1. Remove all personal property, including items you’re going to throw out
   Schedule bulk trash pick up to occur before closing day (no bulk trash at curb on closing day)
2. Vacuum and sweep floors
3. Clean the kitchen appliances, inside the refrigerator and stove, wipe down the counters, scrub the sinks and showers
4. Clean out the garage – including toxic items and other items you’re going to throw out
5. Make a list of any items pertaining to the property – extra flooring, paint cans, roofing materials, etc. Have an inquiry sent to the buyers to see if they want to keep those items or if they’d like you to dispose of them 
6. Manuals, warranties or guides for items staying within the home should remain in the home
7. Maintenance schedule should remain in the home
8. Yard should be freshly mowed on closing day
9. Contact utility company to have the utilities off/out of your name as of the day of closing
10. One front door key should be brought to closing; all other keys should be left in the kitchen of the home
11. Be sure to leave all garage door openers and remotes for fans/lights in the kitchen
12. If your mailbox has a key, leave the key and mailbox number (if applicable) in the kitchen
13. If you have an assigned parking spot, be sure to convey the spot number 
14. Cancel your Homeowners Insurance to coincide with the closing date; make sure to provide your new mailing address for your refund check
15. Update your address and forward your mail. Leave your forwarding address with the new buyers (for mail, deliveries, etc.)
16. Consider leaving a note with trash/recycle day. You may want to leave a congratulatory card or bottle of sparkling wine or juice
17. Maintenance professionals contact info. In a note, include the names and contact info for any maintenance professionals such as the pool guy, landscaping company or pest control people that you use.

Here’s a good idea of what you should include and what needs to go to property stage your home to sell.

Brightly colored frames

It’s not just what goes into the frame but the frame itself that can be a problem especially if you have a gallery wall. In order to keep a gallery wall organized and fresh keep all the frames consistent in silver, gold, white or black. A mixture of no frames with frames is also a nice look for a gallery wall.  

Personal photographs

While buying or selling a home is a very personal and emotional transaction, ironically if you want to sell your home, you need to remove yourself from the equation. You literally want to remove every trace of your personal self from the space, especially personal photographs.

Removing your photographs makes your home cleaner, sharper, less cluttered, and it also does two other important things for you. It allows the buyer to see themselves there. It also doesn’t distract them from what they came to see—the house.

Because buyers are looking for reasons to buy or not buy a home, they can get caught up in the personal connections they have to a seller. Do they have kids the same age? Were they both in the military? They can get caught up focusing on you rather than the home.

Once all of your personal photographs are gone, now you can start with a blank slate and figure out where you want to hang your existing art and possibly buy new pieces to avoid any large blank spaces. 

Artwork near the window (or another major design feature)

It’s not always a matter of what artwork you put up, it’s where you choose to display it. Hanging photographs or artwork near architectural features of the home, like windows or arches, can take away a buyer’s attention from where it needs to be. 

 Hang art to draw the eye to a feature of the home, draw the eye away from something that isn’t ideal, or keep the buyer moving to the next area. For instance, if the room features a large window with a beautiful view, don’t hang art to compete with that. Let the home sell itself. But if we are trying to direct a buyer to head a particular way down a hallway, we might hang a mirror or artwork on one side or the other to naturally draw them in, creating a flow, almost like a trail of breadcrumbs.

Artwork that’s too personal or political 

Don’t make a political statement with your art. If your artwork is political in nature or religious, edgy, provocative or scary, it’s best to go ahead and pack it up for the new home to remove any potential issues for the buyers. You want buyers to envision themselves in your home so give them the space for their own opinions and beliefs.