Decluttering

Houses are filled with objects we love and treasure. Look in just about every home and you'll find a shelf stuffed with favorite books, a mantel loaded with trinkets or a wall covered in family photos.

But when it comes time to sell a house, those items we cherish may look like just plain clutter to prospective buyers.

Here are some tips to declutter your home:

• For starters, since you're going to be packing to move anyway, get a head start by making your rooms look larger and box up excess items and furniture. This allows the buyer to mentally move their furniture into your home. By removing some of the clutter, the focus shifts from the "stuff" in the room to the room itself.

• Pick a room, any room, to start in. If you're concerned about visitors, make it a room they're likely to see. If you're concerned about making yourself comfortable, pick a room you spend a lot of time in (a bedroom? Home office? Kitchen?) Then start with a section of the room to start sorting.
• Sort based on three piles. Trash, Donate, and Keep. The "Keep" category can have a subcategory, the "Not quite sure" category. Re-sort that again once the rest of the room is done.
• Throw trash out immediately. Store donations near the front door and make an appointment with yourself to deliver, say "Saturday morning at 10:00 am" or contact a local service to pickup your donated items. Anything you keep, put it away immediately. Try not to touch anything more than one time.
• Be methodical, not multi-tasking. Being overwhelmed is normal, since it looks so daunting, but once you see progress, even a little, you'll do fine.
• If you need room to store extra possessions use the garage or rent a storage unit.

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