Small things you can do/did that make a difference

[feelingrubbish2023]

House going on the market in 2 weeks, we are spending this weekend trying to fix up any odd things that noticeably need doing and packing up clutter. We have lots of family photos around the house, should these be taken down?

Am off shopping later and planning to get a new front door mat and some new towels and bath mat for the bathroom is it best to go with white or as long as the are all new/match is that ok. My plan is to just put them out for viewings, we can start using them in the new house.

Any other small/relatively inexpensive things I can buy or do?

Clean all the bits you might not normally clean! Skirting boards, right into the corners, window sills, give your window seals a wipe with some anti mould spray, clean your front door and any outside steps. Dust light fittings and the inner bit of your staircase.

Put shoes and coats out of sight if possible. I think family photos are fine as it makes it look more homely, if it looks really sterile it’s sometimes off putting.

Some pots by the front door with daffs can look nice. Clean any green bits in your garden as well. Put any pet bowls/litter trays out of sight. Try not to have any washing drying when you have a viewing (not always possible!)

Everywhere I’ve been recently seems to have candles lit to combat pet smells (I’m an estate agent) but it always ends up smelling a bit weird to me. The best ones just smell clean - like cleaning products.

If all else fails, just think that this week I showed someone round a house which had about 20 dog turds in the garden and the viewer stood in one so you’ll definitely be better than that seller. Good luck!

Don't buy a bath mat. Hide the one you have for viewings.
Probably the same for towels - although if you have a display pile, maybe update. Most places remove all things like that for photos and viewings.

Declutter, declutter, declutter. And then hide the bits that are out you need to use day to day - toasters, sofa blankets etc.

Flowers and plants are the only things I bought.

Clean your windows and open them to air the house.

Hide away any mountains of toys or animal paraphernalia.

Make the floorspace as clear as possible.

Minimal personal items (photos etc) on display.

Hide away most of the bottles in your bathroom. And the loo brush and bleach.

Have a full loo roll on display not a cardboard tube.

Look on YouTube etc at how to stage a bed. Use the items you have and make your bed look neat and 'tucked in'.

Go for minimalism rather than abundance.

Buy a few bunch of daffodils and one bunch of tulips. Split them up into several vases around the house. Use greenery or attractive twigs from your garden.

Yes I would just put all those things away for viewings. We don’t have bath mat or towels on show day to day anyway.

Put everything extra in kitchen that’s possible off the worktops. Otherwise it just looks cluttered and like there’s no room.

Of you have children, get a nice wicker basket with lid for living room or bedrooms to dump any extra toys or bits that make it seem cluttered

Put stuff in the car if u need to hide it.

Get a friend in to check it over because it's hard to see yourself

Ours suggested swapping a couple of pictures around - it really made the entrance look lighter

We got new towels but in colours that went with the bathroom and that we'd carry on using as our old ones had got quite raggy. We also put away a lot of toiletries so the bathroom didn't look as cluttered.

We cleared away children's bath toys and generally decluttered so the house no longer looked so stuffed(!).

Be aware that if you shove stuff into cupboards to get it out of the way, viewers may open cupboards to check the storage - I've had one nearly collapse the contents onto me during a viewing before! We filled the laundry basket with stuff and put it in the car to get it out of the way instead.

Clean really thoroughly!

Ask the agents to take photos at the time when you know the house looks lightest and sunniest.

only chose an agent who puts measurements on the floor plan, not just in the listing

entrance hall very important, I think that viewers imagine:

a) their journey into the house on an average day, where do shoes and coats go etc, so they don’t clutter the hall
b) what their friends will think when they come round

so even if it feels bonkers, flowers on the hall table rather than post / keys / football boots etc

Air the place loads before viewing as everyone's house has it's own scent.

Decluttering as much as possible even if just for photos, and clean ceilings/room edges/doors etc

Take photos yourself and look at them. It's amazing what doesn't stand out to you in real life but is really in focus in a picture.

My pet hate is drawers not closed properly!

I don't iron anything but for photos i would make an effort with certain bed covers. Some photograph better than others so again check this. Better to find out before rather than after.

We have teenagers so luckily no toys around the house etc but their bedrooms are interesting! I have decided to leave them as they are (which will be clean and tidy) but I'm hoping any viewers will be able to see past their wall decoration choices and possessions/stuff!

When I sold I decluttered, tidied and scrubbed so everything was like a show home. I've always thought that stuff everywhere meant no storage.

I even emptied the huge garage because we were downsizing and it only had a few bits we never used.

Open the windows and doors wide before they arrive for at least 15 minutes.

All stinky trainers in a box in the car.

Declutter now....you'll have to do it when you move anyways

You can see past decor and stuff but if somewhere doesn't look tidy it makes me worry about what else they haven't cared about...

I think teenager rooms still need to be decluttered or stuff away ie in a basket.
If I was viewing a family property, I wouldn’t care about teenage decor or posters, or toddler pepper pig murals on the wall. But if the sides were cluttered with teenagers toiletries or stuff I would wonder if that’s because there’s no enough room for storage.

