It’s Not Clutter! Those Are My Collectibles!

You have decided to sell your home and now have it ready to show off.  You’ve fixed all those minor repairs, tidied up your front and back yards, scrubbed down walls and floors, and dusted every nook, cranny and collectible in preparation for your first visitor.  You are ready to show your home!

Wait!  Go back just a step...dusted every nook, cranny and collectible.  Did the dusting include straightening up countertops or stacks of magazines?  How many collectibles?  How long did it take to dust those collectibles?

If your answer to that last question is more than 30 minutes, you might have a case of the clutters.

We are all familiar with the clutter that occurs in our homes, but we usually think of clutter as being in the garage or a closet.  If you are selling your home, however, and it took you longer than 30 minutes to straighten up and dust your collectibles, it’s time to declutter.

Why?  Because quite simply, when a buyer comes into your home, they want to know how their collectibles will look in this house.  They don’t want to know what your clutter looks like...because to them your collectibles look like clutter.  Remember the old saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure?”  The same philosophy applies to “decluttering,” only in reverse.

You have decided to move from your house and it’s time to do everything that you can to make your home sell fast and for the best dollar.  One of our Team’s free services is our Room-By-Room Review where we’ll come to visit your home, as far in advance as possible before your move, and do a walk-thru to suggest what cosmetic-only fix-ups and decluttering would net you the highest sale price.

While packing up your collectibles might not be the most emotionally fun thing to do, it is a very strategic move on your part and one that can make the difference between a home that sells fast and one that lingers on the market.

Perhaps one of the best reasons to declutter is to safeguard your collectibles.  You spent a lot of time and energy, and perhaps money, on your collection.  How would you feel if one of these precious items was broken?  Or taken?  And if the item is irreplaceable, well, then you probably want to pack up that item before people you don’t know come to walk through your home.

If you still need another reason to pack away your collectibles, think of this process as a pre-move.  You are just getting ready to move into your new home, and you are being very organized about it.  No last minute packing for this family!  No, sir...you are so organized for this move that the night before turning over the house keys, you might even be able to go to dinner to celebrate.

Now that you are ready to declutter, here are some tips on how and what you want to remove:

• First, detach your emotions.  As you go through the process of selling, you will probably hear your real estate agent refer to your home as a “house.”  They do this because you need to realize that your home is going to be your new place of residence – not the one you live in now.   When a real estate agent talks to you about the purchase of a residence, you will hear them refer to your purchase as your “home.”  And to the buyer coming through your house, they need to be able to see your house as their home.

•  Second, pack away anything that is personal, including photos, refrigerator magnets and artwork.  Make sure that all your countertops are clear.  Don’t forget the pantry and cupboards because you want them to appear large and roomy.  Your clothes closet should contain only what you need for the current season.  And don’t forget the coat and linen closets.  As you go through this step, think about those things that can be donated to your favorite charity.  This is a perfect time to contribute and many charities will pick up your donation.

• Now take a look at your furniture.  Do you have more pieces of furniture than you need in any of your rooms?  If so, pack them away, too.  You want your buyers to see how large your rooms are and how well their couch or bed will fit.  One other important tip on furniture:  you want to remove any piece of furniture that interrupts the flow of your house or dwarfs a room.

•  Finally, use a storage facility to store everything you’ve packed or designated as clutter.  You spent time and energy to declutter your house, so please do not move everything into the garage if you can help it.  Remember that the garage is part of the house and the above tips apply to it, too.  Pre-move all your belongings into a storage facility for safekeeping until the day you move into your new home! 

• Clicking here will take you to a list of all storage facilities that our Team has assembled in the Toronto area – several of them already have been used by our clients.  Most interesting are the ones where the company brings a ‘container’ right to your door and either they or you load it up.  Then they’ll pick it up and store it carefully for you.  Advantage… your belongings don’t have to be loaded, unloaded and stored, loaded again and delivered to your final new home destination.  This lessens the chance of breakage, theft, etc. 

You have successfully cured your case of the clutters!  Congratulations and remember to enjoy your dinner celebration!