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When trying to sell a home, closet space and storage are just as important to a perspective buyer as is the building’s square footage. You need potential buyers to think you have the World’s Biggest Closets. Of course, making the closets physically larger isn’t possible, so the goal is to make them appear larger.
Visualization is everything. The buyer may know the dimensions, but the eye is the real measure here. How to accomplish this optical illusion? By making it appear as if your closets have plenty of space still available to be filled.
You’ll need to go through all your closets, and I suggest you begin with the easiest closets first. How about beginning with the entryway closet? When you get done decluttering that one, it should contain nothing more than a few seasonal coats, a pair or two of boots, some accessories, and a few extra nice looking hangers. Nothing else… Be sure the floor is practically bare and that you can see all four walls as well as the ceiling. The less stuff you have in your closets, the better. It’s all about s-p-a-c-e.
Repeat the same process in your linen and utility closets as you did with the entryway closet. Sort out anything that’s not absolutely necessary and store it, leaving lots of room in the closet. I’m a big fan of donating any old no longer wanted towels, sheets and blankets to the local animal shelter. They will put them to good use.
Bedroom closets will be a bit more challenging. Here you need to take everything out of the closet…everything. Reduce your clothing down to about a dozen outfits. Be sure to hang them neatly on hangers. You want to make your clothes sparse. Box up anything and everything that is not being worn currently. Extra clothes and shoes need to go away. The out-of-season wardrobe items and any of those clothes you won’t wear in the next several months need to be boxed up. The shelves can have a few boxes and the floor can have a few pairs of shoes, but when a potential buyer opens the door, they should be able to see all the surfaces, walls, and ceiling.
What you are trying to accomplish with this clean sweep is to give your buyer a good look at the size of your closets. Make sure each closet is no more than half full. You want to create the illusion of space. If the buyer sees how much MORE room you have to fill-up, they will instantly feel the closets are spacious. If the buyer opens a closet door and the contents are bulging right out into the room or even worse, fall out, they will know immediately they will never get all their belongings in that space.
So… box it up and get it out of there. Your closets need to scream “Look at all the room in here!” Without that, a potential buyer will think there is not enough closet space in your house, walk away and never look back.
An added bonus for you is that your buyers will be impressed by what an organized and particular person has owned the house. That goes a long way to assuring them the rest of the house has been carefully maintained as well.
Helping You Find a Home You Love!
Cheryl Major, Realtor
Cheryl Major lives in Westford and is a Realtor with Coldwell Banker. Follow Cheryl on Twitter @WestfordAreaRE and on Facebook:Â https://www.facebook.com/WestfordAreaRealEstate/
Cheryl is a full time residential Realtor with more than 25 years experience.
Questions? Email Cheryl at Cheryl.Major@nemoves.com and be sure to put Real Estate Question in the subject line. Your question and its answer will be included in a future article or will be responded to directly.
