As I walk into most of my client’s homes, one of the first things on my to do list is to de-clutter… You will be amazed, how great it feels to live in a house with little or no clutter.

I can’t tell you how many times, after my clients have completed preparing for sale, they tell me:

“I cant believe how much room I have in this house maybe I should stay here after all…”

The best part is – you DON’T have to do it all in one day!  The even better news is, once you are done, if you still think you need a bigger place, you will be ready to sell in no time, because the hardest part is already behind you!

 

• Make a plan – Don’t try to do it all in one day, plan to do one room at a time. Which room will be first?
• Maybe its best to start with an easy room or a closet. This way you won’t get discouraged on the first day.
• You will save money. You will be amazed how many things you find that you forgot you had and may have been planning on buying again.
• As you find items you don’t need, think of any relatives or friends that may be able to use these items. Send them a photo right away. If they are not interested, get rid of the items.  Charities are not taking any more items at this time, so don’t wait.

Closets

• For closets, I usually recommend to order black velvet hangers to organize your closets. The skinny velvet ones that clothes don’t slip off of. Typically you can get them at Costco or Walmart. I like the black ones because they looks fancy.
• I find the best is to organize by colour. Put all your blacks together, whites together, etc. etc.
• If it’s a walk-in closet, try to put smaller clothing in the entrance to the closet and bulkier clothing where its not in the way.
• Extra hint: If you only have one hanging rod in your closet and you end up with a bunch of stuff on the floor and on the shelve above, a great project would be to move the current rod up, and add another row of hanging below. This will not cost much, and will double the space in your closet. Great selling feature! Your closet can never be too big!

Kitchen

The kitchen can be a very cluttered room as well. Again, you don’t have to do the whole thing in one day!

Try to start with the one cabinet, go shelf by shelf and get rid of any expired items. You may discover food you didn’t know you had.  You may want to organize your spices in small containers and label them. Be creative.

Try to organize your dishes by colour. Its so nice to open the cupboard and see things well organized. You will see once you are done, you will want to keep it up. You will also find more room for things.

Your Fridge is another project. You may find expired sauces and possibly some old items in your freezer you forgot about?

 

Office

Most people use their office as a dumping station if they have an office. If you are not using you office as an office, you can store your extra dishes there if you have built ins. Think of ways you can use the space so its useful.

If you are using the office, you will see once the surfaces are clear, you will be able to think clearer and get things done faster.

You may need to get some file folders or binders to organize your papers. It also may be a good time to go digital…

Take photos or scan your bills and papers and store them in a cloud. It is so much easier to find things when you need them.

 

Basement

Try not to keep things  in the basement that you know you will never need. It will just be harder to get rid of those items later. Now is the time to get rid of things you don’t need and haven’t used in 3 years.

 

Feel free to send us any questions you may have. We will be happy to guide you in the right direction!