Decluttering advice from Wendy at Petermans

Declutter before you sell

Before you think of putting your house on the market a huge declutter is often really helpful. For one, it really gets your head round the fact that you are going to sell your house, which sometimes can be incredibly daunting even if you are looking forward to your next home. Secondly it just shows how much junk one collects through their life.

My advice to you is ensure that you have a free weekend – get the kids looked after – send hubby to football/rugby, call round a friend, put a bottle of wine in the fridge and get to work!!

Here are a few tips to get you on your way:

• Firstly clear your mind of personal attachment to the property. It’s hard to do, but will help with the next steps.
• Try to de-personalize your house – rationalize your belongings and put away evidence of hobbies, photos etc.
• Tidy up the clutter and try to keep it that way – although everyone realizes you still have to live there!
• Take a good look around the house and only keep the things that you really need (go through every room with a fine toothcomb).
• Take all your unwanted items to a charity shop.

Remember first impressions count – the entrance hall sets the tone for the rest of the viewing, so don’t use it as a dumping ground – clear the coats, hats umbrellas and shoes.

If you have a communal area tidy and repaint, smarten it up.

Use artificial light to highlight certain areas of a room to make it look more spacious, for example dark corners and hallways. Keep window dressing to a minimum. This will maximize natural light by allowing it to flood in.

Well that will take you all day, so take a rest now, open up the wine and chill. Enjoy the look on everyone’s faces when they come home.