Calling in an expert

Last month I talked about when preparing your home for sale it is sometimes necessary and less stressful to call in an expert. I recently met Tammy Schotzko, owner of We Love Messes, and I believe she would be the perfect person for the job! I asked her to give some hints and tips from her prospective on preparing your home for sale.  Here's what she had to say:

Selling your home…it’s so much more than calling a Realtor and putting a “for sale” sign out front.  Your Realtor will tell you selling your home is easier when it is clean and de-cluttered, but taking the time to do those things on top of the many other “jobs” we have in our lives can seem overwhelming and stressful.

What exactly does “clean” and “de-cluttered” mean, and how can you fit those tasks into your already busy life? Everybody has different definitions of “clean”, but when selling a home attention to detail is vital.  Surfaces from floors to ceiling (including ceiling fans) should be free of dust, cobwebs & dirt. This is the time to replace burnt out light bulbs and bleach dingy grout (yes, you read that right – you’ll be amazed at what good-looking grout can do for a bathroom’s appeal!).  Every nook and cranny of your home should sparkle. And, as if a major deep clean isn’t enough of a task, the cleanliness needs to be maintained while your home is on the market. Often home buyers will equate lack of cleanliness in a home to lack of maintenance – if they see grime on the surface they’ll assume things behind closed doors haven’t been taken care of as well.

How DO you fit a cleaning of this magnitude into your schedule, without giving up precious time elsewhere? One answer is to break the project down into manageable tasks, doing a little each day or weekend. If time is of the essence, and it often is when putting a home on the market, consider hiring a cleaning service. They can come in and do the massive top to bottom clean, and also help you maintain with regularly scheduled touch ups.

“De-cluttering” a home can be as simple as packing away unneeded items, or as in depth as color coordinating clothes in a closet to give a little extra “wow” factor. The objective is to allow the buyer to envision their things in the space – which is impossible if space doesn’t exist!

Professional Organizers are prepared for exactly this type of project. They are able to go thru a home and evaluate objects with fresh eyes in a non-judgmental manner, pointing out where de-cluttering needs to be done, and the easiest way to go about it. Professional Organizers are also very good at creative storage solutions!

As with cleaning, investing in a Professional Organizer to help you de-clutter your home can save you time, sell your house faster, and give you a return on investment of 200-500%. Not to mention that packing away those unneeded items now puts you a step ahead when moving day comes!

Close your eyes and think about the first time you went to friend’s home – what were your thoughts when you first walked in the door? What did you see? Did what you see and thought alter your perception of the friend?

Walking thru your own home and trying to “see” it with fresh eyes will clue you in on what prospective buyers see when they come thru your front door. If your “fresh eyes” make you want to step inside your home, your prospective buyers will feel invited as well.

Tammy Schotzko is a Professional Organizer and the owner of We Love Messes, which also offers eco-friendly residential cleaning. She loves helping people de-clutter their homes and lives, freeing up space and time for that which they truly love. Tammy offers no-charge consultations for cleaning and de-cluttering, and can be reached at (218) 766-0197 or thru her website at www.welovemesses.com.