Forgotten Places to Home Stage
We’re often asked by home sellers if they just have to make the obvious places less cluttered and clean. You would be amazed at where buyers look in your home for storage space and how much they will need to clean. Just to play it safe and give your home a competitive edge, here are five forgotten places to home stage that may have an impact on your sale.
Closets
You can bet your bottom dollar that home buyers will poke their noses into your closets to determine how much room they will have for items they already own. We recommend removing about 50% of the contents of each closet to show more storage space. If possible, remove anything on the floor. Once decluttered, arrange the remaining items in an orderly fashion. Vacuum the floor.
Book Shelves
Remove everything and dust the shelves. Go through your bookshelves and trash, donate, or sell anything you no longer need. Start packing some of the items you will need to take to your new home. Use books, accessories, and some greenery to accessorize the shelves attractively. Don’t completely fill the shelves. Leave some space to rest the eye.
Laundry Room
This room is probably the most forgotten place to home stage to sell your home. Clean out and arrange any cabinets or closets in it. Make your potential buyers happy with all of the additional storage space they will have. Keep all cleaning supplies in cabinets or neatly arranged on shelves. Make sure your laundry hamper doesn’t smell from dirty, sweaty clothes. Place a dryer sheet at the bottom of your clothes hamper to absorb odors.
Run a cycle of vinegar through your washer to sanitize it and eliminate soap scum. Clean out your dryer lint trap by removing any lint and washing the screen. Use a cloth dipped into a solution of warm water and dishwashing detergent to wash the inside walls of your dryer. Wipe down the exterior surfaces of both appliances and shine them up with a dusting spray. Make sure the dryer hose is cleaned out by using a vacuum or extendable dusting tool. Use casters to roll out your washer and dryer. Who knows what may be hidden behind them? Clean behind the appliances and vacuum the floor before putting them back into place. Have your dryer vent professionally cleaned of all the accumulated lint. For the final touch, vacuum and clean your laundry room floor.
Refrigerator
Clean your refrigerator shelf-by-shelf starting at the top. Remove food items and wash each shelf with a solution of vinegar, warm water, and dishwashing detergent. Don’t forget the shelves on the doors which may have jelly, ketchup or other food substances clinging to them. Wipe down the exterior of the refrigerator. Don’t forget the top and door handles. Place an opened box of baking soda on one of the shelves toward the back to eliminate any odors.
Pantry
Review what food products you have and discard any expired or old items like flour or seasonings. Donate any excess canned goods to your local shelter. Vacuum the shelves and wipe them down with a solution of warm water and dishwashing soap. When placing items back on the shelves, put like items together so your pantry looks orderly. Your pantry should be half full to show buyers the amount of storage space they will have. Vacuum and wash your pantry floor.
Take our advice and address these forgotten places to home stage to sell your home quickly and profitably. Give yourself a competitive edge over other homes for sale in your neighborhood.
Interiors Revitalized is a full-service home staging, model home merchandising, and interior design firm located in Jacksonville Florida. In addition to Jacksonville, we serve the St. Johns, St. Augustine, Orange Park, Fleming Island, and Fernandina Beach areas. Contact us today at 904.625.2214 to discuss your home staging or interior design project. We’ll make that first offer your best offer!
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Contact us today at 904.625.2214 to realize your dream room.
