One of the worst parts about home staging is you create the perfect, gorgeous home for someone else to enjoy. Why do we do that to ourselves? We should make our homes beautiful while we live in them instead of waiting for home-selling time. With these simple home staging tips, you can create an inviting and organized home, so you can enjoy it – even if you don’t plan on moving any time soon.
Declutter Like You’re Moving, Even if You’re Not
When you declutter like you are moving, you are not just decluttering to spark joy. You are decluttering to live a more simplified life, the life you envisioned when you moved into your home. Weight matters when you move, but it also matters when you stay put. Heavy objects in your home weigh you down physically and emotionally. Use the handy list below to help you declutter for a move and read this article to help you through the decluttering process.
Ask yourself, “If I was moving, would I move this item with me?” If the answer is “No,” then why are you keeping it right now? Rid yourself of any items you do not need or want anymore.
Identify Furniture That No Longer Works For Your Space
When you are home staging, your Realtor would walk around your home and tell you what furniture weighs your home down. Potential buyers want a home that feels light, bright, and airy. Potential buyers do not like obstructed walkways or spaces that feel cramped. You want to know a secret? You probably want a home that feels light, bright, and airy, too, with space so you can breathe again.
My husband and I moved ten times in eleven years, but we’ve been settled in our suburban Chicago home for almost 10 years now. Furniture and papers and toys accumulated in our home, despite our best efforts to keep our lives as simple as possible. So, in 2021, we began to declutter as if we were moving. I walked around our home as if I was home staging and identified furniture that no longer works for our space – a bookcase, two chairs, an ottoman, and a couple small tables. If we were moving, these furniture pieces would not move with us. What furniture do you own that is unnecessary? If it isn’t beautiful and delightful, then let it go.
Sell or Donate Unwanted Items Whether or Not You Are Officially Home Staging
Once you identify the furniture and items that weigh your home down, it’s time to sell or donate them. If you don’t plan to move soon, then sell your furniture or clothing in an online marketplace or by hosting a socially distant and safe garage sale. If you post online, sell a couple items to get a sense of the market. You may discover that people don’t want your stuff.
If no one wants to buy the furniture your cat used as a scratching post or your old CDs, then it’s time to acknowledge these items lived out their useful life and are now trash. Leave them by the curb for the trash collector. If you find that you are not getting the high prices you expected, but your items are in good condition, then consider donating the items to the appropriate non-profit organization.
Give Your Home a Fresh Coat of Paint as if You Were Home Staging
Nothing changes your home like a fresh coat of paint. Again, you should not wait until you are home staging for a potential buyer to make your home sparkle. If you do not plan to move any time soon, be bold. Pick any color you want that makes you happy. If you plan to move in the next year or two, then go neutral with the paint and add color to your home with accessories.
Adapt the Home Staging Mindset and Take Down Those Heavy Curtains
Do you love your curtains or are they merely functional? During the pandemic on these wintry days, we look through the windows of our homes all the time. If you do not need a window covering for privacy or insulation reasons, take the covering down and let the sun into your home. Curtains and draperies can be lovely, but they can also collect dust, block out light, and make your home feel outdated. How do your current window coverings make you feel? If you need window coverings, consider an update so you can enjoy them now instead of waiting to invest in new window coverings when it’s time to stage your home later.
Let the sun shine through.
Improve the Lighting In Your Home and Set the Right Mood
Aside from the natural lighting that can be improved by shedding heavy curtains, you can also improve the indoor lighting. Turn off the overhead lighting in each room of your home. Now, turn on the lamp lights. How does your home look and feel to you? If the mood is not quite right, consider changing the watts or lumens of your lamps’ light bulbs for brightness. The Kelvin ratings can help you determine the color temperature of your lighting – from soft white to daylight. Lamp lighting will provide the most intimate form of lighting. Play around with the brightness and color temperature for the invigorating or relaxing feeling you crave.
Now, try your overhead lights. Does your overhead lighting provide an atmosphere that brings you happiness? If it does not, you may want to invest in different overhead lighting or change your home habits to use table lamps only.
Focus on the lamp lighting in your home.
Invest in White Linens and Towels for that Light, Airy Feel
One simple change you can make when staging your home to sell is to invest in white linens and towels. This makes your home feel neutral, simple, and beautiful. You may want to try that white and neutral look now. However, if you prefer more color, choose whatever color you love. A small change like new sheets or a new set of towels can alter how you feel every single day.
Invest in white linens.
If there is ever a time to invest in our home happiness, it is now. Do it for you. Do it for your health. Increase your sense of well-being through home organization and design. Future home buyers will thank you for your happy home later. In the meantime, take advantage of your decluttered, organized, bright, and beautiful space.
