Keeping Your Sanity While Your House is on the Market

While there is a small population of homeowners who maintain their homes so that they resemble a showroom – completely clutter free, decorator gorgeous, the house equivalent of Heidi Klum — it is generally not the norm. The majority of homeowners do not.

This does not mean that everyone else belongs on an episode of Hoarders, it just means that most people do have piles of mail and magazines, kids homework, art projects, pinch pots, toys, laundry, family photos everywhere – a lot of life within the house that anxiously awaits the once-a-week or every other week visit from a professional cleaning crew. Such is life, and there is nothing wrong with either scenario – unless your house is on the market.

When your house is on the market, buyers don’t want to see art projects, laundry, and mail. When your house is on the market, buyers want to walk into a showroom – the dream of what life would be like if they lived there. It is why “Pottery Barn” has become an adjective used by real estate agents when describing the look that many buyers seek. Keeping a house looking staged will benefit you — as a seller, you don’t want your buyers to be distracted by all of the “stuff” in the house. They should be focusing on the house and placing their own furniture as they walk through.

Having your house shown involves juggling – whether it is paperwork, kids activities, dogs that need to be walked and last but not least, keeping the house looking great. Now that school is back in session and the amount of paperwork and projects travelling home each day is likely enough to wallpaper the school itself, it is not always easy to keep your house clean, clutter free and staged for every single showing.

Sellers who are also buyers can appreciate this when they look at homes. Like everything that involves work (but is worth it), there are the moments when sellers would prefer to stop the entire process rather than keeping the house looking “buyer-perfect.”

It can be challenging enough to get every person in the house fed, dressed and to school or work on time without adding in the “sellers checklist,” which can include making sure that every bed is made, mail is put away, pillows are fluffed before they walk out the door in the morning – just in case the agent calls with a request for a same day showing.

Although it may be temporarily inconvenient, keep in mind that buyers wanting to see your house is positive. However, it is all worth it in the end and there are ways to keep your sanity (and your happy household) when your house is on the market.

According to Business and Organizational Consultant Wendy Kaiser of Exceptionally Efficient, there are ways in which you can keep your sanity when your house is on the market – and they are not daunting. She is also the mother of three children (including twins) and knows what she is talking about. Kaiser recommends:

1. Declutter — The more you declutter upfront, the easier it will be for you to maintain your home while it is on the market. Decluttering includes getting rid of unnecessary paper, furniture, toys, clothing, etc.
2. Calendar management — Keep your calendar/schedule, which should include activities for everyone in the family, up to date and with you at all times. Ideally, you should have an online/electronic calendar. Keeping this up to date and with you at all times will allow you to work with your broker to schedule showings quickly and efficiently.
3. Mail management — Develop a system for receiving and processing incoming mail including bills, reading materials and other action items. I suggest a small vertical file box that can be kept on your kitchen or office counter top with hanging folders, this eliminates piles of paper and can be easily moved and quickly stored in a closet or cabinet during showings.
4. School paper management — Create at least two hanging files for each child in your family. I suggest labeling the files as follows:  NAME - Completed, NAME - To Do. The "Completed" file should be used for work that has been completed, handed in to class and your child wants or needs to keep it. The "To Do" file should contain information about longer term projects and assignments. In this case, I also recommend using a small vertical file for each child. Note: The needs of middle school and high school students are more complex, however this general model can still be used.
5. Time management - Reserve a small amount of time every morning in your calendar (30 minutes) for minor decluttering, clean-up, etc. This will allow your broker to show your house more often, on short notice and will require less overall prep-time on your part.
6. Information management — Create folders on your computer or within your email to house information regarding activities, medical information and other important information for each member of your family. Refrain from printing every email that you think may be important. Try storing it in an online file first.
7. Last but not least, always have a Plan B — Talk to friends and neighbors ahead of time, let them know that your house is on the market and ask them if they are comfortable with you and your family coming over for an impromptu visit while a prospective buyer is checking out your house.

Having your house shown is a good thing. The suggestions above are to simplify the process and make it a little easier – not just when your house is on the market, but when you do receive your offer and need to start packing.