Reduce Clutter – Get Organized
Filed under: Archives, At Home, At Work, Home Improvement, Organizing, Parenting, decluttering
Reducing clutter will aid in getting yourself organized. But how we reduce that clutter is the first challenge.
If your home or office has a lot of clutter, to avoid becoming overwhelmed, start small. Whether it’s a drawer or closet, getting started is half the battle. You’ll find that the act of decluttering becomes contagious. Now only for ourself, but often for other family members, as well.
If children are involved, make it a game. Set up boxes or totes and let them determine that which can be donated, or maybe later sold in a garage sale. If children are taught charity (the gift of sharing and giving to the less fortunate), they will soon learn how to easily give up toys they are not playing with.
As you declutter, you may encounter some items to which you have an emotional attachment. If you’re not willing to let go of these items, think about packing them up and putting them in storage.
On thing I learned from reruns of the “Home Made Simple” show on TLC (The Learning Channel , is to have either a “path” or a “home” for everything you own.
A home for your clothes would be a closet or drawer
A home for dishes, pots or pan may be in a cabinet, drawer or hanging off of a pot rack.
A home for books would be a bookcase or shelf
A home for a family heirloom may be a curio cabinet
A path for excess toys, clothes not being worn, or decorator items not being used may be…”to our favorite charity”
A path for broken or worn out items would be ….to the garbage
A path for seasonal clothes or sports equipment would to …..to storage
A path for important papers would be……to be filed.
I now use this technique when I go shopping. If I see something, and I think of buying it, I ask myself, “Do I have a home for it?” Often the answer is no. By using this technique, I’m not only saving money, but reducing excess clutter.
Some say, if you bring one new item into your home, you should remove two like items. Although this appears to be a great system to declutter a home, I haven’t tried it yet.
Photo Credit: ifindkarma’s photostream
Tags: decluttering, decorator items, emotional attachment, excess clutter, family heirloom, garage sale, half the battle, photo credit, pot rack, rerunHow To Stage A Home For Sale
Filed under: Archives, At Home, Making Money, Selling A Home
Staging a home, which will be for sale on the market, may help to sell a home quicker. How to stage a home, is actually quite easy, but can be time consuming. If you watch HGTV, you can find many television shows that talk about staging a home.
What is “staging a home”? To stage a home, is to “prepare” your house before you put it on the market. Just as it’s important to “dress for success”, when you stage your home, you are “dressing” your home for potential buyers to see.
Let’s get started:
1) Declutter your home. Take everything out that you’re not going to be using, until you move into your new home. It’s best not to stack this stuff in your garage. It may be well worth the investment, to rent a storage unit in which you can store the excess items.
2) Clean your house. Wash the windows. Shampoo the carpeting, if needed. Wipe spots off of walls and doors. Cleanliness is very important.
3) Repaint as needed. If you have a room that’s painted an “odd” color, use primer, and repaint the room a neutral color.
4) Make necessary repairs. If faucets drip, or toilets run, fix the problem. Walk through your home using a critical eye, and take notes of all repairs you can do, without spending over your budget. If you don’t know how to use a “critical eye” on your own home, ask a friend to do it for you.
5) Remove as many of the “personal” items as possible. Too many family photos, can add clutter, as can too many toys. Some buyers cannot see past a “mess”.
6) On days your home is being showed, make sure it smells good-no pet smells, foul cooking and/or tobacco odors, etc…>
7) Put your toothbrushes, prescription bottles, ashtrays, dishes (dirty or clean), and laundry, away. Do not stuff items in closets or cabinets, as buyers often open doors and drawers. Remember to also put any valuable items in a safe place.
8.) Keep you counter tops clean and free of clutter. The more you place on the counter tops, the smaller they look to buyers.
9) If you have wallpaper, border, or amateur looking faux painting, consider removing it, and painting the walls a neutral color. You need to appeal to buyers with many different tastes.
10) If you have too much furniture in a room, it will make the room look small. Consider removing some of the furniture.
11) This may be a great time to have a garage sale (see previous article: How To Have A Successful Garage Sale)
12) Think minimalist. Keep the decorating simple.
13) Outside the home, give your home curb appeal. Do people want to stop and see the inside? Trim bushes, pull weeds, plant some flowers, put down bark chips, mow the grass, sweep the driveway, wash the windows, pressure wash the house, repaint as needed, haul away any junk cars, clean up the yard.
Most buyers want a “turn key” home. One they can “turn the key in the lock, and move their things into”. Most buyers prefer not to paint, take down wallpaper, shampoo carpeting, etc…before they move in. They may make changes at a later date, but they need to get on with their lives, now. Not adhering to this, may turn buyers off.
Remember, you’re leaving this home. Soon you will be in a new home, and the home you’re staging will belong to someone else. If you just “love” that red room , or duck wallpaper border, take a picture of it. Create a lasting memory.
Remember, you’re moving on. This is the time to let go of any emotional attachment you may have to your home.
With a properly staged home, your home may sell faster than others in the same price range. It may be a time consuming process, however, in this very competitive housing market, not staging your home, could cost you lost time in moving, and more importantly…..money.
To read more on home staging and how it may help to sell your home faster, read my latest article: The Secret To Selling Your Home Faster Than The Competition
Tags: emotional attachment, garage saleLife Saving Tips
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