I have been selling homes as a Realtor in Burlington County for 5 years and have been staging homes for the real estate market for 2 years.  I have helped many sellers determine what repairs to make, what needs to be updated, and what it would take to market their homes with staging.

 And then it happened... (queue the scary music)

My own home is for sale!  I know the stats-- staged homes sell faster and for more money.  As part of my marketing plan, I needed to stage the house!  So-- would I be able to take what I dished out?  Live what I preached?  Take my own advice?  (Here's where my clients gleefully cheer, "ha-ha, now SHE has to do it!)

OK, first things first.  De-cluttering.  We all hear the word; we all know we have to do it, but until you're selling your home, you usually aren't forced to do it.

What needed to go?

•  The family photos:  Packed away!  People are distracted by faces and I want them to focus on the house.  Also, my goal is to help buyers see themselves living in my house, not me.  Family photos may give buyers the sense they are invading on my territory.  I did leave out a couple of travel photos-- my theory is that pictures of me in exotic locations may help buyers envision a lifestyle that can be theirs!  (Because my life is soooo glamorous... )

•  Extra furniture:  I determined what I really want to move with me.  Did I buy it in the last decade?  Have the kids and pets wreaked havoc on it?  Do I use it?  Is there really room in my new home for it?  If not, it was sold in the moving sale or on Craigslist, or donated. 

•  Anything that doesn't bring on my "happy face":  I use this method all the time in de-cluttering.  When I consider the item, I take note of what my face does.  Do I scrunch up my face and think, "oh yeah, Aunt Mable gave me that."  Do I get a worried look and think, "what am I going to do with that?"  Or-- do I smile and say, "Oh, I always loved that!"  I pay attention to my face and if the item doesn't make me smile, it is outta here!  I keep only the things that bring me joy!

Once I determined what I'm keeping, I packed away anything that is not useful or beautiful and left out only my best items for staging.  I packed anything smaller than my hand-- it's a much cleaner look to have one beautiful item on display rather than several small ones.   

OK, now that's done and I have a lot less I have to deal with!  I can tell you it's a really good feeling to unload stuff that's just been taking up space!  What wasn't packed or sold, got donated or trashed.  It is also much easier to keep everything clean since there's not nearly as much stuff!

Next on the list:  Repairs, painting, and updating.  Carpets and windows were replaced, bathrooms updated, painting done just about everywhere.  A ton of work, really.  Still recuperating.  And this was all BEFORE the actual staging of the home began!

 Am I going to be able to keep this up?

 Stay tuned for my next post:

My First Hand Experience with Staging my NJ Home-- Part Two:  The Staging

Michele Rose is a Realtor and Professional Home Stager in Burlington County, NJ.  She has been assisting both buyers and sellers with their real estate needs for the last 5 years.  In 2007, she formed Rose-Colored Staging to help sellers market their homes with professional home staging.