5 Tips To Keep Your House Show-Ready

Putting your property on the real estate market is one of the most stressful times in a person’s life. There are so many things to be mindful of during a real estate transaction. From choosing the right real estate agent to list your home to keeping your house show-ready at a moment’s notice, the to-do list can seem endless during this process. Over the years we’ve gained some knowledge on small things you can do as a seller that will help keep your house show-ready; these should be helpful when a potential buyer wants to tour the property. Here are the top 5 things you can do to help eliminate some stress:

1. Eliminate Breakables & Valuables
   • Remove any and all breakable decor items or valuables throughout the home in prep for putting your property on the market. Why? This will help ensure that any items will not be broken or taken during showings and when you cleaning up you don’t have to spend extra time moving them. Plus, it helps put your mind at ease that nothing will happen to anything that you hold as valuable.
2. Zone Your Kids Items
   • Keep all kids toys in either their rooms or in a designated toy area of the home as this will help do two things:
     1. Make it easier to clean up.
     2. Showcase to the potential buyers that your house is spacious enough to have different rooms/areas for different activities. You don’t want to give the impression that your house is not big enough by having kids toys in the office or workout equipment in the dining room.
3. Get Rid of Trash
   • No one likes to see trash of any kind, especially when you’re looking around at a home. One tip from Vogue.com is to use your extra grocery bags and leave them on door knobs in each room so that you can quickly grab and toss before a showing. This is a great system to ensure that you don’t forget ANY tiny trashcan throughout the house, just use the bags instead.
4. Mobile Storage
   • Pack away things that you do not use often and once you’re down to the necessary items, put them in plastic storage containers as this will help when you do need to get ready for a showing quickly and efficiently.
     • Bonus tip: color coordinate containers for each room, this will help in a quick pinch!
5. Create A Plan
   • Assign each family member a different room or area of the house to clean either daily OR in prep for a showing of your home, this is a great way to divide and conquer the house cleaning.