To sell your home in today’s market, staging is a must. We’ve already offered some advice on staging your house to sell, but how can you keep it ready to show while you and your family live there? Here are a few tips:

• Store What You Don’t Need Now – Take away everything that isn’t vital to the your everyday life and the picture you’re trying to create. Get rid of clutter. If any of your rooms looks or feels cramped with the furniture you currently have, move out some of your furniture, too. Staging time is the best time to give away, throw out or recycle things you no longer want. Store those things that you’ll want in your next home, but that just don’t fit the staging picture. If your basement or garage doesn’t have room to store your extras in an attractive way, consider renting a storage unit while your house is on the market. Just by paring down the number of possessions on display, you’ll already make your home more inviting—and much easier to keep showing-ready!
• Stay Ready With Daily Habits – Rather than scrambling to clean up every time a showing is scheduled, you may find it easier to develop new habits that keep your home ready most of the time. For example, make your bed every morning before you head out for the day. Get dishes into the dishwasher as soon as they’ve been used. Again, put anything that you don’t absolutely need into storage, and make sure that each item you keep out has a place to live: a handy, kid-level shelf or box for toys, for example, a rack for magazines, and shelf space for every small kitchen appliance.
• Have a Solid Plan for Showings – When a showing is scheduled, make sure your realtor knows who in your family to call first, and who to call next if that person can’t be reached. If you’re the most likely member of your household to be able to run home for that last bit of tidying up before a showing, be sure the realtor calls you first, and calls your spouse only after trying to reach you.

San Juan Realty is happy to answer any questions you may have about selling your home or buying your next home. Please feel free to give us a call or drop us an email. Are you looking for something to do while your beautifully staged house is being shown? Check out our local events calendar for fun ways to get out of the house!