly stack the dishes
- Turn all of the coffee cup handles so they're facing the same way. In closets, shirts should be buttoned and hung together, and shoes should be lined up neatly.
Some ways to do that in a bedroom closet are:
- Color coordinate everything!
- Hang the short sleeves, long sleeves, blazers, sweaters, pants, skirts, etc. hung together, in color order.
- Have your shirts buttoned and hung together
- All of your shoes should be lined up neatly.
Depersonalize Your House
When a potential buyer walks into your home, the first thing they want to see is themselves in there, not you. A great way to help that process along is to pack up your personal photographs, family heirlooms, and other objects and clutter that might distract potential buyers from a sale. You want to present buyers with a homey, clean and inviting environment so they can imagine the home perhaps decorated with their stuff. Their photographs. Their furniture. Their art. Depersonalizing your home makes it easier for potential buyers to visualize how the home might look filled with their own items.
Prior to putting your home on the market, go through each room in your home, one at a time.
Declutter Your House
If you’re like most people, you’ve got lots of stuff. Lots and lots of stuff! Many of us tend to collect a rather large quantity of items over the years. There are loads of reasons that people keep that stuff. Everything from having emotional attachments to it, an intention to reuse or fix the something – sometime in the future, or you’ve deemed it as a treasured heirloom. For many items, if you haven't used them in over a year, you probably don't need them. (OH – THE HORROR)
Do yourself a huge favor and repurpose those items in a useful way by donating them to a charity or nonprofit organization such as