How to declutter before going on the market

How to declutter before going on the market

Professional decluttering expert, Amy Thompson of Chirp-Home.co.uk, offers clients of Henry Adams some helpful tips on presentation before going on the market and moving to your next home:

1. Visualise living in your next home. Moving house is a chance to begin afresh perhaps even reconsidering your lifestyle. Use this vision to help you decide on which items you want to keep. This will also help you to let go of items which either won’t physically fit into your new home or won’t be part of your new lifestyle once you’ve moved.
   
   
2. Start with easy wins - anything which is definitely unwanted such as outgrown clothes, books you have no sentimental attachment to, equipment for sports you no longer play and leads for any tech no longer used. Just remove anything you know you don’t want to take with you when you move.
   
   
3. Put all your like-for-like items together to check if you have more duplicates than you need. You may have items spread around the house so collecting them all together, such as all your books, shoes or even towels. This will give you a more accurate idea of what you have and what you want to keep or let go.
   
   
4. Organise selling or donating unwanted items well before viewings begin to give you time to get them out of the house. Many charities are accepting postal donations for small items, and for larger items you can use online marketplaces to advertise locally for collection.
   
   
5. If you are downsizing and have already found your next home, mark out how much space you will have so you only bring with you what you have room for. One tip is to count the number of kitchen cabinets and make sure the items you pack will fit in the available space.
   
   
6. To keep your home clean and tidy while it’s on the market, consider having fewer items out on display than usual so that surfaces can easily be wiped down before each viewing. Tuck away the trinkets but don’t be too ruthless, it should still feel like home. 
   
   
7. Keep cupboards neat. Potential buyers may wish to see inside wardrobes and cupboards to assess the storage, so keeping these tidy will give a better impression of the space they offer.
   
   
8. Make sure everything is put away to show your viewers that your home has ample storage. Too many items lying around might give the impression that storage is lacking. 
   
   
9. Allow space for viewers’ imagination. Keeping rooms as clear and clutter free as possible will allow potential buyers to more easily imagine the space as their own. I hugely encourage personalisation of your home, but while on the market too many personal items may be distracting for your viewers.
   
   
10. If your estate agent is arranging viewings while you’re out of the house, before you leave each day double check you haven’t left washing up in the sink, laundry hanging up, or an empty mug on the coffee table. First impressions really do count!