Obviously, as you’re intending to put your property on the market, you’re quite far along with the old decluttering business, right? Right? Even so, you’ll still have a few of your essentials and personal effects around you when people come for viewings, but some of these will still need to be out of sight when potential buyers come round.
What to stash away during viewings
While you might have sent a lot of your possessions to the charity shop or into storage, you can’t rid of everything, so it’s more a case of hiding somethings away to depersonalise your space.
Pack up your photos and prints already
Nothing says “This is MY home!” more than a wall full of holiday snaps, school photos and family photoshoot canvases, so make these some of the first treasured possessions to be carefully wrapped and prepped for the big move. You can replace them with more generic, anonymous prints if you like, so the house feels welcoming but not claimed by you.
Remove all but essential kitchen equipment and appliances
If you’re a keen cook with a lot of specialist equipment then you’ll need to hide all your fancy gadgets away to leave a minimalist-looking kitchen with clear work surfaces. Viewers need to be able to imagine their own mixers and pasta makers in situ in what could become their kitchen. Anything that says you has to go into hiding, including all your special spices and your grandmother’s Swedish waffle-maker.
Give your gym equipment a rest
If your spare room or garage has a treadmill and a few weights in it, then they’ll have to be relocated or, at the very least, moved so they take up as little room as possible. You need your viewers to be able to see the full expanse of the space so that they can visualise their own possessions or reimagine the room as a playroom or study instead.
Make sure there’s nothing too personal on display
File away bank statements or anything else that offers private information about you and your family. School bags, letters from school and employers, utility bills, bank and credit card statements can all give identity thieves vital information. While your estate agent is beyond reproach, of course, you can’t vouch for viewers, so always be cautious.
Bring the place back to neutral
You need to aim for neutral-but-welcoming, ideally. Flowers, neutral prints, posh bubble bath, some nice cushions and plush throws will create a feeling of impersonal comfort. Remove any signs of a hobby, unless it’s something tidy and generic like your guitar and definitely nix anything that could cause offence in any way!
