What should I do first when preparing my home for photos?
So, you’re getting ready to list your house and you’re looking around thinking, “What on earth should I do first when preparing my home for photos?”
Grab a coffee—maybe an iced coffee from Marylou’s or Dunkin’—take a deep breath, and let’s talk about it. Selling a house around here, whether it’s a classic Cape in Plymouth, a colonial in Bridgewater, or a condo up in Quincy, can feel overwhelming. But there is one simple secret to kicking off the process.
Start with decluttering. It makes absolutely everything else easier.
Before you worry about fresh paint, landscaping, or scrubbing the baseboards, you have to tackle the “stuff.” Here is why packing up the clutter should always be your step one:
- It clears the canvas: Buyers scrolling through listings want to picture their own lives in your house. If your countertops are covered in mail and appliances, or the living room shelves are overflowing with family photos and knick-knacks, it distracts from the actual square footage. Clearing it out lets the home’s true character shine.
- It makes cleaning a breeze: Nobody wants to clean around piles of stuff. Once you box up the out-of-season coats, clear off the nightstands, and thin out the kitchen counters, hitting the house with a vacuum and a mop goes wicked fast.
- You’re getting a head start: Let’s face it, you’re moving anyway! Every box you pack up now to get the house ready for the photographer is one less box you have to pack when moving day finally rolls around.
Think of decluttering as ripping off the band-aid. Rent a pod, grab some boxes from the local hardware store, or dedicate a corner of the basement for storage. Once you get the bulk of the everyday clutter out of the way, you’ll be amazed at how much bigger, brighter, and more inviting your home looks through the camera lens.