Jeannine 11/16/22 Jeannine 11/16/22

How staging can help sell your house

If you're a homeowner who wants to sell your house, you've probably heard a lot about staging. Staging is the practice of decorating and arranging your home in a way that makes it look more attractive to prospective buyers. The idea behind staging is that you can use this technique to make your home feel more spacious and inviting relative to other houses on the market. But what exactly does this entail? And how do you know if staging or just some simple home improvements will help sell your house?

Paint your front door black.

The front door is your first impression, so it's important to make it stand out. Painting it black will do just that. Black stands out and is clean, which can help you sell your house faster by creating an immediate impression as visitors pull up to your home. It also helps you avoid the trap of painting something like purple or green on your door because there’s no chance of buyer’s remorse: if someone buys in a few months, they’ll see the same color as before!

A great way to get started on this project is by choosing a shade that complements the neighborhood in which you live. If yours is more rustic and woodsy, choose something darker like charcoal or chocolate brown; if yours has lots of brick or stone accents, go with lighter options such as white or gray.

Stage the outside of your home as well as the inside.

The outside of your home is just as important as the inside. In fact, it's probably more important, because most buyers will make their decision based on how they feel when they first walk through the front door. That's why you need to make sure that everything outside looks great—from the lawn to your garage and driveway.

Make sure that your yard is well-cared for and free of dead plants or other clutter (don't forget about those flower beds).
Trim bushes, mow grass and get rid of any leaves or other debris on the ground.
Clean up gutters and remove any leaves or branches from them too.

Declutter!

This is the most common mistake we see when staging a house. There is a big difference between “clutter” and “value-add” items, so be sure to remove everything that doesn't add value to your home! For example, if you have too much furniture in your living room and dining room, consider getting rid of it all and investing in some more modern pieces that will make the space feel bigger (and therefore more valuable). Consider hiring a professional organizer to help you declutter, before staging your home. In addition to decluttering your kitchen cabinets and pantry, ask yourself whether or not every single item you own has a place at home. If it doesn't fit into any drawers/cabinets or has no place to live within your home (and this includes bookshelves!), donate those items immediately!

Trust your stager's advice.

As a homeowner, you should always trust your stager’s advice. If you don’t understand why they’re doing something, ask them to explain it to you! Stagers know what buyers want to see when they walk into a home, and they have years of experience in staging homes that have sold quickly. They are there to help you sell your house faster with less stress on both sides.

Remove family photos and other personal accessories.

Remove personal items (like family photos and memorabilia).
It goes without saying that staging a home can make it look more appealing to buyers, but it also helps you get rid of any clutter that might be distracting or take away from the positive aspects of your home.

Make sure your house smells good.

Of course, you can't stop every person from turning their nose up at your house. Sometimes it's just not for them. But if a potential buyer were to walk into your home and think "this smells like someone's been cooking in here," then that could be enough to turn them away forever. That's why it's important to make sure that the smell of your home is fresh, clean and inviting—and not like cleaning products! The goal is for buyers to imagine themselves living there and enjoying themselves. I know this sounds silly, but try this quick test: If you were walking by and smelled food coming from the kitchen of a house where people lived (and it wasn't 2am), would that make you want to go inside?

If so, then great! You're already halfway there with creating an inviting atmosphere in your home!

Staging can help you sell your house faster, but it helps to understand the basics on how to do this yourself so that you can use the stager more effectively.

Staging your home is an investment, but it's also not as simple as just removing clutter and making the house look nice. Staging can help you sell your house faster by outsmarting the buyer, which means understanding how buyers look at a home.

It's important to understand what buyers are looking for when they see a house on the market and why they're looking there in the first place. Work with a realtor to get the most value from your staged home.

And that's it! These are just a few of the things that staging can do for you, but there are many more. If you have any questions about how to stage your home or if you would like to learn more about our services, please contact us today. We'll be happy to help!

Flavia Roman 12/5/21 Flavia Roman 12/5/21

Three eco friendly and zero waste inspired gift ideas

With the upcoming holidays, we thought a gift guide inspired by the zero waste lifestyle would be a great way to remind ourselves that we are all responsible for keeping our planet clean and healthy. Adding some zero waste items to your everyday routine might sound like a small change but in the long run, can inspire others to do a little more themselves to live a bit more eco-friendly. Here are three gift ideas from professional organizers for creating less waste:

