Home Staging To Sell - Decluttering

We began this stream with my belief that most people do not know what their Stager or Realtor means when they say, "the house should be decluttered".

We have simplified all contained spaces, then used some of the freed up space to store items when we depersonalized and neutralized. Free space in all cabinets, drawers, closets, and pantries should be about 50%.

So, once again, start at the curb and look at each space. Finally, finally, we are looking for clutter.

One more time, what does that mean?

Collections or more than five like items, piles of magazines and newspapers, small pictures on tables and walls (especially groups of small pictures), small occasional tables, extra unused chairs, tschotkes of all varieties take up visual space and give the buyer the impression the space in the room is smaller than it really is.

Really. Put six small to medium sized framed pictures on wall - say the outside edges of the picture grouping measures four feet by four feet. Then, out one large four by four foot picture on the same sized wall in another room. Most people, after looking at the two walls, will say the first wall and the room around it is much smaller than the second wall and room.

Most people are hard-wired to be distracted by groups of small and medium sized things.

Our intention is to make the room appeal to the greatest number of people. Clean, uncluttered surfaces make the room feel spacious and welcoming. So, find and remove those small groupings and distracting objects. The only time I use small objects in Staging is when the room is cavernous, huge, and poorly proportioned and I need to reduce the visual space. This does not happen often.

A further example. That lovely mirrored tray you put on the counter in the bathroom to hold perfume, tiny vases, a decorative hair brush, fingernail polish, and bath salts? Pack everything you use up and store them in a box under the counter. Store everything else, including the mirrored tray, away from sight. That little diorama is for living, not for selling. The clean, empty counter top tells people there is plenty of space in the bathroom. That is what sells.

When I Stage a house, or when I write a Staging Plan for DIYers, I out the largest tschotkes, all lamps, and a few little tables aside. They may used when we arrange the furniture and accessories. Everything else vanishes.

Tomorrow we will cover some final thoughts about decluttering.

Does anyone have a request about our next subject? Email me at anorderleehome@gmail.com.