Selling your home can be stressful. Even people who are generally tidy and organized struggle with keeping things clean enough to withstand the scrutiny of a potential buyer. Throw children in the mix, and it can be overwhelming.
So how can you manage to juggle your daily responsibilities and selling a home when you have children? Here are five tips to make your life a little easier during this challenging time.
Consider Your Notice Requirements
When you work with a real estate agent, they will often push for a couple of hours of notice rather than a full 24-hour policy. This means that if someone wants to view your home, the onus is on you to have things clean and get out within a few hours.
The thought process makes sense: you want someone to view your home before they have a chance to look elsewhere. However, it’s not always realistic when you have small kids at home.
Whether you work with a realtor or handle the sale yourself with isoldmyhouse.com, set a notice requirement for yourself and stick to it. That way, you won’t be frantically doing last-minute cleaning or driving around aimlessly with your kids.
Take Time to Declutter
Before you list your home, take time to declutter. Go through toys that your children haven’t played with for a long time and donate them or pack them away. Leave a few favorites, but be sure that you have places to put them away or methods to keep them organized.
Generally, you should be decluttering your entire house. However, kids’ toys have a way of seemingly multiplying over time. Decluttering toys and clothing that no longer fits will clear up space, expedite the cleaning process, and make it easier to maintain.
Remove Kid-Heavy Decor
Not all buyers who move into a family home have kids or want kids. Even so, their personality and tastes may not match your own.
Keeping things as neutral as possible is one of the main ingredients in the secret sauce of home selling. This strategy applies to multiple areas of the home. For example, covering your bold, striking paint with a neutral shade is one of the first things to do when you plan on selling. This also applies to brightly colored kids’ rooms and accessories.
If you have kid-friendly posters and art hanging, consider packing it away during the sales process. This makes it easier for people to envision their own life at your house.
Keep the Chaos Contained to One Room
One of the easiest ways to keep your home tidy when trying to sell is to contain the mess to one room. Make a rule that toys must be kept within the designated area or that one thing can come out at a time and must be put away before another toy is brought out.
This isn’t a fun experience for children, and it’s likely to cause some arguments and tension. Help them out with gentle reminders or assistance in keeping things put away. Offer rewards for being helpful if it suits your parenting values.
Tidy Everyday
Setting a timer and tidying every day to maintain the effort you’ve put in is essential, especially when children are in the home. Setting the timer helps you stay focused on what you’re doing and carve out time for maintenance.
By using a timer, you can also create a speed-cleaning game with your children to get them involved. Google has fun countdown timers you can use to raise the stakes.
Communication is Key
Your children will pick up on your stress during this process. Set aside some time to talk to them about what’s going on and why these things matter. Answer questions as needed and try to stay patient. Plan fun activities for your outings when someone is coming to see the house and turn this experience into a family adventure.
