Selling

Household Hints


Spring Cleaning And Make-ready Not So Different

by Blanche Evans

If you've ever had to take over tidying a home to get it ready for a showing or an open house, you already know how challenging it is for sellers to get a home ready for sale and keep it that way.

While it certainly seems easier to just bulldoze many homes and start over, a major clean-up makes most homes look fairly attractive and presentable.

The idea is to get buyers to look at the home, without being distracted by clutter, smells, and other horrors.

Unfortunately, that clutter and those smells are often unnoticed by your sellers, so you have to make a specific list of things they should do to make their make-ready tasks easier. Tell them it's time to spring-clean, and help them organize ways to do it.

What might using the term spring cleaning work? It conveys a fresh start. It's work the seller might have done anyway, should he ever get around to it.

You have to help sellers focus on the fact that before they move to that bigger home or that snazzy townhouse, they have to organize what to throw away and what to clean, just like anyone does while spring cleaning. And there are only three ways to do it: keep it, donate it or throw it away.

Why not sell it? Conventional wisdom suggests that encouraging a seller to have a garage sale will appeal to their entrepreneurial side and need for cash. All it really does is give them something else to organize, which could still leave them with a lot of junk to donate, give away or throw away. A garage sale can also delay getting the home on the market as your seller waits for the right weekend, the right weather, etc. So, don't waste your time or theirs. If they do want to sell stuff, that's their business, but don't suggest it.

Here are some tips you can share with your sellers to help them get organized:


Start with the new place in mind

If you are going to downsize, redecorate, or make other big changes, you will have a lot of stuff you don't need or want anymore. This will help you organize items into your three useful categories: keep, donate, throw away.

Ask yourself as you handle each item in your home from old clothing to tabletop nim-nims, do you really picture that item in your new home? Is there a place for it? Isn't the move a perfect excuse to get rid of Aunt Betsy's cross-stitch sampler "Work Is A Virtue"?


Eat an elephant a bite at a time

Start with your least favorite, or messiest room. Start with a list that you can go through systematically, like: tabletops, closets, under the bed. That way each one can be checked off with a satisfying flourish as you make progress.

Clear all tabletops first, using your keep, donate or throw away rule. Next, clean out the closets, and so on. Throw away as you go along by actually taking bags of trash to the dumpster. That way you won't be tempted to keep things that should be ditched.

Nothing worse that guilt-jerking inanimate objects, anyway. Don't you have enough relatives to do this?


Ask yourself, "Do I want to pay someone $25 to move this?"

This question is enormous help when weighing sentimental items, or items you think you might need but don't use very often.

By the time movers calculate the number of floors they are moving you in and out of, the size of your rooms, weight of your furniture, and the number of boxes you'll be packing away, $25 per item may not be that far off the mark. Little things add up to boxes and boxes add up to labor. You want to move as few boxes of belongings as comfortably possible.

You'll be surprised at how much you own that isn't worth $25.


Use the one-year rule to get rid of clutter

It's hard to predict what you are going to need, but it's very safe to assume that if you haven't worn an article of clothing, or read that paperback in a year, that no harm will come to give it away or throw it out.

Ignore Murphy's other law that as soon as you throw it out, you'll need it. Murphy will hit you with "what can go wrong, will go wrong," anyway.


Leave little or nothing on tabletops or counters

It may take some time, but you can get used to clean counter and tabletops. Train yourself to throw out junk mail and old newspapers and magazines. You'll be surprised at how liberating it is.


Pretend you're a spy; no personal possessions to be left sitting out

The assassin from M.O.V.E. has found your lair - or did he? Leave no personal photos or mementoes sitting out, and he'll never know. Personal possessions are a distraction for buyers. Don't give them unnecessary information. Need to know basis, only, eh, Bond?


Clean thoroughly

That means windows, doorways, and other cobweb traps, and you're done.

So how is it that make ready is like spring cleaning? They're identical. The only difference is in make ready, you add repairs. When the repairs are done, the house is ready to present to the world.

Sometimes all a seller needs is a plan and some encouragement along the way.

Published: April 1, 2004

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Cleaning Tips and Household Hints

These are hints only. It is the responsibility of the User to make his/her own assessment regarding the suitability of the information.

