How to Get Organized to Sell Your House

home-sale-signSummer is an optimal time for many homeowners to sell their house, pack up, and relocate.  Unfortunately, this is a stressful process.  It’s easy for sellers to get overwhelmed by all that needs to be done to prepare their house for the market, and start the packing process.  There is so much to organize, so many details to address.  The 10 “Organized to Sell” tips listed below will help any seller focus on the details and take control.

1.  Eliminate piles before you sell.
Don’t let paper and items accumulate on tables, counter tops, or desks.  Keeping horizontal surfaces clear and clean eliminates visual clutter, and allows potential buyers to see the space without distractions.
2.  Reduce before you sell.
Over stuffing closets, bookcases, filing cabinets, cupboards and other storage areas in your home is a red flag to potential buyers.  It screams, “Not enough storage!”  Reducing and limiting the number of items you keep in these areas conveys the message of ample and abundant storage to the potential buyer.
3.  Eliminate surplus before you sell.
Why have ten of something, if two is all you really need until you move?  Pack up and remove surplus or
duplicate items.  A few examples are sheets, towels, dishes, mugs, utensils, toiletries, toys, books, DVDs, etc.
4.  Remove before you sell.
Packing up seldom used items and seasonal items helps your house appear spacious, and that is what potential buyers like.  Some examples are holiday decorations, off season clothing and footwear, archived files, and rarely used kitchen appliances, like bread makers, blenders, etc.
5.  Toss before you sell.
It is perfectly acceptable to throw away things that are broken, damaged, rusty, worn out, torn, stained, or incomplete.  Toss these items without hesitation.  If your belongings look old and worn out the potential buyer sees the whole property as old and worn out.
6.  Donate before you sell.
If you’re not using it now, you won’t use it in your new home.  Ask yourself, “Will I be wasting my time, money
and energy if I pack and move this item?”  Donating items is a great way to help preserve the environment, help those that are less fortunate, and feel content knowing that someone will value what you no longer use.
7.  Sell before you sell.
Selling items that you no longer want, need or have space for in your new home, is a viable option.  A few venues are yard sales, consignment shops, auction houses, newspaper listings, estate sales, or internet listings.  Remember to be realistic about your financial expectations when selling used items.
8.  Rent before you sell.
Renting a storage unit to hold equipment you seldom use and boxes of packed items will help free up space and give you a jump start on the moving process.  Remember space is a valuable commodity.
9.  Spruce up before you sell.
Don’t forget to reduce the clutter in your yard and outdoor living spaces.  These areas are usually the first and
last impression for the potential buyers.  So, make them as clutter-free as possible by removing toys, lawn ornaments, recycle bins, etc.
10.  Hide before you sell.
Store as many items of daily use in your cupboards and cabinets.  For example, put your tooth brushes in the medicine cabinet, your dish detergent in the cupboard under the sink, and your vacuum cleaner in the utility closet.  This is more visually appealing and is less distracting for potential buyers.

©July 2015  Janine Cavanaugh, Certified Professional Organizer®.  All Rights Reserved

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organized utensils

3 Step Organizing Process

junk drawerWhat happens when you open a junk drawer? Do you ignore the mess and slam it shut as soon as you locate what you were hoping to find inside? When I open a junk drawer my fingers start itching to dive in and organize. I fully understand that this is my own personal reaction, and is not one that is commonly shared, but I’d like to alter your reaction to a junk drawer. I hope to accomplish this by providing you with the knowledge on how to successfully organize a junk drawer, and other disorderly spots. Supplying you with the tools needed to master the organizing process will give you a means to act instead of react.

The organizing process is a means to create order from disorder by following 3 steps.
3 steps to organizing process

 

 

sort junk drawer

 

The first step of the organizing process is sorting and categorizing. The idea is to separate all the items in the junk drawer into categories that are similar in function and/or purpose. One helpful tip is to label each category and don’t allow yourself to leave the project. For example, it may be tempting to put the medication that you find in the junk drawer in the medicine cabinet, but once you remove yourself from the organizing process, it’s easy to get distracted. Instead create a category labeled “Belongs Elsewhere”, put the medication in that category, and continue sorting all the items in the junk drawer.

