Why You Need to Get Rid of Personal Items When Staging Your Centerville Home

Preparations for selling your home include a set of three important steps: deep clean, declutter, and depersonalize. While deep cleaning and decluttering the home are quite self-explanatory, depersonalizing isn’t nearly as intuitive. What does it mean? In short, when you depersonalize a space, you neutralize it. You remove the personal touches and effects that identify the home as distinctly yours and instead revert it to a “blank slate” for the next family.

The goal of depersonalizing your home is simple – to allow buyers to envision themselves living in the space, thus cultivating an emotional attachment to the property. If buyers can imagine their families living in your house, this will ultimately benefit your chances of a successful sale and increase the likelihood that you’ll sell your home in less time.

Of course, you don’t want your house to be completely empty. Buyers don’t want rooms full of your family’s memorabilia, but they don’t want the rooms to be stale and devoid of life, either. Balance and neutrality are key. You want to capitalize on the potential your property has to be transformed into the perfect home for the buyer.

This guide contains several useful tips on which personal items you should remove and how you can preserve your home’s charm and appeal. This will set your home up for success on the Centerville real estate market.

The first step is to start by taking a close look at the items and decorations in your home. Anything that’s too personal and distinctive has to go.

Taking care of the wall decorations is by far the most straightforward. Family photos, degrees and certificates, religious items, and even sports-related objects should be removed. Paintings, clocks, and mirrors are generally acceptable and can be used to enhance the ambiance. After all, you don’t want your walls to be completely bare and boring.

As for wallpaper and upholstery, you want to opt for neutral colors with minimal to no patterning. The less patterning, the less distracting. If you already have neutral wallpaper, make sure it’s in good condition. Replace any old wallpaper that might be peeling or showing signs of age.

If your walls are painted, once again, you should opt for neutral colors. Apply a fresh coat of paint as needed.

The color palette of the room isn’t restricted to just the walls. Every room as a whole should have a neutral, traditional color palette, but don’t think you have to resort to white and beige for everything. Light shades of blue, green, and even red are still pleasing to the eye without coming off as too outlandish. The color palette should be warm and inviting and not overwhelming.

This category includes your personal collections, such as books, magazines, board games, hobby materials, and more. While a general rule is to store these collections away while your home is being shown, some are acceptable and can be used as decoration for bookshelves. For example, a collection of encyclopedias or a couple of food magazines would make a good addition to a room.

Your floors should also be neutralized. Opt for neutral-colored carpets or rugs, and make sure they’re clean and in favorable condition. Replace broken or brightly colored tile flooring if possible. To increase your home’s appeal, a simple welcome mat at the front door is simple but effective.

There are four major rooms to focus on when depersonalizing your home: the living room, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom.

The living room is almost always the first room buyers see when touring your home. As mentioned above, remove personal photos and objects, and settle for neutral, welcoming decor. Potted plants and simple art pieces go a long way in transforming a living room into a space people actually want to live in.

Since kitchens are one of the most used rooms in the house, your kitchen needs to make a good first impression on buyers. Remove magnets and pinned photos, and store away small kitchen appliances. Don’t leave any food out in the open. If you have baby stuff like cups and bottles, put those away, too.

All bedrooms should receive extra care and attention during the depersonalization process. Store all personal effects, put away clothes, and consider replacing the bedding, especially in children’s bedrooms. You want to create a cozy and comfortable atmosphere.

Much like the bedroom, the bathroom is another deeply personal, intimate space. Personal hygiene products should be immediately removed from plain view, with medicine cabinets emptied out. Add a fresh bottle or bar of soap and a few clean towels, preferably new ones, to make your buyers feel more at home already.

Don’t forget to neutralize your outdoors! When searching for Centerville homes for sale, buyers will always see the outside of your home first. You want the exterior of your home to set the stage with elegance and beauty.

Curb appeal is the immediate exterior of your home that buyers first see when they browse photos. Remove decorations like bright pink flamingos, ceramics, doghouses, memorials, flags and signposts, and other things that buyers may not take kindly to. In the case of holiday decorations, go for a minimal holiday look, with nothing too extravagant.

You don’t need fancy flowers or animal-shaped shrubs to increase your home’s landscaping appeal. A freshly trimmed and manicured lawn free of weeds, clean sidewalks without foliage growing over, and a tidy, welcoming porch (if applicable) is more than enough.

A few other ways you can neutralize the exterior and increase the property’s appeal are to clean the windows and siding, apply a fresh coat of paint on your door, and keep the curb and street in front of your home free of litter and leaves. If you have children, keep outdoor tools and playsets out of view. If you have pets, you’ll want to keep their toys and belongings out of sight as well.

Another great way to properly depersonalize your home without robbing it of its distinct charm is by consulting an expert real estate agent, preferably one with experience in interior design. Juliet Victoria Wenzler of The Wenzler Concierge Group is a second-generation Realtor® with proven experience in Centerville real estate. She has a true passion for interior design, distinguishing her as a great agent to rely on. When you’re ready to begin preparing your home for sale, reach out to Juliet to get started! She’ll provide you with sound advice and the finest service in real estate.

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