Budget-Friendly Ways to Get Your Home Showing-Ready with Children Underfoot
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Whether you’ve sold a home before or this is your first time, you’ll quickly learn that getting your home showing-ready requires constant cleaning and decluttering. However, as a parent, you know how quickly children can turn a spotless room into a disaster area. Hiring someone to clean and stage your home can get pricey, so if you’re looking to put your home on the market soon, the following are some easy (and budget-friendly) ways to get your home showing-ready.
Make Decluttering Fun
Before you can begin cleaning your home, you’ll need to get rid of clutter and pack up and/or store away any items that have found a home on your countertops, such as appliances, toiletries, books, and décor, as well as any personal items, such as photos, children’s drawings, and awards. Now is also an excellent time to declutter in order to save yourself from the hassle of having to do it when you move. Make it a fun game the whole family can enjoy. Have a contest for who can find the oldest item or fill up a bin first. You could use a sticker chart to represent items and offer a reward system with fun treats, like frozen yogurt or a trip to the park. You can even do a little packing for items such as seasonal clothing, shoes, toys, linens, kitchenware, and non-essentials as you go. Instead of flimsy cardboard boxes, head over to your friendly neighborhood Wal-Mart, and take advantage of their low prices to stock up on plastic storage bins for packing and future organization.
Learn the Art of Quick Staging
When your home is on the market, there will be many times when you’ll get the call from your realtor that a family wants a home showing in the next hour, sending you into a frenzy. It’s important that you learn the art of quick staging. Do a quick tidy-up, including picking up toys, shoes, and backpacks. Clear the dishes out of the sink, vacuum, open up the blinds to let in light, take out the trash, and spritz a little air freshener. You can assign certain tasks to the kids as well. If you have a day or more before a showing, put a little more effort into it with DIY staging tips that don’t require the price tag that comes with a professional stager. Rearrange furniture and décor, and get rid of anything that makes the room feel smaller so that each room has an enticing focal point, such as a large window, fireplace, or unique backsplash. Add pops of color with accents like decorative pillows, artwork, or bathroom towels, all of which can be found at home goods stores like Macys and Kohls. Keep costs down by looking for a seasonal Macys coupon code and browsing the Kohls coupon page.
Find Free Fun During Showings
After you’ve put in all the hard work of tidying up and staging your home, you’d love to see the looks on potential buyers’ faces. Unfortunately, home-showing etiquette dictates that you need to be out of the home to give buyers the freedom to tour it without added pressure. You’ll need to pile everyone in the car, but before you do, make sure it’s already packed with the necessities, including water bottles, non-perishable snacks, wipes, a first-aid kit, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, and grocery bags. If you have errands to run, do them during the showing. If not, find free, local fun in your area - Memphis is full of parks, museums, tours, and landmarks that don’t cost a dime to enjoy.
Prepping your home for sale can be a trying task when you have kids running around. Keep them involved in the process with a decluttering or packing game. Have a to-do list ready for when the realtor calls about a showing, including a plan for you and the kids to get everyone out of the house. It will be chaotic at times, but take comfort in the fact that your home will sell, and soon, you’ll be on to the next adventure.