When you put your home on the market, it takes some extra effort to ensure it sells quickly and for the price you want. You never know when your real estate agent is going to pop by with a buyer, so your home needs to look flawless at all times—something that’s much easier said than done when you have kids! Busy parents don’t have a lot of time to fuss over the details, so here are some quick tips to help prepare your home for sale and maintain that show-ready look at all times.
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4 Tips to Stage a House for Sale While Living in It with Kids
It’s always inconvenient to make your house show-ready, especially on other people’s timelines, but if you want your home to sell fast, you have to be ready!
Here are a few helpful tips to get you ready in no time:
1. Develop a Last-Minute Cleaning Plan
Getting your home ready for showings will involve some sort of scramble to tidy up before the buyers arrive. It may be helpful to create a cleaning checklist for open houses and last-minute showings, so you and your kids know exactly what needs to be done.
Make sure your checklist includes essential preparations like:
- opening the curtains
- turning on the lights, and
- locking away your valuables
- if you have pets, store their bedding and toys away, and
- have a plan to get them out of the house during showings.
When you get the call from your real estate agent that buyers are on the way, walk around your home with a cloth and a vacuum cleaner so you can spot-clean any messes that have accumulated since the last time you cleaned.
Do yourself a favor and get a cheap stick vacuum to make these last-minute cleaning sessions more manageable. This little guy does this trick and doesn’t break the bank at the same time
2. Declutter and Minimize
Cleaning your home isn’t the only way to get it ready for sale. Clutter can be incredibly distracting to home buyers. Cluttered rooms also tend to feel smaller and give the impression of uncleanliness.
Before showing your home to buyers, take some time to declutter your possessions by selling or donating unwanted items or putting stuff in storage. Encourage your kids to declutter their possessions, too—this is a great opportunity to pare down that ever-growing collection of toys!
3. Depersonalize Your Home
While children’s artwork and family photos make your home feel comfortable and welcoming to you, the same is not true for your buyers. People viewing your home must be able to picture their own lives there.
This is why it’s important to depersonalize your home before putting it on the market. HomeGo recommends taking down personal decor like family photos, degrees, certificates, trophies, and participation ribbons from home offices and bedrooms. Hobby items and personal collections can also be distracting to buyers, so consider packing these away as well.
Avoid stuffing everything into your closets or garage since potential buyers will want to take a look at these storage areas. Overflowing closets can appear small and inadequate. Heart & Home Staging recommends keeping your closets half full and showing wall space between hanging clothes to make them appear roomier.
4. Give Your Children Chores
Maintaining a spotless home is a battle you just can’t win when you have kids. Unless you have help! Get your kids involved in the cleaning so you don’t have to do everything on your own.
Write up a list of chores that need to be done every day, such as making beds, taking out the trash, and emptying the dishwasher, then divide these among your kids. Be sure to rotate their chores or let them trade with each other to prevent boredom.
Once you’re done staging your children’s bedrooms, give your kids the responsibility of keeping their rooms clean and show-ready at all times. Decluttering their toys first will definitely help them keep their rooms clean!
Don’t forget you can grab a free chore chart in the Freebies Library for your kids!
Last things you need to know about keeping your home show-ready with kids
A show-ready home sparkles with cleanliness and inviting hominess. While this can be tough to achieve as a busy parent, it’s not impossible—and it doesn’t have to take hours of your day.
Declutter, plan ahead, and get your kids to help out with those last-minute cleaning sessions so you can deal with messes as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Other posts you may like from Simplified Motherhood:
How to stay organized as a stay at home mom
Simple Storage Ideas for Small Homes (on a budget!)