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Original poster

Putting our messy house on the market

75 replies

reallyneedmoresleep · 07/04/2021 08:58

Aarrggghhhh! We are a family of 6 and we are about to try to sell our house. After a week of frantic tidying and shoving stuff in the loft & garage the estate agent’s came round, gave us our valuations and suggested we “tidy up a bit”.
What can we do? We have to live here. I have bags in the car ready to go to the charity shops as soon as they reopen. Any miracle tips?

OP posts:

weareallpassengers · 07/04/2021 09:00

facebook and freecycle/freegle are great for de cluttering

AaronPurr · 07/04/2021 09:02

Put boxes of toys, games books etc outside and post on your local facebook that it's free to a good home.

Timeforabiscuit · 07/04/2021 09:03

Go through the charity shop stuff and if it's less than perfect condition then take it down the tip.

You've had your use out of it, and need it out of your house.

Are there any large items of furniture you can get rid of?

Gerbi1 · 07/04/2021 09:04

I put a load of stuff in big yellow storage

doctorhamster · 07/04/2021 09:05

Does it look very cluttered? Have you got a friend or family member with garage/loft space they would be willing to let you use?

StylishMummy · 07/04/2021 09:05

Buy more storage - we bought a bookcase for £10 off Facebook marketplace and it housed so much junk we didn't need day to day, looked much better in the photos. People are buying the shell of the house and need to be able to see it clearly

SleepingStandingUp · 07/04/2021 09:05

If you need it all for the new house, is there stuff you could put into a storage container short term?

CMOTDibbler · 07/04/2021 09:06

Hire a self storage unit - that gives you space to box up all your winter clothes, holiday stuff, christmas decs, diy equipment you don't need super frequently, books, stuff in the loft and so on, freeing up space to put what you do need on a day to day basis away neatly.
Then ask the kids to halve (or more) the amount of toys/games in their rooms for the interim and put all that in the unit. Do the same with kitchen stuff - the popcorn maker/ toastie grill/spare mugs/ posh dinner service/ birthday cake tins can all be stored and as a bonus you'll have packed them already.
Remember you can always go and swap things over if you need to

Notoriouslynotnotious · 07/04/2021 09:08

Dump stuff in a tip. Hire a container, we did this for a renovation and it worked great. I think it is perfect reasonable/understandable to live a bit on the messy side especially with a family of 6 but it will put off buyers. Pare things right back to give your buyers the best chance of seeing the house for what it is.

gamerchick · 07/04/2021 09:11

Definitely storage unit. Store all those things and furniture you can do without for noe. Better than shoving it all in the loft where it al has to come out again.

ByTheStarryNight · 07/04/2021 09:13

It's easy not to see your own clutter, but to fresh eyes it's obvious. If you really can't dispose of any more stuff because all of it is essential to keep, can you box it up now and rent a local storage unit?

Elieza · 07/04/2021 09:14

Go through the charity bags and put any clothing belts shoes and handbags into smaller bags and take them to a charity collection skip container thing, you know the ones I mean, metal with a pull down flap in the front. You can’t fit a stuffed bun bag in though, I had to decant into smaller bags/half full the bin bags.

We have the container things at the local Asda and the tip. They don’t take toys books ornaments or games up here though so you’d need to do something else with those.

weareallpassengers · 07/04/2021 09:15

Don't buy more storage. The answer to clutter is less storage. more storage and you will just get more clutter. take the opportunity to de clutter and don't take it to the new house

AaronPurr · 07/04/2021 09:18

@weareallpassengers

Don't buy more storage. The answer to clutter is less storage. more storage and you will just get more clutter. take the opportunity to de clutter and don't take it to the new house

I definitely agree with this. If you buy or rent a storage unit it will be out of sight and easy to forget about. If it's clutter and you want rid then charity shops, freecycle, facebook as a free to collect ad etc is the way forward.

