Make piles.
It may not sound very organized, but sometimes the best path to a neat home is through a messy one. Once you’ve taken a good, detached look at the house, start sorting its contents into piles. Piles should be organized as the seller clears each room. The value, appeal, and aesthetic of each item should be considered. Items that you don’t want the prospective buyer to see during staging should be set aside; those you intend to keep should be recorded.
Have a spreadsheet.
Keeping some written notes makes the whole process a great deal easier and less stressful. Make a list of rooms that require organization, and catalogue their contents into different priorities to get a good, quantitative sense of what must stay and what must go. This will be very helpful as you proceed. It will also help with prioritizing expenses, like new staging elements to add, areas in need of paint, and other small home improvement notes.
Empty closets.
Before staging a home, it is advisable that sellers’ closets should be emptied and cleaned. Any unused items in the wardrobes should be properly disposed of, either temporarily or—if the “Spring Cleaning” mood strikes you—more permanently. This helps the buyer see how much space they have to work with, and lets them envision filling it with their own possessions.
Clear off bookcases and counters.
Since most reading can be done electronically now, clear off books that will not be reread; as with the closets, this will emphasize the available space to potential buyers. Add some decorative items to keep the home sparkling and attractive, rather than sterile. A
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