Decluttering Before Staging: The First Step to Selling Your Home

Even the best house styling can't overcome a cluttered home. Decluttering before staging gives your stylist a clean canvas and helps buyers focus on the property itself. Here's a simple approach.

Start with surfaces

Clear every benchtop, shelf and table. Kitchen benches, bathroom vanities and console tables should be almost empty. A single styled item is fine; a pile of daily clutter is not.

Depersonalise

Pack away personal photos, certificates, kids' artwork and toiletries. Buyers need to picture their own lives in the home, which is hard when yours is on display.

Edit furniture

Too much furniture makes rooms feel small. Remove pieces that aren't essential — that extra chair, the bulky entertainment unit, the oversized coffee table. Your stylist will bring the right pieces back in.

Tidy storage spaces

Buyers open cupboards and wardrobes. Neat, half-empty storage suggests the home has plenty of room. Overstuffed cupboards suggest the opposite.

Box it up and store it

Once you've decluttered, box everything up and move it out of the home — into storage, not the garage, which buyers also inspect. A clean, clear home is the perfect base for professional staging.

Decluttering is free and it's the highest-impact thing you can do before your stylist arrives. Do it well and your staging will shine.

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