As your Boston real estate agent, I’d like to take you back
to the basics today. As homeowners, after we take down holiday décor, this is a great
time to clean, organize and declutter our Boston homes! Market Watch has deemed
2014 the year to sell your Boston home, so if you’re gearing up to do so, it’s
also a great time to prepare for staging your home to sell.
This is a daunting task for most Boston home sellers,
because most have lived in their homes for quite some time and have collected a lot of
stuff. Whether it was freebies in the mail, good sales at the store, or
nostalgic photos or art designs from the kids, much of what we collect is
meaningful to us. It is not, however, meaningful to our potential Boston homebuyers.
To help you get your home organized and clutter-free this
winter, here are some greats tips from Realtor Magazine that I’ve summarized
for you here:
1. Give your home a walkthrough. Pretend you’re a homebuyer and
you’re seeing your own home for the first time. Walk through each room and
really take notice. After living in a home for so long, we stop noticing the obvious messes and clutter after a while! Walk with a notebook and keep track of what you notice in each
room, and what you’ll need to go back and change.
2. Create piles. As you clean and declutter each room, create
piles: keep, give away, donate, sell, throw away. These piles can be different
for each homeowner, but the basic gist is to get rid of everything that is not
a necessity. If you’re moving in the near future, you’ll be so happy you did!
You could also have a pile for keeping, but storing away until after you sell your Boston home.
3. Clean out closets. Closets tend to be the black holes in
most homes, where everything you’re not sure what to do with gets thrown. Once
you tackle the closets, the rest should be a cinch! Create your piles. Remove
anything you haven’t worn in two years, and aim to get rid of 50 percent of
your wardrobe (the average person only wears 20 percent of their clothes 80
percent of the time).
4. Clear counters and bookcases. Take all of your appliances
and gadgets off the counters in the kitchen and bathrooms. Leave only a couple
items. Donate any books that won’t be reread. Replace with a few
decorative, neutral items. Professional home stagers recommend grouping
decorative pieces in groups of three.
Realtor Magazine shared many more tips in their article that
is worth reading. If you have more questions, or would like a neutral point of
view, contact me! I’d be happy to help you out.
As your Boston real estate agent, I am your go-to source for
help during the home-selling process in the Boston real estate market. I look forward to helping you reach your
goals!
Phone: 617-642-7585
Email: pf@pattifine.com
Patti Fine Real Estate
Greater Boston Area Homes
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