The time has come for you to sell your home and move on. But, before you open your doors to all the potential buyers, you have to make sure your home is spotless. Why? Because that is how you sell your home fast and sell it for the best price possible. So, bring out your cleaning tools and supplies, take a weekend off, and start scrubbing each and every corner of your home! However, be aware of the fact that cleaning for an open house is a bit different from regular cleaning. That is, there are a couple of more steps you have to take to ensure that your home is representable. But, fear not—we are here to help you out! And we will do that by sharing with you 6 tips for cleaning your home before your open house.
1. Declutter
There is no point in cleaning your home before your open house if your items will be scattered around. A messy home will always look dirty. Thus, before you start checking off things from your deep-cleaning checklist for a staged home, we strongly advise you to declutter it first. Together with other household members, go through all the items you have. Make a list of all the things you need for staging your home and get rid of the rest. You can give some of your items to your friends and family members, you can donate some to your local charitable organization, you can sell some online or in a yard/garage sale, etc.
Moreover, if you have some items that are cluttering your home but you simply can’t get rid of them, consider placing them in storage! You need your home to be free of clutter so that you can clean and stage it properly.
2. Depersonalize
While decluttering your home, it would be a good idea to depersonalize it as well. Doing this will give the potential buyers a chance to envision themselves living in your home, and thus, you will sell your home faster and for a higher price. Moreover, by depersonalizing, you will remove the excess stuff from your home—stuff that will get in your way while cleaning!
Depersonalization means removing all personal items from your home—family pictures, vacation souvenirs, antiques and heirlooms, and all things that can remind other people that this is your home. Of course, you don’t have to get rid of these—just move them to your new home before the open house. And, if that is not an option, place those personal things in storage (together with the previously mentioned items you don’t want to get rid of). miamimoversforless.com suggests that professional movers can help you with heavy lifting and transport, so don’t worry about a thing.
3. Deep Clean Every Room
Now that you are not surrounded by clutter and personal items, you can focus on cleaning your home before your open house. But, before you start, there is just one more thing you have to do – go shopping. That is, go shopping for cleaning supplies. You will need many of them as you will have a whole home to clean. We advise you to buy strong chemical cleaners—they are the only ones that can sanitize those dirtiest places in your home.
And, when cleaning your home before your open house, don’t clean only the ‘visible’ parts. Trust us, buyers will open your pantry, they will peak into your closets, and they will look behind the couch. No, this is not because they are nosy—this is because they want to see what they are buying. So, be thorough! Clean even the places you forgot you have in your home.
4. Don’t Forget to Clean the Exterior
We can all agree that first impression matters. So, when potential buyers come to your home to check it out, the first thing they will see is the exterior of your home, of course. They will see your fence, yard, driveway, patio, plants, and all other things you have in front of your house. Thus, you don’t need us to tell you that the exterior of your home needs cleaning and beautifying too!
If your budget allows it, it would be great to call a gardener to mow the lawn, trim the trees and bushes, add some flowers, etc. In addition to that, even hire a pressure cleaner to clean your driveway, stairs, patio, and all other outdoor places made of concrete. With their help, your yard will look amazing!
5. Have Somebody Babysit While You Are Cleaning Your Home Before Your Open House
This is not a cleaning tip per se, but it is a tip that will ensure your home stays clean during the open house. Children and pets, as you are already familiar with, can be little mess makers. No matter how much you clean your home and stage it for selling, they will find a way to mess everything up. There is no point in stressing about it; just find (or hire) somebody to babysit your little ones during the open house.
Moreover, a babysitter will also come in handy when packing for your upcoming spring cleaning and moving at the same time. That is, when your children and pets are ‘handled’ by a babysitter, you will be able to clean as you pack without any interruptions.
6. Make the Whole House Smell Delicious
Cleaning and staging your home will make it spotless and impressive. But, at the same time, it will also make it smell like strong chemicals. And, we can all agree that that is not an admirable smell when you have potential buyers over. So, when you are done cleaning your entire home and when you are done cleaning the places you always forget to clean, place your cleaning products somewhere where they can’t be seen (and smelled). Then, find a way to hide the chemical smell. The best way to do that is to open up the windows overnight. Then, right before the open house starts, light some candles. And, if you want to make the best first impression – bake some cookies and make some lemonade.
As you have seen, cleaning your home before your open house is more than just cleaning. Remember that attention to detail (mentioned above) is what counts. So, give our advice a try, and you will see buyers falling in love with your home.
