Forget everything you’ve been taught about tidying up and decluttering because Japanese tidiness expert and space healer Marie Kondo just took the world by storm in her new Netflix series “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.” Perhaps you’ve been told that selling your home is all about location or maybe it’s about the perfect timing. Regardless of the aspects that help your home sell fast on the market, how you present your staged home is key to selling success. When staging your home, the space should be decluttered and feel minimal yet homey, sparse yet comfortable, clean and welcoming.
A great way to begin organization and decluttering is with the KonMari Method™. While it’s meant to help you enjoy life in your current home, the principles are also perfect for preparing your home to be listed for sale!
Getting rid of your possessions can be painful, especially if you attach emotion and memory to them. The KonMari method recognizes those emotional attachments and teaches you how to know when to hold onto something and when to let it go. Without binge-watching the Netflix series, we have put together our own approach on how to incorporate the KonMari method when staging your home.
Declutter, Declutter, Declutter
Simply put, a well-staged home is a decluttered and neat home. Decluttering can be daunting because after all, you may still be living in your home while you’re trying to stage and sell. The first step in KonMari instructs you to physically hold or touch the items in your house as you attempt to clean up clutter and get more organized. Then ask yourself the following question: does it spark joy?
As a general rule to staging your home in Atlanta, you want to show the mainstream functionality of each room. As Marie Kondo suggests, start your decluttering in the closets. Buyers will always look inside your closest! Storage is a big factor when buying a new home, so people want to see what is available to them in terms of closet space. Home staging tips for closet space is to thin out what’s in them as much as possible and replace clear bins with opaque ones. Make sure all hangers match, the remaining clothes are organized by color and the floor are as clear as possible. The KonMari method suggests a starting point by gathering up every single clothing item in the house, put it in one pile in the middle of the floor or on the bed, and pick up each item to decide whether or not to keep it.
Visualize Your Destination
The KonMari method says that before you throw things away, you need to visualize your ideal lifestyle. When it comes to home staging, this perspective turns into visualizing your ideal target audience. Set goals and think in concrete terms such as:
How do you want potential buyers to feel in your home?
What does the ideal lifestyle in this home look like?
What are the interests and hobbies of the target audience?
Answering these questions will help identify the way you want your home to be perceived by potential buyers as they tour your home and consider purchasing it.
Organizing
The popular KonMari method has two parts: declutter/discard and organization. When discarding, Kondo says you must begin with clothes, followed by books, papers, miscellany, and mementos. Within those categories, there’s a further breakdown. For example, in the clothing category, you move from tops to bottoms, jackets, socks and so on. Kondo also believes that you should treat your objects well, almost like they’re living things. With her specific folding method, clothes get carefully folded and stacked for ultimate organization while keeping your clothing in top shape.
It’s not just about clothes storage, though. The KonMari method stresses having a place for each item. Once you’ve significantly streamlined your possessions, put them back in an orderly way. The theory is that when everything has a place, it will get put back in the place, keeping your home tidy – permanently. Imagine living in a home while also having it staged in just a day’s time! Not only will it make life easier when you need to straighten up for a last-minute showing, but the majority of the work usually done during the packing and moving stage is already complete!
Spark Joy with Your Staged Home Prospective buyers need to be able to visualize themselves living in your home, and decluttering plays a big part in allowing them to do that. How has Marie Kondo’s pocket-sized book sold over 2 million copies and how has her Netflix series sparked millions of viewers? Because it’s legit! The KonMari method has raving reviews about how your home can instantly transform from an unmanageable mess to an ordered haven, perfect for everyday life or staging your Atlanta home to prepare it to sell. For more tips and trends for home staging in Atlanta, visit us at www.homedesign2sell.com.