Selling house - ditch the clutter?

[EustaciaPieface]

Help! We’re about to put our house on the market and the estate agent is coming in to take photos on Sunday.

I have NO idea what to do with all our stuff. Ornaments, books, kitchen utensils, fitness gear, cosmetics etc. Do we hide it all? Hide it for the photos and take some of it out again so we can live while we wait for viewings (fingers crossed). Any advice?

Hide it and bring some back out to live. Our spare room didn't feature in the photos as it was full of random crap.

Thank you @fatandshattered89 , sounds like a plan x

I had stacking containers in my wardrobe room, full of toiletries. I had changed the mirror over our mantlepiece so had a large mirror spare. Was going to get rid but then decided to prop it up in front of the containers.

Looked ok and not too out of place as the wardrobes were mirrored as well.

Viewers must have thought us very vain but the clutter was invisible

Clear everything off the kitchen worktops and hide it in the oven and washing machine.

Remember to take it out again!

Lol Wheredoesthistoilet when I was at a viewing once the vendor said she was leaving the stove, and proudly told me the oven was self-cleaning; she opened the door with a flourish - to reveal all her dirty dishes!!

I bought the house by the way, and had many happy years there :)

Box up most of the ornaments etc and leave them boxed up so you don't have to be moving stuff again for viewings. Keep it minimal so people can picture their own furniture/pictures etc in your house. It will be easier to dust too.

Yes! We had photos done on Monday. The photographer sent a list of suggestions (move all toiletries and towels out of the bathroom, put washing up away, make the beds etc). We really decluttered (photos, phone chargers etc) and it looks a million times better. Only problem is I have no idea where things are now!!

Ha ha, the oven and washing machine would not have crossed my mind!

De clutter!! Make sure it looks like there’s a place for everything and that everything is in its place!! And clean like you have never cleaned before.

We put our house on the market in a hurry (trying to buy another house). For the photographs, we just moved stuff out of the way shifting it from one end of the room to the other.

Then we boxed up loads of stuff and shoved in it the loft, took stuff to the charity shop etc. Luckily we'd had the loft boarded shortly before.

When my friend sold her house she had to take her house rabbit, cage and all, to work on days when there were viewings!

Thanks everyone! I will get tidying and cleaning

I think the general rule is to make the kitchen and bathroom look as though they've never been used.
And remove any family photos from view.

Clear out one kitchen cupboard ( you can use the oven to store baking trays etc, or put food processor etc in the loft). Use this cupboard to hide last minute clutter such as papers for viewings. The car can be good for bulkier things. A friend swears by hiring a storage unit. Also useful for clearing your loft into before moving.

We had a general declutter and then used the freed up shelves in wardrobes and cupboards for our random lying around stuff (like papers)

For visits it was hard as they always seemed to come round when the DC were eating dinner and watching TV, or even needing baths...they missed quite a few baths that week!

Moving house can be a good time to de clutter anyway. We all tend to accumulate junk that “might come in useful again one day” but never does.
My relatives took 9 months to de-clutter a lifetime of possessions from MIL’s large house after she died, before they could even think of having viewings.
We all vowed we wouldn’t do that to our own DC, and went home to start decluttering our own houses!
Good luck with your sale. Most buyers can see the potential, as long as it doesn’t look like the house lacks sufficient storage for basic items. I doubt a few newspapers, or the kids’ dinner, would be too off-putting.

If it's stuff that you want to be using, have all your cosmetics etc and all bathroom stuff in a small plastic crate left out.
Then when you need to tidy up, just lift the single crate and stow it away.

As long as all everyday stuff gets returned to its crate after any use , getting house ready for viewing will be really quick

Everyone gave me loads of advice about painting my entire house neutral and ditching all my stuff.
It is multicoloured, painted gold stars on the ceilings and is filled with bizarre occult stuff and crystals and all my other collections and I had a pagan temple in my garden.
I left it exactly how it was, the viewers loved it and it sold in two weeks.
You just cannot tell tbh.

I cleared the kitchen clutter onto the table, pushed that back against the wall and asked the photographer to take the photo standing in front of the table so it wasn't in the picture.

Thanks everyone, have lived here for twenty years and rented before that so all your ideas are great. We’ve had a painter in which has meant we’ve moved everything out the majority of our rooms. Now we need to be ruthless and throw out what we can and store everything else somewhere behind closed doors. @madcatladyforever your place sounds amazing! We’re very bland in comparison!