Seller Tip # 5 – Rearrange and Organize Closets, Cabinets, and the Garage

Okay,   I know you just want your home to sell, but you have to do some work to help that happen!

Organizing your closets, cabinets, kitchen pantry, and the garage can all have a big effect on how fast your home sells!

You say, why, I’ll just declutter and put all this stuff in the closet or out in the garage and it will look great when those potential buyers walk through!

No, wait a minute!  If they have any interest at all, those buyers are going to open cabinet doors, and drawers and open closet doors.   Just think about it.   They want to see how much space there is in those cabinets.  Will their big mixer fit anywhere in the pantry or the kitchen cabinets.  What about those cookie and cake sheets?   Oh and that big Soup pot or Instant Pot.

Are they being nosy?   Well, maybe some people are, but the fact is they want to evaluate the space.

They also form an opinion about the sellers when they open those doors. When everything is neat and organized and not crammed in and disorganized, they feel better about who the sellers are and from whom they would be purchasing the home.   They feel like they care!

Just the same as when they drive up and the yard is a mess, unraked, untrimmed, and the entry doorway is dirty, the driveway is stained, the gutters are overflowing with pine needles and leaves, they get the feeling that the owner doesn’t care and probably hasn’t maintained the home either!   First impressions are important.

Now, all this may not be true of you, but they don’t know you and these are the impressions that will be formed if you don’t take the time to do the following:

Kitchen: Go through the kitchen cabinets and the pantry and weed out unneeded items.  Throw out old items.  If you were going to donate some things or give them away go ahead and do so now, or at least pull them out and box them up.  It there are items that are making the current cabinets overloaded, just thin it all out now.   Wipe out the cabinets and organize what is there so it is neat and shows how much room is available to the potential buyers.  Tighten up loose door knobs or handles.  Make sure all lighting is working.

Bedrooms and Hall Closets:  Straighten up the closets.  Organize toys and shoes and even the hanging clothes.  Don’t have clothes partially on the hangers and partially falling off.  Put shirts together, slacks together, dresses together.  Organize handbags, etc.  Discard old and unused items and pack away extra items that won’t be used prior to your move.   Make space in the closet so the closet appears roomy.   Make sure the doors are on the tracks and have no problem opening and closing.  Lock up any jewelry and other items of value.  Guns should be locked up or taken offsite during showings.

Utility Room/Laundry: Tidy up the cabinets or shelves and wipe down the washer and dryer.  Eliminate excess.

Garage:  Tidy up and organize the garage. Perhaps you don’t use the garage for any of your cars.   Clean it out now.  Get rid of old items that you have been  meaning to trash.   Try to at least make room for one vehicle in the garage.  Hang garden tools and stow away other tools in a tool box.  Once again showing the space as roomy and organized is very important.   Check out Easy Closets Garage Storage Solutions.

All of this organizing is preparation to get your home ready to sell, but it is also prep for your future move.  As mentioned in another article, go ahead and rent a storage unit and take excess items and boxes to the storage unit.   It is just temporary and it will make a huge difference in how quickly your home sells.