How to Live in Your Home While It’s On the Market

Having to live in your home while it’s on the market can be difficult to say the least. How, in fact, do you manage to live life regularly while keeping your home “show ready” week to week? Maintaining control over the piles of laundry, kid’s art projects, and mountain of dishes in the sink can seem impossible, however, with a little planning and preparation it can be done. Here are 5 ways to stay sane living in your home while it’s on the market:

• Control the Chaos: First and foremost: declutter, organize, and pack. Get rid of the things you don’t need like unnecessary clothes, furniture, toys, etc. and organize the things you do. Then, separate the organized stuff into two categories: things you need on hand and things you do not immediately need that you can pack away for the move. Doing this will make it easier for you when it comes time to keep your home in order while it’s on the market.
• Disguise Clutter: If the things you need on hand like children’s toys are unappealing and do not add to your perfect home appearance, then disguise them by investing in some decorative baskets or bins. This will assist in decluttering and help your home look its best when potential buyers come around.
• Eat Simply: The gourmet dinners you and your family normally have may need to be put on hold for a little bit. To keep your kitchen cleaner and avoid the load of dishes and dirty counter tops you may want to think about ordering take out, purchasing premade meals or, when making dinner, double or triple your batch for leftovers. This will help keep your kitchen shiny and easy to clean when it comes time for a showing.
• Invest in a Storage Unit: Free up some space in your home by investing in a storage unit. As they say, less is more, so putting extra unnecessary furniture or other items that may be overfilling your home in a storage unit is a great way to declutter and present clean and open rooms to potential home buyers.
• Make a Plan: Stay in contact with your realtor and ask them to consistently update you on showing dates/times so you can plan ahead and be prepared. Since your home is on the market, it will also need to be cleaned way more often than usual. Schedule certain days/times to clean your house to keep it in order and from looking too “lived in”. If you’d like, it may be wise to hire a professional cleaning service to stop by a few times to really get your home extra spotless.