My house is going on the market next week

[Truelymadlysleepy]

Can I have an idiots guide as to what's important.
Trying to declutter today, but space is a premium. Would one box room filled with junk treasures be better than having it spread round the house?

Do I need to buy flowers for the photos?

DH is tidying to front garden.

Any hot tips?

Erm you need to hide the clutter???

Get rid of as much as possible, pack eveyrthing into boxes and hide in loft/shed/wardrobes/under bed?

I'm listening. Shed it is.

Yes to decluttering but no to removing everything that it looks soulless. Also make sure each room has a defined use, so box room full of junk is not selling the property to others. Walk around the house looking for any repair jobs you usually don't see as you've lived there for so long e.g. peeling wallpaper, badly hung curtains, quick lick of paint if it is overly stained/marked. Think about any storage (for example if you have suitcases jammed on top of wardrobes you think its tidy and it screams "we have no space'; ditto stuff jammed under bed). Good luck!

We used hhe shed! And it was all boxed up, too, so when we did move, it reduced packing time massively. And we hired a skip and cathartically threw out loads if stuff as we did it.

Yes the stuff under the bed cannot be visible and yes to dressing the rooms for a specific purpse - a bedroom need a bed in it etc.

Decluttering shelving units etc does help.

A very thorough clean too!

Friends of ours used to fill their car for viewings

I plan on getting a container type thing at these rental places and putting all my excess in there.

Don't put it in cupboards, viewer will look.

Yes forgot to say it is not good jamming all the cupboards so when the prospective purchaser has a nosy stuff falls out. They DO look! And absolutely yes to an enormous and wonderful clean. Especially if you have pets/children!

Kerb appeal. Get rid of any dead hanging baskets etc, nice clean front door etc.

Nothing to add to the the good advice about getting the house ready but for photos and viewings clear the kitchen worktops as much as possible, chuck bleach down the loos and sinks, empty bins, get rid of pet bowls / litter trays, turn the heating on so the house feels warm and if you have energy saving light bulbs, turn the lights on ten minutes before to allow the bulbs time to warm up so the house looks light and bright.

Sparkling clean windows in and out.

Very clean bathroom/s with clutter removed from there also.

It's only a little thing, but if possible, put the animals out. Only if possible! My mum used to send my brother and I out to walk the dog and put the cat out when she was showing a house! And the hamster was decamped to the car!

Make sure it smells nice and looks clean. Esp kitchen and bathroom.

De clutter. I hate having to climb round furniture and toys,

Make sure if it is daytime that the curtains are open. This plus point above equals disaster.

Make sure there is full light available - we went round a light filled home apparently but it was glommy estate agents blamed tenants for window covering choices but we still said no

This is what i can remember from viewing last time

Ps put knickers away - i know it is clean washing but

clutter says 'not enough storage'. Lose it.
finish off outstanding DIY jobs. That includes in cupboards; I opened an airing cupboard (to see size of tank etc) to find a screwdriver jammed in a valve to hold it open. This does not shout 'competent works done here'
kerb appeal - tidy, grass cut.
clean it.

remove any evidence of pets or smoking.

Declutter, clean and a nice air freshener!

One small thing that winds me up as I look through photo's of houses on the market and that is....the damned toilet lid open or worse still, the toilet seat up. It just says to me "someone just had a wee" and I hate it!

When they come to take pictures take all the stuff like toothbrushes and shampoo bottles off the sides in the bathroom, same with the kitchen - put everything away - bits and pieces make the photos look really messy.

When people view make sure it is clean, we have just bought a house and the state of some of the things we have seen is shocking.

Def de clutter- especially toys. My pet hate is toys on view when not being used so I would want to see there is enough space for storing them. Buy some wicker storage baskets with lids or similar

Also kitchen storage - put away any coffee machines/ blenders/ grilling machines so they aren't taking up surface space.

Def take stuff to charity shop or dump if not needed as no point moving rubbish as next home will be the same

This is so useful thank you. My boot is loaded to go to the tip, where did all this junk come from??

Will definitely put everyday items away, it hadn't occurred to me