Stale Carpet Odor - Put baking soda into a flour sifter and then sprinkle the carpet with the flour. Leave overnight and then vacuum.

Cleaning Mini-Blinds - Place a clean sock on each hand. Dip your one hand into warm, soapy water and then rub each blind slat until the whole surface is clean. Dry the blind slats with the dry sock on the other hand.

Curtains and Curtain Rods - Before putting curtains on a metal curtain rod, place the end of the rod inside a plastic freezer bag. This prevents the curtains from snagging on the metal when you begin slipping them onto the rod.

Refrigerator Odors - Pour a little pure vanilla on a cotton ball and sit it in a small saucer. Place the saucer in the refrigerator to remove odors.

Broken Light Bulbs In Sockets - Turn off power to a ceiling / wall fixture, or unplug the lamp. Insert a potato into the socket and turn counterclockwise to loosen the remnants of the broken light bulb.

Washing Knick-Knacks - Gather them unto a tray for safe transport. Wash in a dishpan with a little liquid detergent. Rinse, then blow-dry with a hair dryer.

Cleaning The Fireplace - Mist the ashes with water from a spray bottle. This will keep the ashes from scattering when you go to clean them from the grate.

Polishing Chrome - Dampen chrome with water. Polish with a small sheet of aluminum foil – shiny side out.

Polishing Furniture - Spraying polish directly onto furniture leaves smears. First, spray polish onto a cloth and then polish your furniture.

Squeaky Wooden Floors - Dust talcum powder into the cracks to stop the squeaking.

Furniture Scratches - Scratches can be filled on light wood by rubbing with the meat of a walnut or pecan.

Cleaning Windows - Use vertical strokes on the outside and horizontal strokes on the inside. This makes it easier to see which side has streaks.

Sticky Drawers - Rub a bar of hand soap across the runners. Drawers should then glide easily.

Wax Crayon on Painted Walls - Spray with WD40 and then wipe clean. Dish soap will remove any traces of WD40 left on the walls.

Avoid Painting Fixtures - Cover hinges and door handles with petroleum jelly. Paint will not stick to this.

Visualize Your Room Color - Before painting a room, purchase the smallest amount of the new color and paint a piece of posterboard. Place this in the room and see how the color reacts to the day and evening light.

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Home Decoration

Good taste is expensive, right? Whether you're a first-time apartment-renter fresh out of college, newly single, a single parent on a budget or you're simply not Rockefeller, trying to make your home resemble the pages of House Beautiful can be a sobering experience. Window-shopping often is discouraging, as you realize that walking into a showroom and saying "I'll take that" is an impossible dream. Being on a budget doesn't mean that you have to resort to orange crates, cinder blocks and plastic dorm-room cubes, however. Indeed, there are bargains to be found, and here's where the fun begins. All it takes is a sense of adventure -- and a little advance planning.

First, take a look at your living space, whether it's a cookie-cutter apartment, condominium or a single-family home. What is your favorite part of your home? (Saying that you don't have a favorite part is not an answer.) Is it a large window that lets in the morning light? A window seat? A garden window? Some built-in shelves? You'll want to capitalize on this and make it the focal point of that room. If it's the shelves, for example, you'll want to be on the look-out for some interesting objects d'art. And they don't have to cost you an arm and a leg, either. By the same token, if you've been hanging on to something that you don't like simply because you felt you didn't have any other options due to budgetary constraints, get rid of it if you can. If you can't, can you hide it? Enhance it? How about selling it and using the money toward what you really want?

Next, head to your library or book store. If your library has a used magazine sale (many libraries take magazine donations and then sell them for $.10 or $.25, for example), buy yourself a stack of decorating publications. Peruse them, and clip pictures of rooms and design elements that you like.

Do you see some paint in a magazine photograph that you like? Clip that, too.

Compile everything in one place, whether it's a photo album or photo box, and write the name of each room on the appropriate clippings. When you're on the hunt for items for a particular room in your home, bring the clippings with you.

Before you begin purchasing anything, think about your intended purpose for each room in your home. Do you want your home to be a soothing contrast to your stressful job?

