Preparing your home for sale

To get things started, there are a few things you can do throughout the entire home that will make it look and feel newer, cleaner, and more inviting.

Clean or replace:

• Light switch and electrical outlet covers
• Fireplace
• Light bulbs (use the highest safe wattage for the lamp / fixture)
• Front door inside and out
• Carpets
• Blinds
• Interior doors and door knobs
• Scrub down or repaint walls to make your home look newer

Making buyers feel comfortable throughout your home will help them to imagine themselves and their family living there. Brightening up dark spaces and de-cluttering are simple and effective ways to help buyers feel welcome while viewing your home.

Make your home inviting:

• Rearrange furniture to maximize your floor space
• Put away all of your figurines, trinkets, gadgets, widgets, and all manner of personal collectables.
• Trim, prune, and water all of your houseplants
• Remove all furniture you can live with out. Your home may look spartan - this is a good thing
• Declutter shelves until only a few books remain, if anything
• De-personalize the home. This is a big one! Remove family photos and replace with neutral art or nature photos
• Remove hanging wall art and limit to one or two pieces per room
• Use floor lamps to brighten up darker spaces
• Avoid scented candles and air fresheners. Instead opt for essential oil diffusers

In the Dining Room, focus on showcasing the shape and size of the room by emptying the room apart from a few critical pieces:

• Ensure the bottom of the chandelier is at least five feet off the floor
• Keep the table clear apart from a small and tasteful centrepiece
• Limit the number of chairs to between 4 and 6 depending on the size of the room. You should be able to walk around the table wthout bumping into chairs
• Remove extra leaves from the table - we want to make the space feel big

The Laundry room is often the least organized in the house with stray socks and long-forgotten garb lying about. You'll get a bit more foregiveness here but if you really want to wow your buyers, a tidy laundry room will imply a tidy lifestyle and a well-kept home.

• By and large, the number one tip for your laundry: put it away!
• Store sops, detergents, dryer sheets and the like in a cupboard
• Keep all surfaces clear and tidy
• If in the basement, use higher wattage bulbs to brighten up the space
• Put all of your clothing away. don't hide it in the machines 
• Keep the floors tidy. Sweep and mop regularly to get rid of dust bunnies and dryer lint tumbleweeds

A bathroom should be one thing above all else: clean. The best thing you can do to make your bathroom look great during showings is to keep it clean and manage dampness after the shower. Keep an old towel handy to mop down the walls and floor after a shower to keep things fresh.

• Clean and clear all surfaces
• At the sink, have only a pump or new bar of hand soap and a clean towel
• Ensure all linens are color-coordinated
• Remove as much as possible from the shower. Get rid of the shower caddy
• Clean or replace the shower curtains
• Clean any moldy or discolored areas around the bath, toilet, and sink
• Re-caulk to make fixtures look new
• Keep the toilet lid down and remove any covers.
• Hide the garbage can, cleaning supplies, plunger, bowl brush
• Organize your cabinets to keep them looking neat. People will open the cabinet and look under the sink.

Let's talk curb appeal. Your front facade is the first thing a potential buyer will see before walking in to your home. Go stand on the street and take a long hard look at your home. Do you see chipped paint, crooked storm shutters, or wilting plants? That will need to be fixed.

• Clean and repaint the front door and garage door if needed. This can go a long way to livening up your home's first impression
• Examine your trim around the garage door, windows, and porch. If it needs repainting, get to it
• Sweep off the porch, walkways, and driveway
• Borrow a pressure washer and clean off the driveway, concrete, and stone
• Give your wooden deck some TLC. Re-stain it if needed
• Clean the windows. Not just the glass but the trim as well
• Set up some patio furniture to show off whatever usable outdoor space you have. Go sparingly