Staging on a Budget: De-cluttering

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey

Real estate pros offer their best, most affordable staging ideas for de-cluttering.

Expand the Closet

"One of the most overlooked areas of staging is the closet. Most people will unclutter and move boxes out of the closet but forget about the hanging clothes. I tell my clients to remove the clothes they only wear once in a while. If the closet still looks stuffed, remove more. The ideal closet will have significant space (two hangers worth) between the next hanger."

-Joseph F. San Angelo, Coldwell Banker Real Estate, Clifton, N.J.

Before and After

"Have owners pack everything they don't use daily and put in storage or in the garage. It neutralizes the home and allows buyers to picture their family living there. It creates a sense of cleanliness and order by having clean countertops, sparsely decorated walls and minimal furniture. I give sellers before and after photos of other staged homes and remind them that this is how model homes sell."

-Amy Herring, Keller Williams, Tallahassee, Fla.

Create a Neutral Pallet

"When I first meet with potential clients planning to put their house on the market, I walk through the home with them and make a detailed list of all furniture, clothing, and miscellaneous items that should be packed away. Staging a home requires that each space be defined, but that personal items and clutter be non-existent. Potential buyers need to see a neutral pallet: Rooms that they can envision themselves living. I then pay for the delivery and removal of a Smartbox portable storage unit as part of my marketing strategy."

-Carrie Mock, Long and Foster Real Estate, Annapolis, Md.

Nix Those Personal Photos

Make sure there are no personal photos to be seen anywhere in your listing. Pack them up or put them away. Buyers tend to stop and see who lives there, which takes them away from seeing the home's attributes!"

-Kyle Davis, RE/MAX Select Properties Inc., Ashburn, Va.

Don't Let Furniture Get in the Way

"I think one of my top staging tips is to arrange the furniture so that it does not block any of the home's features and allows for easy traffic flow. Sometimes that means removing some furniture-the more furniture in a room, the smaller the room looks."

-Jean Risha, Greenwood King Properties, Houston, Texas

Published: March 2009 REALTOR magazine

Reprinted from REALTOR® magazine with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.