by StagedUpCOFinding the Balance in Decluttering
We mention clutter and people start nervous laughing. Most people are aware of their clutter, but some have a really hard time thinking about their loved and cherished belongings as clutter. And what about the sellers who plan on being moved out before showings? Obviously they don’t have clutter right?
Wrong! Clutter isn’t just papers and magazines piled up, it’s not just too much furniture or closets busting at their seems – it’s too much of anything that doesn’t give the eye visual rest, including stark empty rooms with nowhere to land their attention.
As humans, when we enter a space we’ve never been in, we are wired in those first nanoseconds to subconsciously check to make sure we’re safe. When initially checking our environment, our superconductor brain is taking in all the little things surrounding us. After we know we’re safe, our brain then reminds our vision to go back and check out those things it initially glanced over. If you have too much stuff around, your brain is making you go back and check out all of those little things across the room and that can be overwhelming. If we take all of those little things across a room and condense them in meaningful ways, it gives the eyes, and brain, a visual resting spot.
It is always so incredibly important to let a seller know their house is perfect the way it is, as their home. When we come in it is our job to point out little things that can help make emotional shifts to the buyers. The necessity of needing to stage isn’t a reflection on the homeowner, rather it’s just a tool that helps make their asset go to work for them. Homes staged before going on the market sell in 90% less time – it’s truly about making the return on investment as big as possible in the shortest amount of time.
Remember the seller’s necessary shift in mentality we discussed last week – moving from “this is my home” to “my asset” to “how can I make this asset work for me?” – staging sets up your home so any buyer can walk in, know each space’s purpose, give an idea of how things fit in rooms, and in our case, as a psychological staging company, give a sense of calm that allows a buyer to feel safe and give them visual rest as they navigate your property.
Three Tips for Decluttering
- Remove excess furniture – you don’t need display pieces when selling your home, just the basics will give purpose and maximize space
- Walk through your home and note the “draw walls” vs “dead walls” – the only walls that need art are the ones that immediately pull you into a room, and remember bigger art is always better
- Not every surface needs decor – focus accessories in triptychs and vignettes