Selling Your Home? Organize your closets! When most people get ready to sell their home, they think about the roof or the foundation. But if you are still living in the house while potential buyers are doing walk through, there is an area that you may have overlooked that might end up being a deal-breaker.
The Closet.
As odd as it may seem, when people are shopping for a new home, they are imagining what it will be like to live there. If they feel comfortable, then they will probably put in an offer…and cluttered closets don’t make anyone feel cozy. So, it’s up to you to ensure that your buyer feels like they have plenty of room to stow their stuff. To help with this, here are a few tips to make your closets look good.
Plan Out Your Closet Organization
Ideally, you want every closet to look at least 25-50% empty. Look through and see what you might be able to pull out and store somewhere else. Eventually you should have a plan of attack. If this really isn’t your strong area, feel free to hire an organization specialist(yes, they exist) who can help you set your course.
DeClutter Your Closet
Look at what’s in the closet. If you haven’t worn it in the last 2 years, then you’ll probably never put it on again. If something is sitting way in a back corner, buried under other stuff, chances are that you don’t need it. Make a pile of stuff to trash, sell, or donate(which you can write-off on your taxes.)
Organize Your Closets
You can make any space look bigger with the proper organization. A trip to your local home improvement center will give you lots of cost effective options for segmented bins, shelves, or even another hanging bar if you have space for it. All of these are usually relatively cheap and may be the tipping point that gets you the sale.
Hanging Clothes In Your Closet
Over the years, we all tend to collect hangers of different types and colors. If you are selling your home, it’s time for a little OCD. Pick a color and style of hanger (NOT WIRE) and buy enough to rehang everything on the same type of hanger. This might seem like an unnecessary expense, but when presentation is everything, it’s often the details that count. To up the presentation quality, organize your clothes by style and color. This will put your buyer at a subconscious ease since that level of organization is the mark of someone who takes care of the rest of the house too.
Folding Clothes In Your Closet
Keep the tidiness going when it comes to folding your non-hanging clothes as well. There are tutorials and folding aids out there will make you a folding pro and a shelf of neatly folded and organized clothes has the same effect as the organized hanging clothes.
While the closet is usually an “out-of-sight-out-of-mind” sort of place, remember that buyers will be searching through every square inch of your house. It’s easy enough to take a few hours to do a little house cleaning and the effort will pay off in the end!