What do you do when your Realtor calls, saying they want to show your home in 30 minutes?
First, celebrate – someone wants to see YOUR home! Then, panic. As you hang up, you notice the usual chaos from your teenagers… your house is clean, just not tidy. What now?
First impressions matter, especially when selling your home. So, we’ve got some tips for quickly hiding “stuff.” But first, you need to know where buyers will look and keep those spots tidy at all times.
Buyers often check the oven, closets, kitchen drawers, laundry room, and pantry. These spaces give an idea of available storage.
If they’re crammed full, buyers might think there’s not enough space for their things, as you’re already short on storage.
For a refresher on preparing your home, refer to our book “How To Sell Your House For Top Dollar Fast”.
Don’t undo your efforts by cramming clutter into these spaces at the last minute, no matter how tempting!
So… Where can you hide things last minute?
1
Under the bed
There’s lots of room, it’s easy to access, and no one’s likely to get down on their hands and knees to look during their first visit. Plus, the kids probably already stash things there, so they can help!2
In the washer and dryer
We don’t recommend hiding pets here, but clothes, shoes, and other items will fit. Buyers may glance at the laundry room to assess its size, but they’re not checking for hidden items. Just be sure to tell everyone in the house to check the machines before starting them!3
In the refrigerator
Risky, yes – especially with kids constantly in and out. Imagine a shoe falling out! But if you’ve just brought in groceries, stashing the bags inside the fridge temporarily is a quick fix until you can put them away properly.4
Behind the couch
If it’s against the wall, it’s perfect. Things get stuck back there anyway, so it’s a convenient spot for quick clean-ups like toys or socks.5
In the trunk of your car
Your garage or carport should be tidy too. If it’s not garbage day but you have bags piling up, toss them in the trunk along with items like skateboards. No one’s checking your car, so take advantage!
Here’s a quick story…
My mother-in-law, being naturally organized, has closets with clothes sorted by colour, linen closets with towels and sheets stacked neatly, and pantry jars with labels facing forward like a grocery store.
This might seem over the top, but when she sold her home, one buyer said they’d purchase it based on the state of her closets alone!
They figured if she paid that much attention to detail in her closets, she must have cared for the rest of the home similarly.
Spend a Little, Get a Lot
✅ To clean brass plates and doorknobs, apply a thin coat of window cleaner with a soft cloth, let dry and rub lightly to polish. This will keep brass tarnish-free for months.
✅ To clean bricks, squeeze a bit of denture cream onto a wet toothbrush and scrub the grout. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.
✅ Nail polish remover is an inexpensive cleaner for chrome decorations and knobs on stoves, ovens and appliances. Apply with a cloth and rinse well with water.
✅ To clean a fireplace screen, vacuum off the dust, and scrub the screen with a sponge and sudsy water. When dry, brush the screen with a coat of self-polishing floor wax.
✅ To rid your oven of odour after cleaning, place orange peelings on a rack inside the oven. Turn the oven to 350 degrees and let the citrus smell fill the room.
✅ Use degreaser and a razor blade to make basement windows crystal clear.
✅ Remember to put away valuables while showing your home. Expensive jewelry belongs in a safe deposit box.
✅ Have long stemmed artificial flowers to pack? Ask your local florist for a couple of boxes wholesalers use to deliver fresh flowers to florists.
How To Avoid The Most Expensive Mistakes Smart People Make When They Sell A Home…
Mistake #8: Refusing to Make Cosmetic Changes.
The prospective home buyer’s first impression is the most important. Hundreds or thousands of home sales have been lost to unkempt lawns, cluttered rooms, bad stains, unpleasant odours… all the seemingly little things. Imagine you were the home buyer and clean your place from top to bottom… just like you’d like to find it.
Want early access to serious buyers?
If you’re going to be moving in the next six months, what you might not realize is that there are a significant number of buyers searching for homes like yours.
In fact, for every buyer actively viewing homes right now, there are 5-10 more about to begin their search, or eagerly waiting for the perfect property to come up.
If you’re interested in getting a head start on finding a buyer for your home, leave us some details below… We’ll see if we can find a match!
Want to know what your home is worth?
Before you put your house on the market, you need to find out how much it’s worth in today’s market, so you can make your plans based on the most current information available.
We can prepare a detailed Pin-Point Price Analysis for you that shows the most current market activity in your area for homes like yours, and we can recommend an optimal marketing price range that will give you the best odds of selling quickly – and for top dollar!