In my previous articles on preparing your house for sale I covered the landscaping and yard of your home, the exterior "envelope", and the mechanical systems.  Now, we come to the hard part.  And it is usually the last thing you do before you put your house on the market, but it can absorb a lot of time and effort.

For all the years you have lived in your house, you have fine-tuned it for your tastes.  The colors you have painted rooms fit your preferences.  The furniture is placed for your comfort.  Your favorite memorabilia are hung or otherwise displayed for easy viewing of your triumphs. 

That's all over now.

You now must, I repeat, MUST, transform your house into one that will appeal to the largest group of possible buyers.  I know, your taste is exquisite in all things decorating, but not everyone appreciates such excellent choices in color, etc.  And color is just the start of the transformation.

In all likelihood, you have too much furniture in at least some of your rooms.  Modern living rooms are the orphans in most homes, and a lot of "special" furniture ends up there (I'm being charitable here).  Great Aunt Agnes' platform rocker from the 1920's may be out of place, unless you're treating the room as a trip back through time, and even then, there should not be so much furniture - of whatever provenance or vintage - that prospective purchasers can't enter the room and move around comfortably.  That is equally so if you have a formal dining room.  A good rule of thumb is that a person should be able to circle the table and chairs without feeling crowded.

Occasionally, I express a rule of thumb that about 1/3 of all existing furniture should be removed from every room.  Your situation may be different, but you get the idea - de-clutter to the max.

Kitchens and baths are difficult to prepare for sale because they are used intensively every day, so there are potions and lotions (in bathrooms) and utensils and pots (in kitchens) that should be put away for showings.  In the case of bathrooms, buy a small plastic bin that will accommodate all bottled and tubed goods, and put them all in it.  That way, when the alarm goes out that a showing is imminent, the bin can be scooped up and squirreled away under a sink.  A similar plan should be in place for the kitchen.

Finally, box for moving as soon as possible all collections, from Matchbox cars to stuffed ducks, to family photos (yes, family photos should be boxed up).  The reason?  We don't want people concentrating on things that have nothing to do with the house.  A VERY SMALL number of such things can be left in place in order to give a human look to the house, otherwise it can seem sterile.  But by very small I mean 19 out of 20 pieces should be packed away.

I'm wearing you out, right?  This is only part of what you will eventually need to do.  The rest I can describe to you in person when the time comes to move, and you will call me, won't you?