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Although when we live in a home, it’s great to have our own personality stamped across it, there will be times when that is not appropriate anymore. When we move out, for example, whether the property is a rental or a home that we own, it is a good idea to depersonalize the space. Doing so will make it easier for the next people who live there to enjoy it, and it will mean that it is not left empty for long, and nor will it take a long time to sell.
The idea is to make the property as tempting to the next people as
possible, as this keeps everyone happy and ensures the smooth transition from
one home to the next. Therefore, here are some ways to depersonalize your home
when you need to.
Don’t Get Emotional
No matter whether you loved or hated the home you are moving from, there
will always be some emotions associated with leaving it.
You will come across things as you are packing that you had forgotten about, but that stir up specific memories, some good,
some bad. Or you will start to worry about whether you are doing the right
thing, which will also make you feel emotional. Add to that how tired people
can be when they are in the midst of moving house or renovating, and it all
means that you can let your emotions get the better of you.
If it means stepping out of the property for a short walk around the
block, or a longer break away then that
is important to do. If it means drafting in help so that you can have someone
to talk you through the difficult times, do that too. Do whatever is necessary
to get the job done because it will need to be
completed.
Clean
It is essential that, when depersonalizing a home either as a tenant, landlord, or owner, you ensure it has a
deep down clean at the same time. For the new people moving in, having a clean
home will help them to adjust more easily,
and it means that they have one less job to do which, if they have just come
from cleaning their last property, they really will be glad of.
The clean should certainly be a
deep one. Move all the furniture so that you can get beneath it, and really scrub the floors. Hire a carpet cleaner
to make sure that all the muck and grime is gone from the carpet too. If you
are short on time, it might be worth hiring a professional cleaner to get the
job done for you. They will be quicker and do a thorough, expert job, and it
can save you a lot of time and effort too. If you rent a property, this
cleaning might even be part of your free lease
agreement, so it is
a good idea to check this out.
Declutter
If you are getting your home ready to sell, decluttering is even more important than if you are leaving a rented
property, but in both cases, it is a job
that needs to be done. By decluttering,
you can remove as many personal items as possible. This is an excellent idea for
when prospective buyers come to your home as they will more easily be able to
imagine their own belongings in there,
and won’t be distracted by photos of your family, or interesting ornaments and
so on. They can focus on the house itself, which will enable them to get a much
better sense of whether they want to live there or not.
You should declutter areas that can’t be
seen at first glance as well as the rooms themselves. You may think that
closets and cupboards can be left as they are, but any serious prospective buyer is sure to want to look inside so you
need to ensure that they can see how much space they would be getting – and you
need to ensure that nothing is going to topple out onto them as well!
When you know you are going to be leaving a property, whether you are
moving to a new rental or selling the property you own, it is a good idea to
start the decluttering process. You need to move
the items anyway, so why not start packing up the non-essentials as early as
you can? You will probably find that some of it can be thrown in the trash, and more can be donated to Goodwill, which means you will have less to take with
you when you do finally move.
Neutralize
When you live in a property you can, within reason, paint the walls
whatever color you want. You may need to check your lease or ask your landlord,
but generally, it is your choice since
you are living there. However, when you move out,
it is a good idea to put everything back how it was when you moved in, and neutralize the walls. This is a relatively quick and easy way to
depersonalize a property so that, again, people can envisage their own colors on the wall or their own furniture in a room.
Neutral colors include various forms of cream or beige, for example. Or
you might pick a white tone with a slight hint of pink or blue which is just
enough to be interesting but not enough
to put people off.
The important thing to take into
account is that the job needs to be done to a high standard because poorly
painted walls are almost as bad as walls that are brightly colored and haven’t been neutralized at all. If you are cutting corners, then you are making more work for the landlord or the new owners, and that means
the process will be a lot slower. If need be, hire a home decorator of ask for
help from friends and family, and the job
will be done to a good standard all round