As you’re about to become a home seller aspiring for many favorable showings, we thought we’d give you some hints on the best – and worst – last-minute hiding places.
Rushing home after work and don’t have a lot of time to clean up the house before a showing? Here are some resourceful tactics for impromptu showings. A little effort and some quick thinking goes a long way in making sure your property is always in top shape.
THE BEST LAST-MINUTE HIDING PLACES
- UNDER THE BED
Even though this is a common hiding place, it’s so obvious sometimes you may forget about it. What makes this an ideal place is that it’s roomy, usually located centrally in the room, and buyers rarely look under a bed. In a rush, kick clothes, toys, shoes, or whatever other clutter there is under the bed. - IN THE WASHER OR DRYER
Buyers rarely, if ever, open a washer or dryer. This makes them ideal last-minute hideaways for toys, books, and boots, as well as dirty clothes. When utilizing this hiding place, it is a VERY good idea to tell the rest of the family! You never know when someone will get ambitious and turn on the dryer, or start to fill the washer. - TRUNK OF YOUR CAR
Scooping toys, unpaid bills and even dirty dishes into a laundry basket and then putting it in the car is a very handy way to hide clutter. It’s easy, it’s fast, and no one will ever know it was there. - IN THE FRIDGE
For most buyers, opening your refrigerator will be off limits. This makes it an ideal place for the last-minute stashing of anything that won’t suffer from being a little cold! - BEHIND THE COUCH
Pull the sofa a few inches away from the wall and you can quickly stash coats, backpacks, shoes, and even dirty laundry out of sight and out of mind.
THE WORST LAST MINUTE HIDING PLACES
- IN THE OVEN
A surprising number of buyers will open the oven door. Make sure you have cleaned the oven and don’t store your pots and pans inside. Doing so makes it appear as if you are short on kitchen space. - LAUNDRY ROOM
Buyers tend to remember a nice, neat laundry room. Filling the sink and covering the counters shrinks the size of the room, minimizing its perceived utility. - BEDROOM CLOSETS
All home buyers today desire roomy closets and lots of storage space. This is a good time to empty your closets, store the extra items in boxes or hold a yard sale. Avoid cramming the bedroom closets with extras; the more space that shows in your closets, the better. - KITCHEN DRAWERS
The same buyers who would not dream of opening your refrigerator will think nothing of pulling out a drawer. Try to keep kitchen drawers as uncluttered as possible. You might want to use a bedroom drawer for seldom-used kitchen utensils, measuring cups and Tupperware lids. - KITCHEN PANTRY
Of all the storage space, the kitchen pantry might be the most important. Now would be a good time to pack up all of the extras that you are currently storing in your pantry. Organize your cans and boxes. The less cluttered the pantry is, the bigger it looks, and the more buyers will remember it favorably.