Preparing your Home for Sale (or Living) – Declutter

I love helping people get their homes ready for sale.  It is always so rewarding to see the final product in the professional photos.  We invariably hear comments like, “I’d buy this house!” or “Why didn’t I do this sooner?” I decided to post a series of blogs with the things I do to help a seller prepare their house for market.  I hope to inspire you to consider doing some of these things now so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor.

So the first thing we do is focus on what I believe is the highest Return on Investment and that is decluttering.  After a client decides to work with us, we deliver boxes to help them start the purge.  Packing up the seasonal or seldom used items is good, but instead of storing them, consider getting rid of them.  I know that the way we live in a home and the way we sell a home are often two different things, but I believe if you take some time to lighten the load it creates a space you enjoy coming home to.

Now is a great time to start the spring cleaning and here are a couple of resources to help.

This Sunday, April 19^th from 12 – 4 pm.  Tyee Middle School is hosting a fundraiser in cooperation with Goodwill.  They will be collecting all those boxes and bags you just packed up.  The more trucks they fill the more money Tyee makes. Here is a link to guidelines for the household items they’ll accept and the E-cycle program is available to collect your unwanted electronics.

Then Saturday, April 25^th from 10 am – 2 pm our office is hosting a shredding event.  You can bring your old bills and sensitive documents for professional shredding on site.  A certificate of destruction can be provided on request. Our office address is 14405 SE 36^th Street, Bellevue near 405 and i90 interchange.

Here are a couple other links to inspiration.

Graham Hill Ted Talk: Less Stuff – More Happiness

One of my favorite blogs, Live Simply by Annie

So get inspired and start getting your home ready, if not for sale, ready for living!