Home Staging Mission: A Clean Slate
Updated: Jan 4, 2021
How do you prepare a home for sale when it has been lived in for close to 20 years? When it has seen children playing, growing up and finally leaving home? When it has weathered all kinds of storms....
The mission was to create a clean slate for prospective buyers who will add their own possessions and memories to the home. Staged2Sell Mount Dora has accepted this mission to create a clean slate for this homeowner.
Decluttering a home is essential to sellers who wants their home to sell in a timely manner. Personalized mementos, photos and religious items should be removed. An important first step is to rent a storage unit. Often the first month is free, so with professional staging, you may only need the storage unit for a month or two. Extra large furniture that crowds the room should be removed to storage or sold.
Among the many tasks needed to achieve a clean slate is to clear and organize all the closets, pantry and garage. As items are cleared from these areas they can be discarded, donated or taken to storage.
To organize and declutter a home requires a high level of commitment from the home owner. It is an arduous task, both physically and emotionally. It is never easy to part with some of the family treasures and mementos. Decisions must be made to save, discard, donate or sell many items that can cause clutter in the home. As professional organizers and stagers, our goal is to be sensitive to the wishes of the home owner while still gently pushing to accomplish the goal of a clean slate.
Curb appeal is very important for the prospective buyer. Sidewalks and portions of the home may need to be pressure cleaned.
The front door and trim may require touching up. Prospective buyers expect healthy, tidy landscaping and some colorful foliage. At this home, the bushes and trees needed to be trimmed and old plants removed. New flowering plants and mulch will be added to provide color and curb appeal.
Pressure cleaning and exterior painting will add to the curb appeal, and repairing the tile on the entry porch will help to give a pleasant first impression.
As difficult as decluttering can be, there is a bright side! As the home owners organizes and declutters their garage, closets and china cupboards, the items to be saved can be packed, labeled and taken to a storage unit during the selling process. The good news is that when the home is sold, the hard work of packing is more than halfway done!
Stay tuned for the before and after photos when Mission: Clean Slate is complete!