Stress Free Selling: How to Declutter Your Home

Chances are that if you’re thinking about selling your house you’ve looked around at the years of stuff you have stored in closets and corners and felt overwhelmed. The prospect of getting your home ready for sale can be daunting. Where do you start?

We are here to help. Just as no two people or homes are alike decluttering is not going to be one-size-fits-all. There is no shortage, however, of methods for decluttering. In the spirit of helping you get ready to sell your home (with the help of one of our AMAZING EXIT Realtors!), we have put together a list of methods to meet every need. 

Only Keep What You Love

This method is touted by organization gurus everywhere. The idea is that you should only have things in your house that are either useful or your favorite. 

In her version of this method Emily Ley of Simplified, a company that works to help women live a more simple and organized life, uses a simple mantra, is it “the best, the favorite, or necessary.” You would use this by going through your belongings room by room and looking at all of a certain type of thing at once, such as blankets. You go to the linen closet and take out all the blankets and box up any that don’t make the cut. Then do the towels. 

The Kon Mari Method popularized by Marie Kondo is based around the tenant that you keep no object in your home unless it “sparks joy”. Kondo’s method is very prescriptive, so if you want to give it a try I suggest getting a copy of her book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. In order to follow the Kondo method, you would work through all of your possessions in a specific order, touching every possession and asking yourself if it sparks joy. If this method works for you it can be a useful way to let go of much of the clutter. 

Similarly, the Ex Test is another method that asks you to declutter by evaluating how much you need or like your possessions. In this method, you look at an item and ask yourself if you would contact an ex you hate to get the item back. If not, then it’s time to let the item go. 

Pros: You see exactly how much stuff you have. Forces you to make tough choices. Very systematic for those who like a plan.  

Cons: This method is messy and time-consuming. If the job in front of you was already overwhelming pulling everything out will do little to lessen that. 

Use a Box

Several methods use a box or boxes to help you sort through your things. Each twist on the method offers a powerful way to only keep what you use. 

The Toss Box Method suggests you place empty boxes around your house. Every time you go to select an object and avoid a particular object for whatever reason, you put the item in the box. For example, if you reach into the utensil drawer and rummage around for the good spatula grab the spatula you don’t like, and put it in the box. Similarly, when you are getting dressed and a pair of pants don’t fit well, you toss them in the box. Eventually, you will have removed all items that aren’t your favorite. 

Pros: You learn to identify in-the-moment items you don’t like. This method can be worked into your everyday life

Cons: This method requires you to be very self-aware and will take a good amount of time to complete. 

The Box and Banish Method from Apartment Therapy also asks you to place boxes around your home, although this time they should be out of sight but easy to access. In each box place the items you are unsure if you should keep and close it up. If you find yourself needing an item in the box you can remove it and keep it. However, after a predetermined amount of time (you pick, a month, a week?) anything inside the box you haven’t needed gets donated. 

Pros: Your space will be instantly clutter-free and it give you a safety net against throwing out something you need. 

Cons: The clutter is still there and one weak moment will allow it to all return to your space. 

The Pretend You’re Moving Method is a mental exercise that asks you to envision that your home is sold and you need to pack your belongings, pay to have them moved, and then unpack them. With that in mind look at your things. Anything you don’t want to go to the trouble to move, get rid of. 

Pros: Visualizing your move is a great way to start manifesting the kind of life you want and provides plenty of motivation to declutter. 

Cons: As a mental method this one can be heavy on thinking and lite on action unless you take the next step. 

A more extreme, but similar method is called Packing Party. In this method, you choose a room to declutter and pack everything in the room into boxes like you’re moving. Over the next several months remove anything from the boxes that you need and return them to their place. After three months anything left in the boxes can be sold or donated. 

Pros: This method is extreme but effective if you’re willing to see it through. 

Cons: This method will require you to pack and then unpack and then repack your home once you sell. 

The most common box method is called the Four Box Method. Here you label four boxes: Trash, Donate/ Sell, Store, Keep. One room at a time sort your belongings into the appropriate boxes. When the boxes are full dispose of the trash right away, put your “Donate/ Sell” box by the door or in the trunk of your car, seal the “Storage” box and place it in storage, and return the “Keep” items to their places. 

Pros: This method is simple and can be done as you have time. It also offers clear parameters for sorting your things. 

Cons: There is no method behind deciding what to keep and ultimately you may be tempted to just move all the boxes into storage and the clutter will remain. 

Boundaries 

Boundary methods of decluttering help you to simplify and reduce the number of things you own by making rules for you to follow.  

The first of these is the Container Method which is derived from the book The More of Less by Joshua Becker. The container method says that a container has a finite size, only so much will fit into it. Period. You can use a literal container or consider a space, like your medicine cabinet, as a container. You can keep whatever you like as long as it fits in the container. 

Pros: There is no one dictating what you have to get rid of. The rule is simple and easy to follow. 

Cons: You can always get another container… so this method takes some willpower. 

The One In One Out Method is as simple as the name suggests. For every item you bring into your home you must get rid of one. This can be especially helpful for those collections and closets. 

Pros: This rule is great for keeping the number of things in your home from growing. 

Cons: It isn’t going to get rid of the clutter you already have. 

The 50% Less Rule says that you go through your things and for every item you decide to keep you have to choose one to get rid of. When you are finished you will have effectively reduced your possessions by half. 

Pros: Letting go of half of your possessions will help you understand what is important to you and will clear out the clutter quickly. 

Cons: Letting go of 50% of your staff can seem extreme to even the most motivated people. 

Hire a Professional

If decluttering seems too overwhelming or you just don't have time in your busy life to tackle the project there are plenty of professional organizers out there who are happy to help. A quick google search pulled up the following list of organizers local to the Wells area. 

Hello Simplified- Portsmouth, NH 919-346-4725 hello-simplified.com 

J&L Home Organizing- Portsmouth, NH jandlhome.com

Organize ME!- Portland, ME 207-318-5905 organizemaine.com

Pros: A professional will not have any emotional ties to the clutter. The job will get done promptly. 

Cons: Hiring a professional will cost money. It will also mean allowing a stranger into your home. 

If you're still not sure where to start in the process of getting your home ready to sell or unsure about exactly how much needs to be done we encourage you to set up an appointment with one of our agents. We are happy to help in any way we can!