Luca Dell'oro

Even when you have your home staged for selling, you may still dread a phone call from your Realtor®. “Hi, I have some people interested in seeing your place – can we swing by in an hour?” often sounds like the knell of doom for busy families who are still living in their home even as they’re trying to sell it. A daily regime of home cleaning will go a long way to making this easy.

Kitchen:

Anything in the sink shouts dirt and disorder (even if it’s clean). Embrace the policy of cleaning as you go and keeping things out of the sink, which means that dishes get done at every meal instead of at the end of the day, so they don’t have a chance to pile up. Wipe down the counters and stove top whenever you clean utensils, which will both keep them free of crumbs and stains and make stains less likely to form. Sweep or vacuum the floor once a day.

Bathroom:

The toilet needs to be absolutely spotless. Keep a small box or bucket of cleaning supplies under the sink or in the cupboard so it’s easy to wipe the toilet seat and rim, the sink, the mirrors, the faucets and the shower/bathtub. Toothbrushes and other personal accessories should be stored in a cabinet or drawer – neatly! After every use, the shower and/or bathtub should be wiped down. Sweep/mop floors every day.

Bedrooms:

Strive to instill the habit of making one’s bed every day after one gets up. The bed is the focal point of the room and if it is neatly made, the whole room looks 50% cleaner. It also encourages you to neaten the rest of the room. Put away clothing and accessories as soon as you take them off – either hang them back up or put them in a laundry hamper. The laundry hamper should be emptied as soon as you know there are people coming to walk through. Children should be encouraged to put their toys away in bins or boxes given to them for that purpose.

Living room

The sofa should be organized first, followed by the coffee table. Make sure videos, CDs, DVDs and games are put away, as well as controllers, etc. Books and magazines should go on the shelf or in a rack. Keep a container or two to store miscellaneous items away from view. Do a quick trip with the vacuum to pick up crumbs or dust bunnies.

It can be hard to adapt to a constant state of clean for your home, but if you keep up on the housework, you will find that a short-notice walkthrough won’t cause you a lot of stress. As you get more used to keeping things clean as a matter of course, it will be nothing to do a quick trip around the house to quick clean before your prospective buyers arrive.