 

The second step of the organizing process is removing the detritus from each category. It’s noticing items that are better kept some place else (i.e. find home category), items that have an existing home some place else (i.e. belongs elsewhere category), and items that are no longer wanted, needed, or used (i.e. give away, recycle, and toss categories).

find homebelongs elsewheregive away

 

 

 

 

 

The third step of the organizing process is placement of what is going back into the junk drawer. The idea is to focus on function and pay close attention to how convenient it is to find what you need when you need it, and how convenient it is to put items away. A helpful tip is to have a specific home for each category you’ve created, and if a category has too many items, subdivide the category. Use organizing tools and products to facilitate easy access and function. I’ve used a drawer organizer to help organize the junk drawer.

drawer containerorganized drawerThis organizing process can be used to create order from disorder in any space.

By following the 3 steps you can organize all your spaces, places, and stuff.

 

 

 

© July 2015  Janine Cavanaugh, Certified Professional Organizer®  All Rights Reserved

 

Fashion File

skincareOne of the reasons we hold onto paper is because we need or want to reference the information (on the paper) in the future.  However, what happens when we can’t put our hands on a piece of paper quickly and easily?  We waste time hunting and searching for that paper, or we attempt to find the information from another source.  Is there really any need to save paper that we can’t find quickly and easily?  No!  So, what will help us find specific papers when we need them?

An organized paper storage system will help us locate what we want, when we need it, and help us remember where paper is stored.   Creating an organized system can be quite an undertaking.  The initial step in this undertaking is to have a paper storage container (ie. file cabinet) that holds alphabetical files that are labeled with file names.  It is essential to customize the file names to reflect our specific, personal retention needs. The best way to do this is to create file names that uniquely describe what information is stored inside the file.  This is much more efficient than using generic or standardized names.  For example I use the file name “Kia Soul” instead of Auto, Car, or Vehicle.

Another example of a customized file that I have is my “Fashion File”.  It holds all the girly things that I want to reference, look into, check out, or use.  It contains 5 separate categories, hair, jewelry, nails, skincare, and wardrobe.  The types of papers that I store in each category are as follows:

Hair – contact information for my current stylist, pictures of hair styles that I like, products I want to try
Jewelry – receipts of jewelry purchases, business cards for jewelry consultants, jewelry catalogs
Nail – business cards for local nail salons with times and directions
Skincare – business cards for skincare consultants, products I want to try, lists of chemical free products, skincare catalogs
Wardrobe – contact information for image consultants, tips for my body type, fashion styles I like

By establishing and using this unique file name, and other personalized file names, I have created an organized system that helps me remember where my papers belong and where I can find them when I need them.  This approach could work for you.  If you do use it please share with me what file names you use.

© June 2015  Janine Cavanaugh, Certified Professional Organizer®  All Rights Reserved

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More Clutter Excuses

dishesWe all hold onto things for a variety of reasons.  Some of those reasons are valid and worthwhile.  For example, I’m holding onto my Grandmother’s necklace, because it’s a beautiful piece of jewelry that I enjoy wearing, especially when I want to be reminded of her.  Unfortunately, some reasons for holding onto things are not valid or worthwhile.  For example, the only reason I’m holding onto my (never used) serving dishes is because they were a gift.  When the reason for holding onto something is not valid or worthwhile, it could be a clutter excuse.  Clutter Excuses provide us with reasons to hold onto something, so we don’t have to make the (potentially difficult) decision to get rid of it.  I find that honesty is the best policy when it comes to making decisions.  By honestly answering thought provoking questions regarding why we are holding on to something, we can truthfully evaluate it’s significance in our lives.

A common clutter excuse I hear is, “Someone gave, or bequeathed it to me.”  I believe that a gift is meant to bring joy, and that no gift-giver wants their gift to be a burden.  Answer these five questions truthfully to determine if it’s a burden and time to let it go.

  • It’s yours, and you can do anything you want with it.  What would make you happy?
  • Can you keep a piece or portion of it, and get rid of the rest of it?
  • Can you take a photo of it and then let it go?
  • Do you know someone else who will treasure it?
  • If it’s just in a box in the attic, is it worth keeping?

