As you are reading this article, take a look to your left and your right, lots of clutter, right? Fear not, everybody has clutter. As noted in previous articles, removing clutter and keeping your house tidy are good habits to have if you intend to sell your home in the future. Naturally, the “classification” of clutter dictates the best method of addressing it. This article will go over the various categories of “clutter” and will address just how to tackle cleaning it up.
Clutter with Sentimental Value
Items that have the same effect as clutter, but mean something to you, are considered sentimental clutter; things like children’s science projects and artwork from school, a poor gift from a great friend, and that strip of pictures from the photo booth at your friend’s wedding are all examples of sentimental clutter. So how do we reduce this type of clutter?
Obviously, you shouldn’t throw out sentimental clutter, it has a value of its own; it doesn’t all need to be out on display at the same time. Grab a few of your favorites and put them out like you would decorations, place the remainder in an easily-accessed storage space so that you can switch things out as the mood strikes you.
Clutter that Causes Pain
This category is a lot like sentimental clutter, except the sentiment that clutter evokes is not a pleasant sentiment; pictures of your wedding post-divorce, notes from your angry child, and letters from a now-deceased parent are examples of painful clutter.
This clutter isn’t necessary, it serves no purpose other than to remind you of something you’d rather not remember. The trash can is a good place for these items, but storage will do. On a related note, everything in your home is a conversation starter, if an item would start a conversation you don’t want to have, don’t leave it out.
Not-Knowing-When-To-Fold Clutter
We all have items in our homes that are expensive, but completely worthless to us. The author of this article has a Roomba at home that is dustier than the remainder of the house; this would be a form of not-knowing-when-to-fold clutter. While it serves no purpose and may get used once or twice because this article was written, it really doesn’t belong; give these things away to people who will actually use them, and free up space in your house.
At the Chernov Team, we deal with many potential sellers in the Encino, Sherman Oaks, and Studio City areas. Part of selling a house is showing the house n its best light, and clutter detracts from that imagery. A such, it is prudent to purge your home of all clutter regularly, so that you are ready to sell your house when the time comes. At the Chernov Team we pride ourselves on understanding all aspects of the real estate market, and this includes the smallest details like clutter. Remember, the devil’s in the details.