Prepping for sale - Holiday edition

If you’re like me, you are elbow deep in holiday decorations and packing your calendar so full it’ll need an extra belt notch. This is the type of managed chaos that happens this time of year. Seasonal belongings are dragged out of their dark storage spaces and are fluffed to shine brightly for their month or two of glory. It’s stressful and exciting all at the same time.

Much of our “normal” organization goes out the window in the name of festivities and spontaneity. After all, how can I put away the Halloween décor when it needs to go in front of the Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations for next year? The good news is, with a little forethought, we can turn this yearly blunder into an organizational asset. This is important for everyone, but especially important if you are planning on listing your house for sale in 2019.

This cluttered storage area needs some work

Drag it out

Chances are, your holiday decorations are stored in a place I call deep storage. Go ahead and pull it all out. Instead of moving those boxes aside and digging for the nativity, take is all out, down, or up depending on your storage situation. And take a peek at what’s there. This is the time to consolidate if possible.

DO: open boxes and see if there is room to fill them by combining containers without damaging what’s inside. Consolidate while taking care of the belongings you’ve cherished enough to keep around.

DO NOT: Take a trip down memory lane and sob into an empty bottle of wine at 4 AM. Remember, you have to sleep to keep up with that busy calendar! Just consolidate where you can. Set aside what you must.

Make Space

Make as much room as possible. Let's see the storage room floor. We’re going to need that room for the items you’re currently using that will need to be packed away before you sell. You need ALL of the space you can find. Consolidate and fill the back corners of your storage area. Compress the boxes, play a little Jenga. You’ll see that you’ve opened up major space.

Buyers are analyzing every part of your house, and imaging all their belongings there. Having a spacious, useful storage area is a plus. Buyers have decorations to store, and they want to see that the house they are purchasing can accommodate their needs. Put items in storage containers or sturdy boxes that can stack so you don’t have to repack them later when your life is more stressful. And label them!

Above garage storage space condensed for more storage

Still No Space?

What if you have too much stuff or too little room? The holiday months are not exactly garage sale season. If you have followed the steps above and there is still not any extra space, we’re going to have to find somewhere else for our deep storage items temporarily. Here are a few options in RBD (me) GBB (Good Better Best) format:

Good: Fill your garden shed - if your property has a shed, that is the first place you should fill with your deep storage items that you don’t need access to. Buyers want to see the shed on the property during a viewing so this is not the best solution, but do this before you fill your garage floor. For more on garages, see my post on how your garage can sell your house.

Better: Rent a storage slip at a storage facility. This is a fine option for out of sight out of mind sellers who don’t mind spending some money to put their home on the market. The cost and monthly expense is why it’s lowest on the list. Don’t ignore it; this is the best option for some situations, and the storage potential extends inside the house as well.

Best: Family or friends with extra space. We are all about low cost solutions here. Nothing is lower cost than a good old fashioned favor. Maybe there is someone in your life with some space to spare temporarily? A friend, a neighbor, a family member? Just remember to only bring organized boxes that you don’t need access to in the short term. That’s why we are dealing with deep storage now so we can pack away those other items after the holidays and have somewhere onsite to put them.

This yard could be cleaned up but it's covered by a POD

A note about PODS.

I get the question about using PODS (or POD equivalents) for storage a lot. I think they are really expensive and look terrible sitting in the driveway when your house is on the market. Unless you are moving a long distance they don’t make sense to me.

De-cluttering is tops

One of the top 3 best ways to present your house for sale is to de-clutter. If you follow the steps above, you’ll have cleared away ample space for that “clutter” to live while your house is for sale. And, you didn’t even have to pack any boxes; just move the ones that are already packed. Now we have a holiday solution that you will thank yourself for later.

If you like what you are reading please comment below or subscribe for more articles. If you are in the Oregon City and Portland area and need someone to market your house for sale please contact me directly at randybydesign@gmail.com.

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Randy Hamilton is a principal real estate broker with Coldwell Banker Bain Realty in Oregon City, Oregon. He is a 2nd generation Realtor, bringing over 10 years of experience to marketing properties, negotiating sales and being an advocate for buyers & sellers. As a Certified Staging Agent, he is uniquely qualified to promote your home’s best features, and he puts that knowledge to work on houses in all price ranges.

You can reach him at 503.545.8521, or randallhamilton@cbbain.com.

Randy is a licensed Realtor in the state of Oregon.

#randybydesign, #sellingyourhome, #rbdsellshomes, #makesomeroom, #holidaydeclutter