Staging Your Home To Sell: Childrens' Bedrooms
Author: CarolynCapalbo Total views: 4 Word Count: 604
When you're trying to sell your home, keeping the kids' rooms clean can be a chore and a half! With some packing, de-cluttering and plenty of storage options, it can be a lot easier for your kids to keep their rooms clean(er) in preparations for home showing. Add to that some effective bribery and you may make things a little easier for the kids and yourself.
The first thing is to pre-pack as much as possible. Start with seasonal things. If it's spring/summer, the parka and sled can go in the basement or storage locker. If it's fall/winter, those sun dresses and beach towels may be able to survive in boxes for a few months.
Another good strategy for packing is to ask your children to divide their belongings into three piles: the don't-want, want-but-can-pack-away, and the must-have. Get rid of the don't-want stuff, and introduce your kids to the wonderful world of boxes and packing tape for the pack-away.
Now is a good time to show your kids the up-side of selling and moving. Allow them to sell things at a garage sale. It may put some money in their pockets and de-clutter the home at the same time.
Providing your children with plenty of storage options makes de-cluttering easier. If there are one or two hampers into which your child can toss toys and other belongings when a house tour is in the offing, it will make clean-up much quicker. Extra chests, boxes, shelves and containers are well worth the money. One strategy for stuffed toys is to buy a cheap "hammock" that is hung from the walls or ceiling and holds all the stuffies off the floor and out of the way. You can put a couple of them on the bed and dresser for effect, but a bunch of stuffed toys = clutter to the buyer's mind.
Sometimes it's hard to deal with a child who insists that everything in their cluttered room is "essential". You may have to invoke parental authority and lay down the law that only the toys that can fit onto the table/into the toychest/on the shelves are permitted to remain in the room. One way is to compromise by rotating boxes of toys and belongings so that your child has access to all their property, but there isn't as much of it to make cleaning harder.
Many children don't realize the importance of their part in selling the home. Or, they are unhappy and/or resentful about moving. In some cases, perhaps a bribe of something that the child wants once the selling process is complete may help your cause. Even an ice cream during showings can make things easier for kids who are being uprooted out of their usual schedules so strangers can traipse through their home.
Try to give kids as much time as reasonably possible to get ready for a home showing. Extra time means no hurrying and less stress. Also, it gives you additional opportunities to make sure everything is in place and clean.
Don't stress too much if things aren't perfect; no doubt a lot of your potential buyers have kids and understand that "kid clutter" is sometimes a part of life. As long as everything looks and smells clean, a little bit of mess in the kids' rooms is probably going to be overlooked.
Part of selling a home fast and for a good price is making sure that it is clean and clutter-free. Helping your children keep their rooms in decent order is going to go a long way to make this part of home selling easier on all of you.
My Articles Directory Free Web Content Provider
About the Author
Carolyn Capalbo is an expert military relocation specialist and real estate agent serving Northern Virginia real estate. Visit Just4Real.com to find updated market information about areas in Prince William, including Bristow VA real estate.
Copy and Paste Article Code.
Remember: The article body, title, author bio and links may not be changed or removed. By publishing this article, you agree to all the terms in our Terms of Service.