A Tried and True Rule When Selling a House

I am a huge fan of Shirley Temple so have a lot of her memorabilia. Pictured is one of my porcelain Shirley Temple dolls. What does Shirley Temple have to do with selling a house? If you have read anything about this child star you will already know. For those who haven't read about Shirley her mother's saying before any performance was one simple word - sparkle. That word was a direct signal to put on the sunniest smile and disposition possible. When it comes to selling a house that is what you really have to do - sparkle. Here's a few things I do before a showing to make our house sparkle:

• cleaning - This goes without saying but we have been in houses on both ends of the spectrum when it comes to cleanliness. I like using the midstream with everything neat and tidy, clean and dust free BUT not offensive smells of cleaners.
• continual decluttering - This serves 2 purposes. First it gives the appearance of rooms looking larger and more spacious. Before each showing go through the house with a grocery bag collecting up anything that can permanently be removed from the room. It's even better if you can get this bag into the donation or give away box because down the road you won't have to move it.
  
• shiny - Every possible household item that can be made to sparkle should be made to sparkle. This includes: windows, mirrors, chrome, metal trim, appliance trim, light bulbs, light fixtures and in short if you can make it shine do so. If you have a pot rack in your kitchen, shine up those pots and the same applies to any knives on a knife rack. Yes, none of this is staying with the house but honestly if someone sees your stainless steel pots are water marked they will wonder if you don't make your pots shine, what else have you neglected to do.
  
• pay attention to details - Small details do matter. Go through the house with a Magic Eraser and remove any marks on painted walls. Replace any electrical outlet and covers if necessary. Make sure all light bulbs are working. Wipe down light switch covers and wipe away any finger prints anywhere! Even if your appliances are not part of the sale make sure they are squeaky clean as any potential buyer can always put in an offer including one or more of the appliances but if your appliances are dirty this will be a turn off and one that could thwart a sale. Little things like fresh flowers on a table, a fresh loaf of homemade bread, blinds wide open if the sun is shining through and anything else you would like to see if you were viewing a potential house to buy.
  

Garden Gnome
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