Declutter to get that sale

Don't be fooled that you can hide the clutter. Photo / Getty Images

The faster you declutter, the quicker you sell your home. Less stuff gives the impression of more space and allows buyers to imagine their own belongings in your home.

It's relatively easy to get rid of excess sofas, chairs, bicycles and other big stuff. But sweating the small stuff can be a whole lot more difficult.

Don't be fooled that you can hide the clutter. Open home viewers open cupboards and drawers to imagine where their own stuff would go. Jam-packed drawers give the impression of no space. And that's a real no-no.

"Buyers like storage room," says Martin Cooper, managing director of Harcourts Cooper & Co on the North Shore. "So let them see you have plenty of room by not having it all full."

Declutter your drawers, shelves, wardrobes, linen cupboards, kitchen surfaces, garages, and anywhere else you can to stop even the slightest impersonation of a hoarder.

The more you can get rid of, the easier and cheaper your move will be. Don't expect to do this all in one weekend.

Give yourself a few months if you can and do a bit every night.

Start with your wardrobe. That's an area where many Kiwis have clutter blindness.

"When you wear an item and return it to your wardrobe, turn the hanger around the other way," Daniel Coulson, national residential manager at Bayleys says. "After a couple of weeks of this, you will pretty quickly see what items you can do without."

Cooper's cure is for vendors to interview every item in their wardrobe. "If you have not worn it for a year get rid of it. Set a goal number like 20 items get fired today."

Do the same with pantry, linen cupboard, kitchen cabinets and anywhere else you're hoarding excess stuff, says Cooper.

Other tips to declutter include:
• Give one item away a day or at least list it on Trade Me if it's worth something and you couldn't otherwise part with it. That's 90 fewer things in your house after three months.
• Fill pink bags. Use a five-minute slot to fill a pink charity bag or bin liner. Don't sit down until it's stuffed full with items to donate to charity. Then take that bag to the Op Shop quickly before you change your mind. Or fill the bag with items that you can sell in one bulk lot on Trade Me.
• Take the 12-12-12 challenge. Find 12 items to donate, 12 to throw away or recycle and 12 to return to relocate. Another such numbers challenge is the 1-2-3. Every time you decide what to do with one item, pick up number two and then three and deal with that as well.
• Ask yourself , "Do I really need this"? Or use other psychological approaches such as "If I had to buy this today would I be willing to pay money for it?"