CHAPTER 6 The 3 Ds
In Chapter 3, “Staging with Purpose,” we examined some of the ways to stage your home so that prospective buyers will be impressed by its spaciousness and can envision themselves living there. Let’s look at some of the more immediate steps you’ll want to take to minimize the accumulation of day-to-day clutter or prepare for an impending home showing. An easy way to keep these steps in mind is to remember them as “The 3 Ds”: Depersonalize, Declutter, and Discard.
DEPERSONALIZE
Staging is readying the home to show to potential buyers; you must encourage them to visualize living in the home itself, but not in your home. Depersonalizing the home involves removing your personal items, such as photos, trophies, and collectibles. Knickknacks and wall decor are also personal taste items that may distract buyers from seeing the home as theirs. It’s not personal, but no one—besides you—will appreciate your beer can collection, antique kitchen accessories, overstuffed closets, VHS/ CD/DVD/vinyl record collections, and general clutter. Simplify and neutralize your home as if it were a model home in a new housing development, because that’s exactly what it is while it’s on the market. Pack and store your treasured items out of sight. Consider monthly rented storage units until your home sells. Make your home a clean, welcoming, blank canvas upon which any buyer can visually paint their own dreams. It will not feel like your home while you show the home, but once you sell and move into your next place, you can decorate that home 54
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