Key Takeaways
- Spring is the prime season in which to sell your home.
- A clean and neat home adds more value than any other improvement.
- Home buyers dislike clutter.
- Decide which repairs you can fix yourself, which require a professional, and get them
done.
Buyers come out of the woodwork to house hunt in spring, so spring is the perfect time to sell your home and also the perfect time to clean and declutter. Get both done and your reward will be a big check from a buyer who is impressed with how fresh, clean, and beautiful your home looks.
Martha Stewart has a great spring-cleaning checklist on her website—you might want to check out to make your plans. I’m a big believer in learning from the best, and she’s the best when it comes to obsessive cleaning.
Don’t be overwhelmed by the process. Attack the job one room at a time or one item at a time on your list. Get your cleaning supplies lined up, tools at the ready, and your list of repairs. You’ll do your personal inspection, going around the house, inside and out, inspecting for any damage to fixtures, woodwork, roof, walls, plumbing and electrical, and any home system issues with the sprinklers and pool.
Decide which repairs you can fix yourself or require a professional and get them done. Then you’re ready to start decluttering, organizing and taking your vacuum cleaner, scrub brush, and household cleaners in hand to do the deep cleaning of every nook and cranny in the house. A clean and neat home adds more value than any other improvement.
Inspecting Outside
Check your roof and exterior (siding, brick, stucco, etc.) signs of damage or general wear.
Check for holes and areas where animals and insects may have chosen to burrow over the winter. If you see termites or other wood destroying insects, have the house treated.
Sprucing Up Outside
Outside cleaning may take a little more “elbow grease” and time. Get started while you’re enjoying the warmer, sunny weather.
- Clean up leaves and debris from yards and gutters and sweep sidewalks and driveways. Power-wash siding and walkways for stubborn dirt and grime and to make the house sparkle.
- Scrub decks, patios, walkways, driveways, and treat mildew with bleach and water and a deck brush or add a coat of weather seal to decking or re-stain.
- Re apply paint to those worn or faded painted areas on the outside of the house.
- Clean porch ceilings and walls with a broom and wash walls with a polyester sponge.
- Wipe down outdoor furniture with mild dishwashing liquid and water and a bristle
- Apply new mulch and plant new shrubs, bushes and flowerbeds. Shrubs and bushes are also an inexpensive way to hide air conditioning units, recycling and trash bins, and any other eyesores around the outside of the house that are in clear view.
- Use window-cleaning products that attach to your hose, and blow your windows with water and suds. Squeegee to avoid streaking. Wash window screens and wipe down separately. Patch any holes or replace screens.
Inspecting Inside
Replace air filters, and call your air conditioning service company if you suspect your air conditioner has lost Freon or that the system is not working at peak performance.
Consider calling a chimney sweep to clean out chimneys and an air duct cleaning service to clean out ducts from dust, soot, particulates, or animal hair that’s been circulating in your home. Animals can be a major turnoff to some buyers. Some people are also allergic to animal hair and dander, so knowing you’ve removed every bit of your critters’ hair will set them at ease.
Organizing Inside
Next, focus your attention on reducing clutter inside. Organize closets, drawers, storage areas, tossing the things you haven’t used (and probably won’t ever use again). A great book on decluttering is “The Life –Changing Magic of Tidying Up.” This book is life changing.
Buyers dislike clutter. They want to see neat cabinets and closets (yes, they do look), and men want to see a garage that reveals usable space for their projects. Any other items in storage areas should be sorted, packed, tossed, or donated to charity.
Intense Indoor Cleaning
Here’s a brief checklist of what to clean inside and how:
Carpets and other flooring. Shampoo carpets to get nasty smells and stains out. Apply a wood cleaner to wood floors, wax to non-wood floors, or soapy water to ceramic floors.
Floors, counter tops, and walls. Reseal grout lines on walls, floors, and countertops. They’re porous and stain easily. A grout sealer with a small foam brush makes the job easy. A new coat of paint on walls can transform your house.
Upholstery. Use a dry cleaning sponge to pick up dirt, skin cells, and oil, and run a lint roller over cushions, sofas, and chairs.
General cleaning and dusting. Wipe walls, air vents, ceilings, and dust bookshelves. Remove dust with a vacuum cleaner or microfiber towel.
And you’re done! You’ve transformed a home that may have gotten a little neglected and cluttered from winter living into a sparkling spring home.