BruceAndNosh · 07/04/2021 09:19

Be ruthless.
When it's time to move, do you REALLY want to pack, carry and unpack everything in your house?
I have really pruned down the amount of Stuff in my house over the last year or so and it is so relaxing to live in now.

Spudbyanyothername · 07/04/2021 09:20

Go through your stuff again and recycle as much as possible. You’ll be glad of this when you get round to moving.

Constance11 · 07/04/2021 09:20

Hire a storage unit temporarily, it might be a bit pricey but if it helps with your sale then it will be worth it. An EA knows what buyers will and wont overlook so if they have told you tidy up then you'd better do so :) Good luck!

SleepingStandingUp · 07/04/2021 09:24

Re don't store, just get rid - with presumably four children, it isn't as simple as just getting rid of anything that doesn't fit tidily on the old home if they're moving into a new house with more space. Yes absolutely filter it and clear clutter, junk etc but presumably if op wanted to live a minimalist life where the kids have 2 toys each, she wouldn't be in this situation

AfternoonToffee · 07/04/2021 09:25

You need to go back through your stuff again, everything you move to the new property you will in effect pay to move. Be honest, do you actually need to keep every item. Getting rid of stuff is a major issue at present, but doorstep charity bags, and free pages are the way forward at present, there is no saying charity shops will even be accepting donations for a while.

stevematekatemate · 07/04/2021 09:29

Without outing yourself can you take some photos of your house and post them. We can then give you ideas on what to move and change. This might help?

Couchbettato · 07/04/2021 09:33

I'd pack every one a bag to live out of, and bung the rest in a cheap storage unit for a couple of days.

Make sure there are no non-essentials on countertops. Microwave and kettle, yes. George foreman and Tassimo pod machine, no.

Only things on tables that are ornamental (or ornamental and functional), not just purely functional as functional alone never really looks pretty.

Shoes, coats and bags can't be seen.

Everything has a home.

Ohdoleavemealone · 07/04/2021 09:35

Get a skip. This is what I want to do as it isn't worth the hassle of charity shops/facebook which are overflowing with crap people have spent the last year sorting through.

Jellycatspyjamas · 07/04/2021 09:36

If you’ve got clothes for the charity shop there are some recycling bins (like bottle banks but for clothes), you could take the clothes there, our supermarket has a couple of them which are open again in the car park. I’d echo getting a storage unit if it’s stuff you want in the new house - paying for the storage will focus your mind on what you want to keep and what can be skipped.

I’d also clear kitchen worktops and bathrooms of appliances eg toaster, food mixer type things and out toiletries out if sight in a bathroom cabinet or some such. Look at each of the rooms and look for things that don’t have a place, either bin or store them.

Books and cds can be boxed away, toys on shelves or storage. Also look at where your tv is, are there lots of consoles etc which look messy with messy wiring? Get some cable tidies and keep remote controls etc in one place.

It can be difficult to see your own stuff and I imagine 6 of you results in lots of stuff which you’re used to seeing around. I have 2 kids and my house would need a good sort through if we were selling, you’re not alone in this.

BluTangClan · 07/04/2021 09:37

I echo the advice on self storage (big yellow, safestore etc).
Some neighbours of ours (2 kids 1dog) put their house on the market and I couldn't believe how little stuff they had in their house.
I think they stuck it all in their double garage as there were no pictures of inside the garage.
Put some furniture in storage as well. It takes up a lot more room than you think.
If viewers do realise there's no wardrobes in the kids bedrooms or not enough seating in the living room, they don't actually realise how much space these take up when they're actually in the room.

I think it gives people the (unrealistic) impression that they can live with that little clutter/ furniture too if they move into your house, which reflects positively on you/your house.

Youngatheart00 · 07/04/2021 09:37

I’m normally one for recycle / reuse / give to charity but in this situation you need a quick fix to declutter for your EA photos and viewings.

So I’d say rent a storage unit short term (1-2 months) - put as much as you can in there (you’ll be surprised how much they store but remember you’ll want to be able get in there too!). Then sort it out from there - trips to the tip or sorting for charity from within the storage unit.

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