5 Tips for Busy Parents Prepping a Home for Sale

Selling a house can be stressful for any of us, but when you’re a parent, getting the house ready for showings can be a big headache. Luckily, there are steps you can take to save money and time (and hopefully your sanity) when you’re preparing your home for sale.

Make a Plan

The first step to decluttering is to imagine what you want the space to look like; after all, it can be hard to find a place to start if you don’t know where you want to end up. Think about what spaces you want to open up and where you can make a visible difference. The act of decluttering is really about getting your possessions out of the way spatially for prospective buyers; it lets them imagine their own items and their lives in the house.

Make It a Game

When parents worry about selling their house, the clutter and mess of children can add stress. Instead, consider the extra sets of hands at your disposal! There are tons of ways to get your kids involved and make it fun. Additionally, promising a reward for you and for the family can give you some time to unwind from all the planning. Some parents have found it motivating to pay kids to get rid of old toys, while others use it as a time to teach about donations and giving back to the community. Either way, involving them throughout the process (as much as you can) will help keep the whole family working toward a common goal.

Have the Right Tools for the Job

While you’re decluttering and emptying out your home, don’t forget to leave items that will be useful when showing the house. One of the most important items is a reliable vacuum cleaner to tidy up quickly before people arrive, making your home look sparkling and new with only a few minutes warning. Reducing your family’s footprint to a single bathroom can also be useful, cutting down on the number of spaces that you need to clean before every showing. Consider areas that get messy quickly or often; if you can put a towel or sheet down over a dirty bathroom counter, for example, the towel can be quickly pitched in the hamper when you’re having guests. Pick out these problem spots and find ways to cut corners and keep your spaces sparkling.

Sometimes, it helps to invest in a new vacuum to ensure that it does an effective job of keeping your house clean. Although this can be a very big investment, especially if you need to adhere to a very strict budget, shopping websites such as Rakuten can help you save money and earn cash back on vacuum cleaners, as well as other items that can keep your home tidy.

Go in Prepared

Most homes don’t sell after just one showing, so prepare a checklist for each time someone is looking at the house. There are plenty of free pre-made lists available to save you even more time. Items on the checklist should help improve your chances of selling the house, like removing pets from the space, opening curtains and blinds, securing valuables, and minimizing odors. These simple tasks don’t cost any money, and they help improve the look of your home.

Get a Secondary Location

No matter how diligent you are about cleaning your house, everyday life will still catch up with you sooner or later. Since you don’t typically get much warning when showing your home, consider investing in an affordable storage unit for the large items you want to hide away, like old furniture or boxes from the storage closet. If you’re not sure if you need anything that large, consider getting some plastic bins (Home Depot has a great selection that won’t wreck your budget) that you can store under sinks or in a large closet. When you know the realtor is coming, pitch all of the day-to-day hideables in your bins, such as stacks of mail, old blankets, and large toys. Cleaning up those details the day of instead of trying to maintain a spotless home can give you just a little more time to breathe between showings.

Home sales are always stressful, but by making a plan, it can get easier and easier to prep your home for showings. Keep an eye out for those dangerous spots and enlist your family to help you make your home shine; before you know it, it’ll be time to move into your new house!