So your home is on the market…congratulations! The goal, of course, is that it sells quickly and your family doesn’t have to spend any longer than necessary living in a showpiece. Particularly if your house has been professionally staged, knowing how to live there day-to-day can be tricky.
Here are five tips for living in a staged home without going nuts.
- Pack Out Some Stuff
You’ll be moving out eventually, right? The less stuff in your home now, the less you have to pack later, and the easier it will be to keep tidy. Spend a weekend packing boxes full of “extra” things like your giant book collection or your fifteen winter coats, then store them somewhere out of sight. You’ll have an easier time finding open closet and cabinet space for your remaining stuff. - Send Your Pet on Vacation
Pets are one of the toughest things to “hide” when it comes to staging a home. Not only do they come with a lot of stuff like a bed, food bowls, and toys, they can imbue a certain smell as well. Keep the pet hair and pet accoutrements at bay by finding alternate housing for your animal for a couple of weeks…just visit often! - Assign a Zone
No one should be responsible for cleaning an entire home by themselves! Whether you have kids, a partner, or a live-in mother-in-law, everyone should be assigned a “zone” to manage when a showing is scheduled. From there, everyone can clean up their zone and restore it to its staged state without too much hassle every time a showing pops up. - Keep Surfaces Clear
It’s easier always being prepared for a showing than scrambling at the last minute. When your surfaces are clear, all it takes is a little fluffing, wiping, and rearranging to get your home in tip-top shape. In the kitchen, move the small appliances, sponge, and dish rack into permanent cabinet storage. In the bathrooms, keep toothbrushes, soap, and toiletries under the sink. In bedrooms and living spaces, more stuff on surfaces just means more dust; have your stager clear them off then keep them clear. - Take Pictures
The easiest way to remember how to “put your house back together?” As soon as staging is done, take a clear picture of each room. When a showing hits, refer back to the staging pictures to remind yourself how far apart the furniture was spaced and what, exactly, was on the breakfast room table. Don’t spend time trying to turn yourself into a professional designer when you could just be prepping for buyers.
At Creative Home Stagers, we work with sellers who continue to live in their property all the time. With a little preparation and a lot of organization, living in a staged home isn’t just manageable, it can be a relief!
Need help staging your home for sale? Give the team at Creative Home Stagers a call today to get started.