I know, de-cluttering and getting organized seems to be quite a large project, especially when you’re in the middle to list and sell your home.. The trick is to break it down into several smaller tasks. For example, when you are preparing to sell your house, it is crucial for you to organize each room. This sounds as though it is a huge daunting project.
To begin such a large task, focus on de-cluttering and organizing each room, one at a time. If focusing on the entire room is too large of a project for you, break the room down into smaller tasks. Could you handle starting with the bedroom closet, and then possibly moving on to the, say, the dresser? Getting the work done in small sections is still better than not accomplishing anything at all.
But before you can break the project into different sections, you must first decide where to start. When trying to decide where to being, it may feel impossible. Take a look at the below four steps, and you will be set to start wherever you feel best.
Pull it all out
Regardless of whether you are keeping the item, donating it, or tossing in the garbage, remove it from the area you are organizing.
After every item is removed from the space you are working on, it is time to move furniture, and other large objects into their final positions, or as close to their final positions as you can get. Remember, you can always re-arrange things later on if needed.
Clean, clean, clean
While you have everything out of the room, or space, clean it thoroughly. Having everything our out of the way gives you the chance to find dust bunnies, and other dirt and debris that you would normally not see, or be able to access easily.
Do the same for each and every item you bring back into the space. After all, who wants dirt and dust particles flying around on a freshly cleaned bookshelf, especially when it’s due to the book not being wiped down.
Sort your items
This step is commonly seen on the popular television show The Clean House. When removing items from the space, sort them into several piles:
- Keep: This pile is for the things you are going to put back
- Donate/Sell: This pile is for the items that are still in good shape, but are not being used.
- Reuse: This pile takes items that were cluttering one room, and uses it for a different purpose in another room.
- Recycle: This pile is used for items that you are getting rid of that can be recycled. For example, if you come across a large stack of old paper that you do not need and are going to toss, throw it in the recycle pile
- Toss: These items simply need to be thrown in the trash.
Put the items from the keep pile back in their place. Remember, you want to keep the area organized and neat. Be sure that everything has it’s own place, and does not begin to clutter the area you are working to neatly organize. You want to get top dollar for your home, don’t you? To do so, a potential buyer needs to be able to see your HOME, not just your “stuff”.