In my spare time – yes, I do hear you laughing – I like to meander through other blogs and sites, especially those picture-riffic posts about home improvement, design and interior decoration. Scrolling through a blog that takes a home from drab to fab is like getting a good mental massage. First, it relaxes me and then I’m invigorated and full of new ideas. But, I’m a tiny bit busy, especially during this summer selling season, so it’s unlikely I’ll have time to retile my kitchen with these to-die-for white subway tiles (gray grout – GORGEOUS) anytime soon. Instead, I’ve been thinking about how some of these blogs and bloggers can give us all the inspiration we need to make a new house feel like our own or help us prepare our current homes for a quick sale. For the next several weeks, I’d like to introduce you to my favorite bloggers and blogs. You’ll quickly see why these DIY’ers appeal to me as a Realtor and why they might help you create a dreamy home.
This week, let’s focus on my friends and clients who plan to list their homes for sale in the next few months. Homes are selling fast and furious in Middle Tennessee and there is still time to take advantage of the magical summer selling season. But, there is a bit of a time crunch. In order to get your home sale-ready, you’ll need to triage a bit. There’s probably not time for a major renovation if you want that FOR SALE sign in your yard by the end of August, but there’s plenty of time for some simple – yet effective – home improvements that will help set your home apart from and above the rest. Allow me to introduce “The De-cluttered Home.” Consider this site your new best friend. It will allow you to create a thorough, yet manageable “to=do” list to clean out and de-clutter your home. And that, my home-selling, friends is the first and most important thing you can do to help make your home shine. In this case, less really is more!
I really encourage you to take some time perusing this entire site, but if time is of the essence (isn’t it always?!), start your de-cluttering project by reading this great post! Titled De-cluttering: Letting Go of Things You Love, it offers a great tutorial on eliminating some of the stuff that is weighing you down and keeping your home from looking as sleek and shiny as you’d like. It’s HARD to get rid of stuff. I get it. It’s especially hard to get rid of stuff that pulls at our heart strings. But, consider this… if you keep it all, you have to MOVE it all. Motivated now? Cool!
I love how this post provides a little therapy in the form of three important questions to ask yourself when you’re debating what should stay and what should go. Do you feel burdened by certain items? Do you see the items enough that they really bring you joy? Why do you really, really feel the need to keep a certain item? Once you get honest with yourself, you should be able to weed out many of the things that are cluttering up your home, your closets, your pantries and garage. And getting rid of that stuff really will make you – and your home — feel lighter and happier. After the brutal slash and burn, the site also provides some great ideas on how to repurpose those items that did actually make the cut and are allowed to stay. Instead of keeping a heavy box of Great Aunt Ethel’s bone china – place settings for 12, thank you very much – consider framing one setting in an oversized shadow box and displaying it as a conversation-starting point of art in your dining room. Photograph your kids’ artwork and then turn those pictures into an online album, while recycling the actual piles of paper!
I could go on and on – this post about quick de-cluttering is a must read when your home is on the market and you’re forced to keep your home clean and tidy 24/7 – but, this site says it all and is only a mouse-click away. I’d love to know what you think about the site, if you find other posts that are especially useful or if you have another site altogether that you use as your home-improvement bible. Leave a comment below and let’s take this blog-lovin’ journey together!
