Everyone knows they have to de-clutter when selling their home. But has anyone defined what declutter means? Or how much it’s worth?

Honestly, when I look at some people’s houses, I think their main motivation is to buy another home is to get out of the mess they’re in – literally! Keep this in mind!

When buyers are looking at property, you need to show them as much space as you possibly can. That means lots of walking space as well as lots of storage space, and you need visual space most of all.

Solid, smooth services show best. Table tops, counter tops, stove tops, fridge tops, dressers, trunks, etc, all need to be as free of things sitting on top of them as possible. The cute little teddy bear sitting on the trunk at the end of your son’s bed visually gets in the way of what else might go there that belongs to the prospective Buyer. The smooth, uncluttered trunk top can actually portray the space far better than it does if something is sitting on top of it. Better still - if the room is not generously large, pack away the trunk and leave room for someone to walk past the bed without altering their path or stubbing a toe. It makes the room feel much larger.

The same goes with your coffee table in the family room. Make the top of it void of everything – don’t even place the nice tidy stack of magazines on top to show this is a comfortable place to sit and read. Prospective Buyers may simply see another pile of magazines that need to be recycled, or something that will land on the floor when her cat leaps on the table. Better to keep the table top smooth and void of props.

Forget the myth that empty houses don’t sell. They sure do. Often more readily than furnished houses. People actually tell me they prefer to look at empty houses because they can see where their furniture can be placed.

In storage closets, it’s much better to see smooth, solid sides of organized boxes than a lot of individual items ready to be packed away. It’s a visual thing. Remember – smooth solid surfaces are best.

Ok – so you’ve most often heard that Open Houses don’t work to sell a home, they only help the realtor find other contacts.

Well, I beg to differ. I, myself, have found buyers at Open Houses to buy the property at which I was hosting the Open house. So have other sales people I know.

The fact is, I haven’t met one person who walked into an Open House and said “ Hi. I’m wondering if there’s a realtor around here somewhere. I need to find one.” Joke? OK, so they really wouldn’t say that, BUT – they’ve come into the house to see if it is of interest for themselves or for someone they know. People have far too much going on to spend time browsing Open Houses aimlessly. Just like showing your home by appointment, the prospective buyer is going to be interested or not, but they won’t know that without having a look. Most people go through Open Houses because they truly are looking for property and an Open House offers them a “spur of the moment” opportunity with no scheduling necessary. It’s convenient. It’s just that simple.

And the proverbial nosey neighbour? Well – haven’t seen too much of him either. Trust me. People just don’t find each other all that intriguing that they can’t wait for an opportunity to get into your personal space without you knowing it. Besides, anyone who is motivated thus would probably rather keep his know-it-all opinion intact by not witnessing anything to the contrary, so he doesn’t show up.

Got a Realtor telling you Open Houses don’t work? That’s because they don’t want to do one.