When seeking to sell your home you want to be sure that you make your property as appealing as possible to every potential buyer that walks through your door. Anything that will take away from the appeal of your home should be removed immediately. One of the biggest turnoffs to potential buyers is when they walk into a home and see nothing but clutter around. This is a huge no-no in the home selling process. If you are a Charleston homeowner seeking to sell your current property, the first thing you must do before showing anyone your property is getting rid of all unnecessary clutter. Here’s why:

Ways Clutter Can Hurt Your Home Selling Process
You want your home to be as beautiful as possible so that potential buyers are enticed enough to submit an offer. There is no such thing as beautification where there is clutter. Clutter takes focus away from the home to the point where home buyers will only see the unnecessary things laying around the home. Remember that when showing your home to potential buyers, less is more. The more open space potential buyers have to view, the more they can visualize ways they will decorate your property should they decide to purchase it.
Another way clutter can hurt the sale of your home is that it makes your home appear smaller than it really is. Open space makes each room in your home appear bigger. Although some items may have sentimental value to you, you have to consider the fact that when showing your home to potential buyers it is not about how you would have a house set up. Instead it is more about the buyers having the ability to see how they would set up the home. Here are some places you must be sure to keep clear of clutter:
- Living Room: Be sure to remove unnecessary furniture items that take up space and crowds the living room. Less is more!
- Dining Room: Make sure nothing is lying around on the table and chairs. The only thing on the table should be a floral centerpiece and a nice table setting.
- Bathrooms: Make sure all dirty clothes are in the hamper. Put away all personal toiletries as well. A nice towel set would be great to display on the towel rack.
- Entrances: No shoes, work bags or any other unnecessary items should be at the door entrances. Entrances should remain clear.
- Kitchen: Make sure all countertops are clear. Put away all mail and other items that do not belong on countertops. Make sure the kitchen trash is emptied as well
- Walls: Try to minimize pictures on the wall; especially portraits of you and your family. Give potential buyers a chance to imagine the house being theirs.
- Closets: Do not use closets to hide clutter. Visitors will be looking in closets as well to see how much room is in them. Clutter will make closets appear smaller.
Where Clutter Can Be Placed
For items you do not have much use for, instead of throwing them away seek charities and goodwill stores that can utilize your unwanted items to help others. For those items that do have sentimental value, seek a storage facility where you can store your valued possessions at a reasonable price. The last thing you want to do is stuff them in your closet. Potential home buyers will be looking in there to see how much space they might have. If it’s stacked with clutter, they might think there’s not enough room in the house for their stuff.

Selling Your Home in Charleston, SC
The neighborhoods in Charleston, SC are great selling points for your home selling process. However, you can greatly enhance the value of your property by taking the necessary steps to ensure that your home shows well. Removing clutter is a huge step in this process. Clutter will indeed take away from the appeal of your home. And the less appeal your home has, the less bargaining power you are giving yourself during the negotiation process.
To learn more about the home selling process in Charleston, contact us with your questions or read our free home seller’s eBook: