Selling and Decluttering – The 20% Rule

When selling your home, you will want prospective buyers to think that your closets are big enought for them and their clothes.  It is imperative that your closets not be jammed to the rafters.  I am sure that you have seen those decluttering shows where the person has gone from being unable to see into the closet to having a closet with clothes on hangers and neatly organized.  How on earth did they go from a bazillion items to so little.  Here are a couple of tricks that were used and that you can apply yourself. 

 

  1. You wear only 20% of what is in your closet on a regular basis.  That means that you can safely eliminate 80% of your closet and not go naked in the streets.  In the 80% there may be a couple of items that you have to save for sentimental or celebration reasons but the rest can be given away, sold on consignment, traded with friends (but not for more clothes) or packed until you arrive at your new home and only if you have enough space and a need.
  2. What do you really wear?  Take all your hangers and face the hooks in one direction.  Each time you take something out and return it to the closet after wearing it, face the hanger in the opposite direction.  After a few months, you will see what clothes you never wear – the hangers are still going in the original direction.  These are the items you can give away or sell.
  3. Put your remaining clothes or nice hangers and spread them apart on the rod so there is space.  A Buyer will be so happy to see how big the closet is.

Reduce the 80% to increase the value of your home.

  Valerie Zinger ~ Ottawa Canada ~ 613-723-5300 ~ vzinger@royallepage.ca

Zingers #58 – Nothing runs like a Deer(e)

Are you selling a large piece of property or a tiny postage stamp of a yard.  No matter the yard size, mow the lawn regularly.  If it is the fall then you need to rake and if it is winter, shovel the driveway and sidewalks daily.  If it is really bad weather, you might have to clear snow more than once per day. 

Having the proper yard equipement will make the job easier.

New Publication – 12 Things to Do before Showing Your Home

I completed my list of the top 12 things to do before leaving your house for the day or before a showing.  I also added three others to do throughout the selling period.  The article is available in “My Publications” on the top banner.  I hope you find these informative. 

Valerie Zinger

The Glebe, Ottawa – Six Month Sales Comparison

What happened in the first six months of this year?  Based on MLS®statistics for  residential properties (not including condos), things in the Glebe have been pretty stable:

2008 – 66 units sold at an average price of $604,348 with average DOM of 33.

2009 – 50 units sold at an average price of $589,468 with average DOM of 36.

The Glebe:  Stable, mature and desirable.

Selling and Decluttering – Good Homes

Have you ever cleaned a closet and not been able to part with your ”perfectly good” stuff.  There are always things that we keep even if we are not using them.  Sometimes we cannot part with things until we know that they are going to “good homes” (sort of like the kittens your cat gave you).  In Ottawa, if you are not prepared to sell your stuff, you can call St. Vincent de Paul or Value Village or the local church to see if they will take your stuff to sell or give away.  Here is a personal example.

When my husband and I were leaving Winnipeg for Ottawa, we had no idea if we would be moving to an apartment, a condo or a house.  What we did know was that, wherever we were going to be in Ottawa, it would be smaller than the big house we had in Winnipeg.  We had a basement full of sports equipment – a ping pong table, rowing machine, three hanging punching bags, gloves, pads, a couple of dozen hockey sticks and pucks (from when MDH was a coach); a dozen baseballs and bats and gloves (from MDH’s slow pitch league days), soccer balls and nets, a table hockey game, enough baseball caps for a small stadium of men and so on.  Clearly, this could not be moved, and probably not used, in Ottawa.  I knew of an inner city drop-in centre, called them and they agreed to take our stuff (thinking it would be one box).  After two van loads, enormous smiles from the kids and a letter of thanks from the centre – we were free to move to Ottawa without this stuff.  The best part was that we knew that, even if the kids destroyed the equipment in a month, it was still going to be better used with them than with us.

When decluttering, finding good homes is key.

Photo credit:  Sporting goods @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/loozrboy/3024154654/

Zingers #57 – Clutter in not sexy

Especially any clutter that relates to your private, keep it to yourself (hopefully), sex life.  If you are moving, pack your “toys” yourself.  If your house is for sale, do not leave any of your “supplies” in cabinets or closets where Buyers will look.  If you have a stack of DVDs with raunchy covers and titles put these away or pack early.

If Debbie does Dallas, who is doing your home?

Selling and Decluttering – Suitcases

A fundamental guide in decluttering your space is to find a place for everything and only one place for like things. 

One favourite space hog is suitcases.  Why do people store suitcases in several locations – garage, basement, hall closet, bedroom closets and under the bed.  Start reducing the suitcase space requirements by selling or giving away those suitcases that you never use.  The second step is to put smaller suitcases inside bigger suitcases and stack them in only one spot.  Why?  You can find them when you need them (remember, you will be moving) and they take so much less space when kept together.

Get ready to pack.

Photo credit:  Suitcases @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/malias/160044163/

Valerie Zinger ~ Ottawa Canada ~ 613-723-5300 ~ vzinger@royallepage.ca

 

Zingers #56 – Because I’m worth it

Not only should your real estate person be worth the commission but so should your home be worth the price.  L’Oreal knew how to appeal to the buyer.  Luxury because you are worth it.  Upscale your home with a few things that will appeal to pride of ownership.  Make sure Buyers know that these are part of what makes the house “worth it”.

 Give your Buyer value for money.

Selling and Decluttering – Everything in its place

A fundamental guide in decluttering your space is to find a place for everything and only one place for like things.  For example, do you store toilet paper in the linen closet, in each bathroom and in the basement?  You might want to consider having your bulk storage in only one place and then a couple of rolls in each bathroom.  The theory is that you only know what you have if you can find it. 

The same guideline holds true for storing food.  When you decide to sell your house, start using up your food supply.  Why pay to move it?  Also, the fewer things stored in your home, the more space that appears available.  I recently showed a home where the owners must have owned shares in pasta companies.  There was pasta in several kitchen cupboards, in boxes on the stairs to the basement and in two separate food storage areas in the basement.  Oh wonder of wonders, some containers of pasta seemed to be more decorative in nature than edible.  To my Buyers, the fact that food was being stored everywhere just seemed to say that the kitchen was too small.  You can avoid this negative reaction by reducing your stock and keeping same and similar things together.  

Eat, toss or food bank your surplus.

Photo credit:  Front Dried Calabresi Penne @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/avlxyz/3009654715/

Valerie Zinger ~ Ottawa Canada ~ 613-723-5300 ~ vzinger@royallepage.ca

 

Zingers #55 – Think small

Volkswagon had this slogan and so should you when you are parking cars in your driveway.  Think of a small number like 1.  When Buyers drive by a house for sale and there are 4 cars piled in the driveway, they wonder what is wrong with the garage.

 Small in number and, maybe, small in size.

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