The Catchall Room. What To Do When Selling Your Home
We all have it. The catchall room. The room where everything gets dumped when you don't know what to do with it or don't want to deal with it right away. But now you're selling your house and that room looks like a mess. It won't photograph or show well. So...what now?
First: I'm betting you're thinking "Oh no! Don't say clear it out. Whatever I have to do, I DON'T want to clear it out." You need to clear it out. Get everything that isn't purposeful out of the room. Purposeful would include defining pieces of furniture - beds, desks, exercise equipment are all good examples. If you have all those things in there, leave them all to start with - we're going to deal with them in Step 3. Everything that you took out needs to either find a home or find a trashcan. Something that will make this easier is to make a concerted effort to only touch any item once. Moving it from one corner to the next takes time and effort - two things, in this harried time, you do not want to waste.
Second: And this one is pretty easy. Look at the furniture you have in the room and think about what rooms you currently have in your house. If you have a bed and desk in there but already have three bedrooms, consider removing the bed and making an office - everyone is working from home now, two offices in a house is no longer unusual. Maybe you have exercise equipment and an old TV cabinet in there - can you make a workout room? Organize the room in a pleasing manner, hang a mirror on one wall and put down some yoga mats. Can you empty the TV cabinet (I'm guessing it does not have a TV in it) of all the paperwork you've collected, take off the doors and use it to show stored weights, mats, blocks, tennis shoes, basket of socks, rolled towel, etc. Point is, decide what kind of room you want. Every space needs a single defined purpose.
Third: Now take out anything that doesn't make sense with the new purpose of your room.
Fourth and last: Time to decorate the room to match the feel. Does it need a coat of refresher paint? How is the light fixture - dated? broken? If you choose a bedroom but don't have bedding, invest in an inexpensive solid coverlet or quilt and a couple of throw pillows. If your blinds or curtains are ugly, take them down, you don't need to replace them. Add some art to the walls, some lamps if they are needed and one or two accessories to make it feel slightly more personal and VOILA! You have a beautifully staged room ready for photographs and showings.
Good luck with your home sale! And if you need further consultation help or you just want to move out and start with a vacant, please call Tammy at 804.640.4828. Designed 2 Sell can transform your home to help it sell faster, for more money.
April 2021 Cover Story
