Naples Daily News columnist Marla Ottenstein shows you how to “Get Organized!”
Fort Myers professional organizer shares expertise on preparing & staging your home to sell.

As a professional organizer working in Fort Myers, Florida, people often ask for advice on how to organize and stage their homes in anticipation of putting them on the market to sell.

Besides pricing your home competitively, the process of organizing, de-cluttering and “lightly” staging the house BEFORE you list it is the single most important thing you can do to accelerate the sale.

The moment you decide to sell your home, it becomes an “investment,” and should be treated with the same objectivity as you would any other asset you’re trying to unload. The concept of creating space by getting organized, eliminating clutter and putting away as many personal effects as possible allows prospective homebuyers the ability to visualize how they would live in the home.

Of course, the most effective and efficient way to methodically organize and declutter your home is to hire a professional organizer, but if you’re set on doing it on your own, the only way to tackle the project is to conduct a “clean sweep” where you literally go through your house, room by room, and sort through every single counter top, drawer and closet, et cetera.

It’s a fact! Closet space is a “deal breaker.” If a prospective homebuyer can’t visualize how his or her stuff will fit in the closets, you’ve lost the sale. To make closets appear more spacious, clear out what you don’t need and hang everything on matching hangers.

Hint: Pack up “half” of everything that’s cluttering your closets, countertops, pantry, kitchen and garage, et cetera. Then pack up “half” of the remaining items. You’ll be left with a tidy home that will show well.