Home buyers are motivated by what they see and how a potential home appears to them. After all, a home is a big investment, and the visual exterior and interior of a home is a large factor in the sale of a home. Clutter hides the beauty of a home and can give a bad impression to a buyer. If you are looking to place your home on the market, but rooms of cluttered boxes are standing in the way, storage can help.

If you’re dealing with a lot of cluttered rooms, the easy solution would be to move items to a basement, attic or garage. The only problem? Future home buyers want to view an entire house before they buy, and if rooms are closed off or floors covered with lots of items, that could send up a lot of red flags. Could there be floor damage? What are they hiding? All fair thoughts and questions that can be easily avoided by placing unused items in storage.

Storage can be used as a temporary place to house certain belongings while your home is on the market. And in some cases, it can even help you get a head start on moving once your house is sold. Walk through your house as if you were the home buyer. What does the amount of clutter in your home say to you? Does it say, “Buy me?” or does it say “Keep looking.” If the latter, then it’s time to start looking for a storage unit.

What type of storage do I need? The type of storage you choose should be functional and effective. Your storage unit should hold all of the items that are cluttering your living space and preventing you from placing your house on the market. It should be large enough to accommodate what you want to store, but not too big so that you do not spend money where it could be used on moving expenses later.

What should I place in storage? A good tip for considering what to place in storage is to move items that are not being used but are taking up valuable space. Another tip is to store items that are covering important places in the home that buyers will want to see. For example, if you have beautiful walk-in closet space, but a closet filled with items, place some of those items in storage. This will help buyers to get a good visual of the space available and a better visualization of how their own items might fit. Apply this same theory as needed with other areas within the home, and that will help you to determine what to place into storage.

How should I pack up my items? Since you are selling your home, it’s a good idea to pack up your items in a way where they will be protected during storage and your move. Cover all the items you plan to store with protective covering, so that they will not break or wear during their time in storage. If you are moving boxes out of the way that are cluttering rooms in your home, open them up and check to see what is inside. If repackaging is needed, do so. The key point is making sure that you pack your items to withstand both storage and a move.

Benefits The benefits to placing items in storage will help you to clear up rooms in your home, so you can clean, prepare and stage your home in the best, marketable way. Potential home buyers will appreciate being able to walk through your home and see the true beauty of it.

We hope that these tips will help you as you prepare to sell your home, and for additional helpful information, check out our Storage page.