Muted colors and neutrals will be your best bet. Or do you want to feel energized by your surroundings? Then you might want to consider brighter and bolder colors. Do your tastes lean toward the casual side or the more formal side? That might depend on the surroundings in which you work (for example, if you work in a rigid, ultra-corporate environment, you might wish to keep your home surroundings deliberately more casual), your personality, whether or not you have children and whether or not you entertain frequently.

If you're not thrilled with your sofa, and a new one isn't in your budget, slipcovers are the way to go. Watch out for sales during the summertime and in early January ("New Year's" sales), when furniture stores are clearing out their inventories to make room for the new styles. That's precisely the time when you can pick up a slipcover for a discount of 30 percent, 40 percent or more, and completely change the look of your living room. Add a few new pillows, and you'll be amazed at the difference.

You don't have to buy a card table and folding chairs for your kitchen. Instead, put on your walking shoes, and get ready to do some comparison-shopping. Many stores offer inexpensive sets -- a table and four kitchen chairs in butcher-block-style, for example, for one price. For an inexpensive route to new furniture, try your local unfinished furniture store. Many such places mass-produce comparatively inexpensive oak and/or pine pieces that can be painted if you wish, and dressed up with your own accessories. Stores such as Target, Wal-Mart, even your local supercenter or warehouse (such as Sam's Club) carry respectable imitations of the coffee tables, end tables, bar stools, floor lamps, shelves, picture frames and other home-decor items you'll spot in more expensive retail stores. These are excellent destinations for any shopper on a budget.

Think about adding some new curtains. Granted, those can be pricey, but they can also be inexpensive. Many balloon-style curtains and simple drapes may be purchased (particularly during periodic sales) for between $10 and $20. The addition of color adds warmth to any room. If you own your home and can paint, there's a bit of psychology to keep in mind when it comes to color: blue creates serenity, and is intended to refresh and renew. Red increases intensity, gets the heart pumping and the blood pressure rising. Green, a popular choice right now, brings the outdoors indoors. It creates a sense of balance and harmony and can be a calming influence. Yellow and related shades are warm, cheery and inviting. And of course, a nice touch-up of white paint can renew your house dramatically.

For art, the best pieces are the original ones you create yourself. Buy a shadowbox, and insert dried flowers, black-and-white photos, magazine clippings, postcards, anything that holds personal significance.

Head to the gift shop of your nearest museum or art gallery for poster-sized reprints and postcards for framing. While framing a piece of art can be extremely expensive, your local craft store holds reasonable facsimiles for a fraction of the cost.

Select something simple; after all, the picture is what should be the center of your attention. Mirrors -- even inexpensive ones - also are an excellent choice, and they create the illusion of depth.

Head to your nearest discount accessory store, and pick up accessories that attract attention without blowing your budget. Such pieces include unique photo frames, colored glass (an extremely inexpensive decoration), plate racks, linens, vases and pitchers with silk or other artificial flowers, and candles -- including votives, candlesticks and larger varieties placed within glass bowls along with some potpourri. Remember that groupings of accessories are more visually striking than single items. If you have an empty corner, purchase a small table (craft stores sell them cheap, and you can place a fabric cover or skirt on top) or pedestal there, and top it with a plant.

Remember that while more traditional styles favor more accessories and in some cases, even clutter, if it's contemporary you're aiming for, a more simple, streamlined appearance is best (which may be more realistic if your budget is tight).

If you do plan to entertain, keep in mind that many professional chefs say that there's no space too small for a dinner party. You can always improvise. The company is indeed more important than the decor. Just make sure you have adequate seating to accommodate your guests, and that they are able to sit within a close distance to one another and talk. It doesn't matter if your chairs are a hodge-podge of styles. It's very possible to use what you have and create a warm atmosphere by arranging it in a way that encourages close conversation. A little re-arranging can completely change the feel of a room, lift your spirits and change your tune about those pieces you thought you didn't like anymore.

Don't rush any of your purchases. Take your time, and save your money for the items you know you want and can afford. If you have your heart set on a particular piece that's a bit more than you can afford at the moment, by all means, start a savings account, and wait until the time is right. Scan the newspapers regularly for sales, and head to flea markets in your area. Even when you decide to purchase facsimiles of more expensive looks, you don't have to sacrifice quality; there's plenty of competition out there. Be selective, and avoid impulsive buys on cheap knock-offs.

Landing the bargain of the century is half the fun.

Happy hunting!

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