Spring Cleanouts for Selling Homes: Why Starting Early Helps

Spring is one of the busiest seasons in real estate, with multiple homes coming to market. One of the most helpful steps in preparing a home for sale is to begin the cleanout process earlier, rather than a couple of weeks before listing. As the saying goes, the early bird gets the worm. Those that start early on cleaning things out will save themselves a lot of stress and mental space.

Earlier refers to how long someone will need to do their cleanout. It will depend on the size of the home and its contents. Blue Moon Estate Sales recommends starting the cleanout 4-6 months before listing the house.

Benefits of Starting Early:

Beginning the cleanout process earlier rather than later helps ensure the home is emptied of all unwanted items, organized, and ready for home staging, photography, and showing when the listing date arrives.

Homes that owners have lived in for many years often contain decades’ worth of furniture, books, artwork, and household items. When homeowners start sorting early, they have time to make thoughtful decisions about what to keep, what to sell, what to donate, and what to throw away.

If throwing away:

One of our tips is that many papers and other sentimental items, like child’s school projects, can be scanned, photographed, or filmed to keep its value but reduce clutter.

Ask yourself, “Can this item be rehomed?” Consider donating or selling it. Some items though may no longer be able to serve someone, such as old, faulty technology. See opportunities to recycle in your area, such as Staples rewards program for donating old technology and printer cartridges.

If rehoming:

We recommend, if timing allows, to sort through items and be creative in the different ways items can be rehomed. That can be through an Estate Sale, showing off once-beloved treasures to potential buyers, but it can also be in the method one chooses to give things away.

A good idea is to use labeled boxes to compile different things that remind you of certain loved ones. One of our clients collected items for each young adult grandchild to have for their upcoming homes and apartments. Our client found a lot of joy in imagining future scenarios where her grandchildren may use a serving dish for holidays or host a party with her wicker outdoor furniture.

Blue Moon Estate Sales is a Great Resource for:

• Downsizing before a move
• Estate properties
• Homes that are still very full before listing
• Donation coordination
• Whole-house cleanouts

Blue Moon Estate Sales are the experts in making spring clean-outs as simple and as easy as possible.