Another common clutter excuse I hear is, “It’s still good.”  Not everything we part with is broken or unusable.  It’s okay to get rid of items we don’t need, want, or use, even if they are still workable and usable.  There are several options available to us when passing on items like this, and removing them provides us with a less cluttered space.  Answer these five questions truthfully to determine if it’s time to pass it along to someone else.

  • If it’s still good, why aren’t you using it?
  • Could someone less fortunate benefit from it?
  • What are the costs of getting rid of it, verses the cost of keeping it, storing it, cleaning it, and maintaining it?
  • How much space is it taking up?
  • How stressful is it to keep it?

I don’t have any children of my own, so I don’t use this common clutter excuse, “I’m saving it to pass on to my children.”  Have you uttered this excuse?  If so, answer these five questions truthfully to determine if it’s time to stop saving and let it go.

  • How sure are you that they will want it?
  • Are you willing to ask your children if they will want it?  If they are too young to ask at this moment, will you ask them in the future?
  • What are the costs of letting someone benefit from it now, verses the cost of keeping it, storing it, cleaning it, and maintaining it?
  • Could someone less fortunate benefit from it, now?
  • How stressful is it to keep it?

It does take time to make decisions and get rid of stuff.  Have you ever used time as an excuse?  “I don’t have time to deal with it.”  Answer these five questions truthfully to determine if it’s time to make time.

  • How much time do you feel it requires?
  • If you did have time, what would you do with it?
  • Can someone else deal with it?
  • Can you see yourself making time to deal with it, if you had an incentive?
  • How much more needs to accumulate in order for you to make time to deal with it?

As I mentioned before, we all hold onto things for a variety of reasons, but the best reasons are valid and worthwhile.  I hope these questions help you conquer your clutter excuses and provide you with peace of mind.

© May 2015  Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®  All rights reserved

NAPO

Proud member of NAPO

Clutter Excuses

ClutterAccording to a National Association of Professional Organizers survey, 54% of Americans are overwhelmed by their clutter, and 78% find it too complicated to deal with.  Are you felling overwhelmed by clutter?  I understand that making decisions about what to keep and not keep can be difficult.  I also understand that when we don’t want to make decisions it’s easy to come up with excuses as to why we can’t let go of something.  I call them clutter excuses, and the best way to deal with them is to ask thought provoking questions, and to answer them honestly.  This helps determine if it’s time to stop making clutter excuses and let it go.

One of the most common clutter excuse I here is, “I might need it someday.”  We all have those tools, gadgets, and products that we can’t seem to let go of, even thought we haven’t touched them in years.  Answer these five questions truthfully to determine if it’s time to let it go.

  •  Honestly when can you see yourself using it?
  •  When is someday?  If it’s not in the next 3 years, let it go.
  •  What would the cost be if you did need to replace it?
  •  How much time would it take to replace it?
  •  How much effort would it take to replace it?

Another common clutter excuse I here is, “I paid a lot for it.”  We all have those items that we spent a bunch of money on, but they just didn’t work out, and we can’t seem to let them go.  That stinks, doesn’t it?  Answer these five questions truthfully to determine if it’s time to let it go.

  •  How long do you have to keep it to depreciate the value of it?
  •  If you hang on to it for another year will it have cost any less?
  •  Are you paying for your purchasing mistake with extended regret?
  •  The money is gone, why not let the item go also?
  •  Is there someone you know who will appreciate it?

“It’s valuable,” is another clutter excuse.  An amazing statistic is the average dollar amount of unopened, new merchandise in a typical American household is $7000.00  (Real Simple magazine 11-2012).  Answer these five questions truthfully to determine if it’s time to let it go.

  •  Do you know it’s real value and current worth?
  •  Are you considering the real value or the sentimental value?
  •  How valuable is it to you, personally?
  •  Is it realistically valuable to someone else?
  •  Is there someone you know who will appreciate it’s value?

Clutter happens, but if we don’t allow ourselves to use clutter excuses we can keep it under control.  Use these questions and let me know the outcome.

©March 2015   Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®  All rights reserved

NAPO

Proud member of NAPO