Most people know that a decluttered and refreshed home for sale on Oahu will sell quicker and usually for a higher price than Oahu real estate that is not decluttered and staged. And basic staging is not that hard. It is usually well-worth the time and effort. There are numerous shows on HGTV that can show you how to stage Oahu real estate, and to do it on a budget. I typically advise my clients who are selling Oahu real estate to at least de-clutter, and I help with staging if it is desired.
Why not treat your home, this year, as if you were putting it up for sale, even if you are not? Call this a Spa-Day (or week) for your Home. Deep-clean, declutter and use basic staging techniques on your home, for yourself and your family. Get rid of clutter and extra junk that you don’t use or need. Rearrange your furniture to maximize your space. I have some tips for selling Oahu real estate on this website regarding Preparing Oahu Real Estate for Sale. Take a look. While not going to the staging extreme of removing personal items such as photographs and collections, why not make your home more spacious, more beautiful, and more livable in 2013?
I’ve decided to do this for my own Kailua home. I am pretty good at staging other people’s Oahu real estate for sale, but my own piece of Kailua real estate is getting a little bit packed with extras that I really do not need. It will take me about three days, I’ve decided. I don’t need to do much painting or redecorating, so these are the basic steps I will follow:
DAY ONE
1. Start with a clean and picked up house. Get several cardboard boxes or laundry baskets. There should be at least one each for donations, trash and recycling.
2. Do a deep clean of closets and cupboards. Empty your closests and cupboards, one-by-one, room by room, cleaning and dusting them well. Put back only things you need and use.
If you haven’t touched it in a year or two, do you really need it? Start filling you donations box. Get rid of all expired food, toiletries, and medicines. Make a separate boxes for broken items that you intend to fix. Then, actually fix them within the next 48 hours. If you have been keeping things and realistically are never going to fix them, toss/recycle/donate them.
Get rid of old clothes and shoes. (This is my biggest problem.) If you have to lose or gain more than 15 pounds to fit in them, discard. If they fit, but you have not worn them for a year, discard. There are many charities and shelters that would love to receive these items as a donation. If they are particularly valuable items, consider consiging them or selling on e-Bay. Set aside anything that needs mending, but only if you will actually fix it or retain someone else to do it.
This may take more than a day, and perhaps a weekend or more, if you have a lot of closets, but just do one or two at a time and finish completely before you start another, or you may end up with a mess and an unfinished project. If you do this once a year, you should be able to finish quicker each time.
DAY TWO
1. Go through your decorative items, books and plants. Do you have a lot of things on your shelves collecting dust? Get rid of everything that you do not believe is truly beautiful or that does not carry sentimental value. Add it to the donate box. Dead or struggling plants should be discarded, moved or given away to someone with a green thumb.
2. Take a look at how your furniture is arranged. Does it maximize your view? Does it block traffic flow? Move it around and change the look. Are there chairs or tables you never use? Donate them or sell them on Craigslist.org.
3. Take donated items to your favorite charity. Take any larger discarded items to the dump. RECYCLE if possible.
DAY THREE
1. Touch up paint on baseboards and wall/door trim, as needed.
2. Fix broken items around your house that you set aside.
3. Do minor home repairs such as fixing loose doorknobs, towel racks, etc. Change burned out lightbulbs, etc.
T-DA!!!
You will feel like your Oahu home had a spa day and your Oahu home will be much more pleasant for you and your family!