Chester County, PA Home Staging Tip: How to Live In A Staged Home

So you’ve had a professional home stager come to your home and you’ve done everything that they recommended in order to get your home sold fast and for top dollar. Now you probably wonder how are you going to keep your home show ready all the time.   [/one-half-first][one-half]Model homes make us dream about living there, but living in your own home while it is being staged can be exhausting. Your home doesn’t have to look show-ready ALL the time because the way we live is different from the way we stage a home to sell. The key is to contain you personal items so your home can become show-ready at the last minute. Now that you’ve packed up all the things that are not needed for the next few months, keep in mind this is not the time to be buying more toys or kitchen gadgets. We want buyers to think that there is adequate storage and staying organized is easy so don’t try to shove everything off counters into kitchen cabinets and closets at the last minute. Buyers will probably open every cabinet and drawer unless it’s furniture. Instead you can use a basket or a box to store keys, mail, bills, unread magazines etc. and keep it in an out-of-the way place such like in a drawer in a desk. It will not only eliminate a cluttered appearance, but it will also protect your privacy.[/one-half] [one-half-first]Remove all toiletries from the bath counters and showers because buyers don’t want to see your used bottles of shampoo and body wash. Think “spa” or “hotel”. If you don’t have a closed cabinet under the sink, purchase baskets to store these items. Your home stager probably recommended white, new and fluffy towels be displayed during showings. You can keep the display-only towels, on the towel bars, and hang your regular towels elsewhere. Before a showing remember to remove the laterr and put in the washing machine or laundry basket. Another option would be to have the new towels neatly stored in a linen closet or in the cabinet under the sink. Before an open house do the towel switcheroo. [/one-half-first] [one-half] [/one-half] [one-half-first] [/one-half-first] [one-half]At the suggestion of your home stager you’ve probably packed away some or most of the toys(children only play with maximum 10-20 of them anyhow!). Make sure you have storage bins or chests in which to put these items. They make for a much neater appearance. For a fast clean up another suggestion would be to take a laundry basket and walk through the home and put everything in there that you don’t have room to store away. The laundry basket can be stored in the basement, or the trunk of your car to be safe:) There are many other things that should be done prior to showing your home and having an open house checklist handy is helpful so that you know exactly what you have to do.[/one-half]