Planning to Sell? Get Cleaning

If you’re getting ready to sell this summer, it’s probably best to get a jump on some serious spring cleaning. Before buyers can even approach the ever-important staging element to putting a house on the market, they need to make sure all the nooks and crannies are spick and span.

Cleaning, staging, and real estate professionals agree that the most important place to start is with clutter. If it’s not decorative it needs to go. Even organizational pieces (key racks, mail slots, shoe cubbies) detract from the overall feel of a home. Clutter can also sneak up on a daily basis, so even after you’ve purged the junk mail, magazines, and superfluous magnets, it has a way of creeping back into open spaces. De-cluttering is a daily chore.

Once you’ve done away with the initial clutter, it’s time to get to the nitty gritty. Floors should be mopped and waxed and baseboards should be scrubbed. Walls should be wiped down, if not completely repainted. Windows should be washed, inside and out.

Drapes, window coverings, heating vents, and registers should be vacuumed and cleaned. Furniture should be dusted and polished if possible.

Mildew is particularly stealthy and often overlooked, but will stick out like a sore thumb to potential buyers. Every inch of the bathroom and kitchen should shine. Sinks, faucets, stoves, and range hoods are common culprits for hidden grime.

Once the deep cleaning is finished, keep your home seller-ready by cleaning counters, sweeping and dusting daily, along with frequently wiping down doorknobs and light-switch plates. Bathrooms accumulate grime quickly, and can be the ultimate turnoff in a showing, so clean and wipe down after every use.