Routine Maintenance

When your home is for sale, you need to be prepared to show it to buyers at short notice. To that end, here are some things you (or someone else) should do every day until your home sells.

• The dishes, or, at the very least, load dirty dishes into your dishwasher so they're out of sight. Nobody wants to see a sink full of food-encrusted plates and cutlery in a home they've come to view
•  Make the beds, complete with bedspreads for that polished look. Incorporate the task into your household's morning routine.
• Take out the garbage. Garbage means odor, and odor is one of the quickest ways to make uyers turn their nose up at your property. In addition to the kitchen bin, don't forget wastepaper baskets in bedrooms and bathrooms, etcetera.
• Vacuum/sweep, especially if you have children and/or pets. Spot-cleaning – cleaning up spilled crumbs or pet hair with a hand vac, for example – at the start or end of each day may be all that's necessary.
• Make your kitchen shine. Dirt is especially off-putting in kitchens, perhaps because that's where we eat. Clear off and clean surfaces such as the stove and countertops, and make sure your sink, faucet, and appliances gleam.
• Make bathrooms sparkle. Like kitchens, bathrooms are intimate spaces where the presence of dirt is particularly objectionable. Clear off and clean surfaces, and make sinks, faucets, toilets, and showers shine.
• Tidy up. Toys, paperwork, clothing – if it's out of place, throw it into some sort of catchall (e.g. a basket) and stow the whole thing out of sight until you have time to put everything in its rightful place.

Send to a Friend   Print