1. Janine from Tidy Closet recommends Reusable Make up Remover Pads and Eco-friendly beauty bars. Ever wonder what happens to all the disposable cotton rounds or face wipes when you throw them in the garbage? They take several years to degrade and impact our environment. Aside from the environmental impact, face wipes are often formulated with preservatives, which can damage the all-important skin barrier too. Many won't actually cleanse your skin and remove make-up effectively, while others are formulated with ingredients that can be abrasive and too harsh on sensitive skin types. Washable cotton rounds not only save you money but make a substantial reduction in waste. They are just as soft, if not softer than single-use cotton pads, and gentle on your skin. Another impact for less waste can be made with beauty bars that can be used in conjunction with reusable Makeup remover pads. 40% of the plastic comes from product packaging; 80 Billion plastic bottles disposed of around the world each year are from shampoo & conditioner alone. Beauty bars are made for the hair, face/body, and use biodegradable ingredients and compostable packaging so all solid bars leave no trace. They will also use less storage room in your closet and in the shower/bath because they are usually smaller than plastic bottles that are filled with liquids.
2. Professional Organizer and Konmari Consultant Kimberly from Tidy Spruce swears by her new favorite cleaning product L'AVANT Collective :
"My new favorite love has been L'AVANT Collective. It may seem odd to give hand soap or dish soap as a gift, but L'AVANT' Collective's products make for a major upgrade to your everyday essentials. L'AVANT Collective is a women-owned small business, and their products include non-toxic, plant and mineral-based candles, hand soap, dish soap, multi-purpose cleaner, cleaning wipes, and eco-friendly refills, that are people, pet, and planet safe. They don't contain any parabens, phosphates, or phthalates, and are cruelty-free.
These luxury products work and are safe to use on your marble, granite, and other stone surfaces. Not to mention, the bottles they use are gorgeous and come in environmentally friendly glass and post-consumer resin (PCR). Their Minimalist Collection nixes all the usual branding and gives a more elevated look to your space.
The 100% natural fragrances are absolutely HEAVENLY. I will literally spritz my home and car with the multi-purpose cleaner like its perfume because it smells that good. They just launched a new Limited Edition Winter Fir scent for their products, and I already have my order in. Beyond the holidays, they make for wonderful client gifts, housewarming gifts, and hostess gifts, and the company ships them to your door in recyclable and compostable packaging. “
3. Flavia, the owner of Alter Decorum, suggests a non-materialistic gift alternative this season; an E-book subscription. This is an absolute zero waste gift for a friend who is an avid book reader. In this service, there are hundreds of thousands of bestseller titles and constantly new releases to explore. This is a great alternative for people who might end up reading a book only halfway through, but at least it won’t become dormant on their bookshelf like it always happens with physical unread books. We all know how hard it can be to let go of almost any book, just because we paid money for it or once had really intended to read them. By even reading an entire e-book, the readers won’t ask themselves if that book is worth keeping anymore. Some people prefer to read more than one book at a time, which is great for balancing the pleasure of reading with the required reading for work or school. Either way, an E-book subscription is a zero-waste or clutter for someone who wants to stop spending a lifetime accumulating tons of books while continuing to read more. They cost less than printed books obviously because there’s no printing or packaging cost involved, cannot be lost or damaged, can be stored for offline reading when wi-fi isn’t available. The more good news about these e-books is that all the authors are paid when a book is read through this service, based on agreements. Just like Spotify for your eyes!

Flavia Roman 12/4/20 Flavia Roman 12/4/20

How to stay organized during holidays: 5 tips to keep all your holiday décor tidy

It all begins with an idea.

1.Sort by color and category and use clear boxes for easy identifying.

This will prevent you from grabbing and carrying decorations you’ll choose not to use. Especially if you’re into color schemes you most probably have at least 2-4 different color decorations for your Christmas tree. Decorations and lights for outdoor use should be in separate clear boxes from indoor ones.

2.Use labels for miscellaneous tools and gadgets

If you have gadgets such as timers or three outlet extension power cords, you might want to label and store it together with the lights you’ll be using it for. You don’t want to take your extension cord from your bedroom or office where you already have other gadgets plugged in. Or better yet, save yourself a trip to the store for every useful item you should have in handy every year.

3.Toss any decorations that are broken or simply don’t spark joy anymore.

Perhaps you changed your decorating style over the years. Translation: You stopped using cheap shiny garland or anything that screams snobbish or too tacky for your taste. If they are gently used, thank them for their service and donate them to charities that will give it to less fortunate families. Also think green and try keeping items out of landfills.

4.Don’t buy any items that you don’t really love just because they were on sale. Guilty as charged again?

As always, sales can add clutter to your house. Same goes for after holiday sales when you find yourself purchasing anything just because it was on sale and not because it was a rare find. A rare find like vintage decorations from your mom’s attic are probably more valuable and chances are you’ll proudly display them.

5. Don’t scatter storage, keep everything in one designated area so you know where to find it next year.

You want to store all you holiday décor in one place, by category, not location. Chances are you won’t remember until next year where you randomly stored your Christmas lights, if you choose to store them in a different location where the rest of holiday décor is. This way you’ll also avoid unwanted possible arguments with the family members from blaming each other for ‘’storing and forgetting’’.