So even teenagers rooms, declutter then have lidded basket to quickly put all bedside stuff or hair and makeup or random collections in and store somewhere

I noticed that all my cushions had seen better days as soon as the photos were taken, so if they wash, wash them, and look to see if they’ve faded/got marks on and consider buying new ones. H&M do nice cheap ones. Get cable tidies or unplug things and hide the wires for photos too.

Clear the windows properly. If you have plastic window frames and the outsides look a bit elderly, scrub them with jif and a pan scourer.

Spray the bathroom and kitchen taps and fittings with Viakal to get rid of any trace of limescale.

Tidy up & prune the front garden. Plant some winter bedding, violas are easy & a few £ from any supermarket but add a bit of colour. Scrub the paving with patio cleaner and a scrubbing brush.

Good luck.

Make the front door and the area around it look smart and welcoming - anyone viewing the house will stand there for a while before they come in, plus people will also do a 'drive by' before they commit to viewing. Inside I agree with pp, declutter and air the place. I always take my own photos as I think I've 'done' a room, then look at it critically. There is usually something that glares at you from a photo that needs tidying or taking out!

@Flangeosaurus do you give that advice to clients? We've had 4 agents round, one pointed out a mark on the ceiling, apart from that they said do nothing - no comments about the light fitting coming down in the kitchen (which we deliberately left to see if they'd comment on it) the marks on the wallpaper etc., kept saying it was a lovely house. Have I had 4 agents too embarrassed to say anything, or do you think that most agents (clearly not yourself) want a sale at any price so condition isn't important?

I would definitely tell clients all of this! I told a youngish man to clean his windows the other day but I’ve been doing it nearly 20 years now so I’m well versed in phrasing things politely. We have an A4 sheet which covers prepping for photos but if I notice something I’ll raise it on the valuation. I really don’t get why there are so many agents who are so bloody timid about it. I will say though there are a great many houses which are totally beyond a bit of a declutter and a good clean and I’m not sure I’d waste my breath in those ones

Definitely clean windows inside and out
Decluttering - be ruthless!! We borrowed a friends spare room and stored loads of stuff there for a month during viewings.
Magic sponge on all woodwork or paint it if you have time
Magic sponge on walls
Some nice houseplants in place of the clutter
Love your new towels suggestion!!
We also laid the table like in magazines so I bought some cheap but classy linen napkins from Dunelm
Bunch of flowers
Lightbulbs all working / full power and make sure all lights are on at the start of all viewings

You want to look spacious, problem free, and airy. So- clean the windows, prune anything blocking light, make sure curtains/blinds are FULLY open. Get rid of ANYTHING on top of cupboards or cluttering sides- you want to look like storage is easy peasy and plentiful. (This may involve putting your “deep storage”
stuff in a storage unit, so your cupboards are free for the stuff that normally hangs about in your house).
You want clear flat surfaces- as your house is so spacious, obvs- so as much floor visible as possible, beds lovely and smooth (and pillows side-by-side to show how wide and broad they are). Weirdly, taking things out of corners can make you think the room is bigger.
Anything that hints at maintenance issues needs dealing with- though suspiciously fresh paint in places where damp could lurk might give the game away, so don’t just paint one wall.
You want people to walk in and think their life will be lovely, easy and comfortable in your home!

I'm always surprised at the very many house listings where the house is OK but the garden is really unkempt and scruffy-looking. I would ensure as a minimum that the grass was mown and the edges trimmed - neat edges make it look a hundred times better than just cutting the grass.

Do basic maintenance: fix any fence panels that look loose or broken. Move pots into groups of three and get rid of any dead plants from last summer (ie not dormant ones, just annuals in pots), obvious big weeds and remove anything like broken pots completely. Don't leave hoses lying on the ground or random toys scattered around.

If you have furniture like a table and chairs set, make sure they're clean and tidy, positioned ready for use. Even at this time of year, if they're presentable then viewers can imagine themselves sitting out in the summer with a glass of something fizzy.

It's not the best time of year for most gardens but it looking neat and tidy says that you are a homeowner who cares for and maintains your property.

Apart from all the decluttering, we were told to hide the tea towels, but leave the fresh ( matching new) towels in the bathroom. We also had a spare duvet with a brand new cover to put in the main bedroom.
Our DSs had left home so their rooms were restored to minimal. I agree about sprucing up the front garden, maybe buy a lovely large planter and decent sized plant for the front door area. My go to was a Fatsia Japonica, easy to look after.

I agree daffodils are perfect inside and out this time of year, nice and colourful but not showy or trying too hard. I did that about this time last year when we were selling

I thought an assorted bowl of fruit on the island worked well too as an alternative to more flowers and a small pot of parsley on the kitchen window sill

I recommend bedspreads on top of your regular duvets to make the bed look neater as i could not manage to smooth the duvet enough

We tidied the garage and made sure places like the airing cupboard and under the stairs cupboard were neatly arranged.

Good luck!

I would clear away most family pictures, make sure kitchen sides are as clear as possible (including tops of cupboards) if you have a coat rack leave just 1 coat a person on it so it's not over flowing. A few colourful pots outside. Make sure front door clean and drive/path weed free.