Recently, while viewing our daily "Hotsheet" of new listings, I succumbed to an occupational hazard of Realtors everywhere and decided I wanted to go look at a new place for myself.  In all of my years involved in the Real Estate industry and as a Realtor, I have usually managed to avoid this occupational hazard.  Recently, I got caught, and have now purchased a nearly new condo in Metalworks, Downtown Guelph.

So, I am feverishly working on getting my home at 29 Glasgow St. N. in Guelph on the market.  In an effort to meet a self-imposed deadline. I have a Task list to keep myself on track. #1, is declutter and purge in preparation of doing some minor touch-ups and repairs.

Decluttering can mean many things to many different people.  In my case, it started with clothing and decluttering the clothes closet.  As you might know, many people judge space by eye, and how full or empty a closet or room is, determines whether or not people view it as large, or small.  In the case of closets, stuffed and bursting at the seams make closets appear too small, and then the rest of the house too small, with no storage.  When getting ready to sell, take 10% of your clothing to a donation bin (you aren't going to wear it anyway), and a further 50% into a Wardrobe box available from Home Depot or U-haul and move to storage.  Suddenly your closet will feel bigger, and so will your bedroom. 

One trick that my girlfriend and adventure companion taught me is to keep an inventory of each box that you pack. To make this approach easier I am using the app Google Keep to do this, and when I go looking for my undershirts, I can easily find them in 'Clothing Box 1" 

Now, if you apply that same formula to the rest of your home.  (10% donated, 50% to storage), your home will quickly feel like a model home, and the bonus is, you now have 60% less stuff to pack once your home is sold.  

Next week, I'll talk about repairs and painting.