10 tips for selling your home.

We are in blown selling/moving mode.

Seriously it sucks to sell.

I cant believe how hard it is to keep my house show ready.

With a dog, a baby and a messy husband its near impossible. 

I feel like all I do is clean, vacuum, do dishes and hide laundry.

Maybe I shouldn't post these tips until after we actually sell but with a lot of research, with a stager coming through our place and with a great realtor we have learned some great tips and tricks to help when you put your house on the market and I wanted to make sure and share with all of you.

#1. DE-CLUTTER. I heard this over and over and just didn't realize how much you should really
de-clutter. I thought having a few cute decorations here and there was fine, hanging a picture on a big empty wall was necessary and leaving soap on the counter was fine. We were told to clean off your kitchen and bathroom counters completely. NOT even soap. Put it under the sink. We were told to take down all pictures. If someone comes through its harder for them to picture their family living there if your family is displayed everywhere. We had a picture of Jesus holding a baby in our hall and we were told to take that down because some people will be deterred from that. They don't all want a picture of Jesus in their home so they might think-- hmm I wouldn't fit into this house.
Tip: I put a basket under every sink to store all the items I use daily and also as a place to toss things when I'm quickly picking up. It looks neat and doesn't leave that space a giant mess.

#2. Dress up your entrance. We have our key box at the back door. We put it there because we had no other place to attach it. I dressed up the front of my house but didn't really think to dress up the back. Well when people come through they are standing at the door waiting for the realtor to open the key box and unlock the door. There is a lot of time for them to get a first impression. Get a new welcome mat, get a potted plant, sweep. Make it a welcoming area.

#3. Paint. I hate painting. Ryan hates painting so this was not something we wanted to do but it was necessary. Our basement was a dark grey. People want to walk into a home and have a clean slate. The majority of our house has neutral colors but the basement and our bedroom have some distinct colors/style. We painted the entire basement white. Its clean. Its fresh. It smell good and its a so much brighter. When we first moved into our house the paint was horrid. We were able to look past it and know we can paint ourselves but some people don't see past what is already there.

#4. Keep Clorox wipes in every room. Okay so maybe not every room but I keep one on every floor. Its great to grab and wipe down every surface, knob, light switch and wall at any given moment. I wash all mirrors and deep clean each room once a week but the wipes are so helpful to keep things up to par every other day.

#5. This might sound weird but make sure your toilets, microwave and fridge is clean. I never thought about these things as being that important but I have been told by several people that these are things that if clean will give a good impression and if dirty can totally deter someone.

#6. Vacuum often. I normally vacuum every other day because I hate pet hair but since we have put our house on the market I vacuum everyday. I think one of the best things to see is vacuum lines in the carpet. Always makes me feel my house is 100x cleaner.

#7. Create a getaway plan. I have a list of things I pick up, pack and ensure is taken care of before we leave the house. My check list includes:
- Pick up Harley's toys and food bowl and put in closet
- Sweep patio
- Turn on every single light and open all shades
- Put baby gear (high chair, bouncer, walker) in back of truck
- Put kitchen garbage can in closet
I go through this check list every time to ensure all these last minute things are done. Everything else I try to keep on top of throughout the day.
I also have things in the car for the dog and Tracker. Water, snacks, toys, blanket to sit on at the park, etc... That way I don't have to worry about grabbing all those little things when I'm running out of the house.

#8. Lights. Turn on every single light and open all window shades. Even if its the middle of the day. Your place will look bigger and brighter with everything open and lights on.

#9. Air Freshener. This one I have mixed reviews on. I have heard from some people to not have any air freshener because people will think you are trying to cover something up. Other people say to have some kind of sent that is like a baked good (cookies, bread, vanilla) I personally love the smell of clean. I use the Greenleaf Classic Linen spray everyday at home so I just continue what I always do with it. I think it just smells clean and is not over powering.

#10. Stage your place. I didn't really understand what this meant for a while. Staging means you stage your house to bring out all the best features, maximize the space and strategically put everything in a certain place. Many times people have to buy all new stuff when they are staging. That is so expensive. I did my best to just utilize everything we had. I moved a lot of stuff around, hung mirrors, brought in some greenery and bought some extra throw pillows. You can hire a professional stager. They really do give awesome tips that will be customized for your home. I think it was so worth having an outside person come through our home. We didn't do everything they suggested mainly because I didn't have the funds to buy  everything but we definitely listened and implemented the majority of what they suggested.


If you are selling-- Good Luck!! Put a link to your place or a place you know of in the comments. That's my bonus suggestion--- Use any situation to spread the word about your place. You never know who might be interested. Maybe by you linking your house on here, someone could be looking for just that exact place!