New Jersey Real EstateNew Jersey Real Estate TipsReal Estate TipsSeasonal March 19, 2014

Spring Cleaning Tips Before Listing Your Home

Before you set that ‘for sale’ sign in front of your yard, there are certain things you need to do to get your home ready to sell. In this post, we want to discuss spring cleaning tips that will get your home looking its best, and hopefully, selling quickly. Now is a great time to go through your clutter and clean the home because you’ll need to do this when you pack anyway. So, let’s get a head start and get cleaning!

De-Clutter the Home

Going through your stuff isn’t always easy, because it means having to make decisions as to what to keep and what to get rid of. Some people do well in getting rid of the things they no longer want or use, and others dwell over it. To help, give yourself limitations so that you can still keep things but within a reasonable limit. For instance, if you have a collection of baseball cards, keep only those that will fit within one plastic container.

You may be able to sell some stuff in a garage sale or online and make a few extra bucks. Or, donate the things you don’t want to the many charities available, many of which will come to your home to pick everything up!

De-Personalize the Home

Next, you’ll need to take the ‘you’ out of your home. Potential buyers need to be able to walk through your home and envision their own life there, so keep your home tasteful but simple and minimal. Picture frames, collections, knick knacks and so on are the things to pack and put in storage. For tasteful decorating, use general items like candles, bowls of potpourri and fresh plants and flowers.

Clean Hard-to-Reach Areas

How long has it been since you washed the windows? Dusted the blinds? Scrubbed the shower? Vacuumed the baseboards and vents? These areas are often looked over, but they need to be cleaned before showing your home. You don’t want your dust and dirt overshadowing your space. If you need help, enlist a cleaning service and then keep up on the work from there.

Also, don’t forget the very basic tasks of vacuuming the floors each day, wiping down counters, keeping dishes out of the sink and dusting surfaces.