Top 10 Spots In Your Home You Need To Declutter For A Move

It’s important to declutter for a move. Packing will be easier and an organized house will be more appealing to buyers. Here are ten areas to focus on.

Are you selling your house?

Then, you should know that potential buyers will look at EVERYTHING. That means there will be no part of your home that strangers won’t see and judge. They’re not opening closet doors and peeking into cabinets just to be nosy (of course, some people are), they’re trying to ensure that your house offers the features they’re looking for.

One major selling feature is storage space.

No-one wants to buy a house that doesn’t have enough space for their stuff. And, while your house may have the most storage space in the world, if you have overflowing closets and cabinet doors that won’t close because they’re jam-packed, you’re telling a different story.

If you’re hoping for a quick sale at top dollar, you need to show buyers that your home is one that anyone would want to live in. You need to minimize clutter, paint a picture of organization and imprint in potentials buyers’ minds that there’s plenty of storage space.

To do this, you’ll need to declutter before moving and maximize every square inch of your house. You’ll need to take a critical look at your home. If you can’t do this objectively, get a friend or family member to help. They’ll point out things that you’ve grown blind to because you’ve been living with it for so long.

Here’s a list of the areas you should tidy up as you’re getting your house ready to sell.

Please be aware that I am not a real estate agent and this is not professional advice. This is just my two cents as to what makes the biggest impact in your home when you’re moving.

The 10 Most Important Areas To Declutter For A Move

1. Front Yard

I know this one might seem a little weird but it’s incredibly important. The first thing buyers will see is the front of your house. If it’s not up to snuff, they may just keep on driving and never even come inside.

So, how do you declutter your yard?

• Remove anything that doesn’t belong e.g. bicycles, toys, garden equipment, trash bins…
• Spruce up your garden. Pull weeds, trim overgrown plants and bushes.
• Cut off dead tree limbs, plus any that are overhanging the house. These might pose a danger to your home at some point.
• Mow the lawn.
• Take down holiday decorations if the specific holiday is over.

There are many other things you can do to enhance your curb appeal but I’m limiting myself to decluttering for a move.

2. Entry

Next up is your entryway. You want this area to feel as spacious as possible. If you’re constantly tripping over shoes, sports gear, dog leashes and feeling like the walls are closing in as you come inside, how do you think strangers will feel?

Remove anything you don’t absolutely need here and leave only the essentials that you use daily. If possible, tuck those away in a storage unit or hall closet.

3. The Kitchen

The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in the home and will be critical in the decision to buy your house or not.

Make sure that you:

• Declutter kitchen countertops so there’s plenty of prep space
• Store small appliances out-of-sight, wherever possible
• Go through your pantry and cupboards to get rid of expired food and other items you never use
• Deep clean and organize your fridge
• Get rid of anything that doesn’t even belong in the kitchen and put it where it should be

Check out 10 Top Tips For How To Organize A Pantry.

4. Bathrooms

Besides the kitchen, bathrooms are probably the second most important rooms that help sway buyers in one direction or the other.

• Go through the medicine cabinet and remove expired medications etc.
• Discard old towels and bathmats
• Store one or two bath toys in a pretty bin or basket and remove the rest
• Organize the bath and body items you keep in the shower. The soap niche or shower caddy should not be overflowing with various products.
• Clean up under the sink as this is a coveted storage area in most bathrooms

5. Closets

Of course, you can’t think about storage in a house and not include closets. It doesn’t matter where the closet is located, make sure to clean it out.

• If it’s in your bedroom, clean your closet and get rid of clothing that no longer fits, is out of style, you don’t like it, is stained or torn beyond repair.
• If it’s a linen closet, remove old towels, sheets, etc.
• In the front entry, make sure you’re just keeping the coats, jackets, shoes and other items that are needed for the particular time of year
• Even in cleaning closets, you can purge cleaning supplies you don’t use or ones that you find don’t really work well.

6. Living Room

Living spaces are rooms that the inhabitants of any home will spend a lot of time in. To declutter for a move, make sure you clear out bookshelves, minimize clutter on surfaces e.g. coffee table and side tables, even decrease the number of throw pillows you have.

Do whatever is necessary to make this room look and feel bigger.

7. Laundry Room

Is it just me or do you get more excited about stuff like laundry rooms the older you get? It may seem like the laundry room shouldn’t make much of a difference but it’s an important space, especially if your home is one that will attract families with young children.

In any case, no-one wants to do laundry in a dark, cluttered smelly space. Clean up any cabinets or shelves you have, put away your laundry supplies and make it an appealing area.

8. Hallways

It’s not uncommon to have extra stuff spilling out into hallways in a house. This results in a small space feeling even smaller and will make buyers think you don’t have enough storage in your home.

Remove clutter from floors and additional furniture e.g. hall tables if you have a narrow corridor.

9. Walls

When getting your home ready to sell, you need to remove personal items including stuff like photographs, certificates, trophies etc. that you’ve accumulated over time.

While you may enjoy looking at them, these items may stop buyers from envisioning themselves living in your house. Having too many personal items on the walls also acts as visual clutter.

10. Additional Storage Spaces

Do you have a garage, basement, attic or backyard shed? These are excellent storage areas and as a result, often become dumping grounds for all the stuff you don’t know what to do with.

One of the things to do when selling a house is to go through each of these spaces and declutter. Purge all the holiday decorations, extra home decor, sentimental mementos, furniture, baby items etc. that you no longer need. If you haven’t touched it, thought about using it in a year or even remembered that you owned it, then it can go.

Consider investing in shelving units and storage bins to tidy up these spaces.

If you’ve been wondering what to do before selling house, then this should be a top priority. If you declutter for a move, packing will be less stressful. And, if you do it even before your first open house, it can help you sell your home that much quicker.

You’ll also love these:

• Cleaning A New House? 11 Areas You Need To Clean Before Moving In
• How To Pack For A Move – Brilliant Ways To Stay Organized