Staging/Cleaning a house in one afternoon. Help!

[HomeOnTheRanch]

Last year we bought a house in the middle of a remodel. DH told me last night that he put up a for sale sign. DH did most of the work, but he finally had a contractor come in and finish up all the things that needed to be done. He said I need to go and clean! I don't think it is dirt-dirty, just dusty from construction, etc.

 

3 bedroom, 2 bath, eat-in kitchen, and living room. Tile in kitchen and bathrooms and the rest of the floors are professionally refinished hardwood. New paint throughout. Newer windows. New tub (old one was pink!), shower, sinks, toilets and vanities in bathrooms. All new appliances and counters in kitchen...um, except for it being in city limits, I may just want to move! It's on 5 acres, but within walking distance of Wal Mart.

 

I plan on going to the house and measuring the windows for blinds and/or curtains, then I'll go to Wal Mart (only local store) and get the blinds/curtains, doormats, rug for entry (in living room), trash cans for bathrooms & kitchens, basic cleaning supplies, towels for bathrooms, light bulbs, and ?????? Anything I'm forgetting?

 

I might be able to talk DH into getting some basic furniture to stage, but I'm not holding my breath. None of the furniture we own is good enough to make a positive impression over there. Eh. Now I'm thinking I need new furniture. :tongue_smilie:

 

I do NOT have time for this, so I want to do everything in one afternoon, if possible. Advice? Shopping checklist? Prayers? How long should it take to clean an empty house?

 

(Anyone want to come and sort through the thousands of books in the storage room? I don't have the heart to put them in the dumpster, but I don't have time to sort!!!!! There's everything from cheap romance novels to old Earl Stanley Gardner.)

[Twinmom]

If you can afford it, why not hire a staging company? They can swoop in and handle it in one afternoon for you, furniture and all. If not, I'd concentrate on the cleaning and the blinds. In an empty, remodeled house, the rest is gravy.

 

Another thing to consider is possibly setting up a table in the entryway with a nice tablecloth. Place on it a basket of those little footies to go over shoes, flyers and/or CDs of the house and business cards for your realtor if you are using one. Better yet, if you have a realtor, call them and ask them to do it for you!

 

Good luck!

[Sarah CB]

I'm all for hiring a staging company. And don't worry about the garbage cans - I hear that some stagers hide those when they go through the staging process. No one likes to think about taking out the garbage :)

[Sharon in SC]

Last year we bought a house in the middle of a remodel. DH told me last night that he put up a for sale sign. DH did most of the work, but he finally had a contractor come in and finish up all the things that needed to be done. He said I need to go and clean! I don't think it is dirt-dirty, just dusty from construction, etc.

 

3 bedroom, 2 bath, eat-in kitchen, and living room. Tile in kitchen and bathrooms and the rest of the floors are professionally refinished hardwood. New paint throughout. Newer windows. New tub (old one was pink!), shower, sinks, toilets and vanities in bathrooms. All new appliances and counters in kitchen...um, except for it being in city limits, I may just want to move! It's on 5 acres, but within walking distance of Wal Mart.

 

I plan on going to the house and measuring the windows for blinds and/or curtains, then I'll go to Wal Mart (only local store) and get the blinds/curtains, doormats, rug for entry (in living room), trash cans for bathrooms & kitchens, basic cleaning supplies, towels for bathrooms, light bulbs, and ?????? Anything I'm forgetting?

 

I might be able to talk DH into getting some basic furniture to stage, but I'm not holding my breath. None of the furniture we own is good enough to make a positive impression over there. Eh. Now I'm thinking I need new furniture. :tongue_smilie:

 

I do NOT have time for this, so I want to do everything in one afternoon, if possible. Advice? Shopping checklist? Prayers? How long should it take to clean an empty house?

 

(Anyone want to come and sort through the thousands of books in the storage room? I don't have the heart to put them in the dumpster, but I don't have time to sort!!!!! There's everything from cheap romance novels to old Earl Stanley Gardner.)

 

re staging - we just sold a vacant 20yo home that had brand new everything (carpet, refinished hardwoods, paint job, appliances, etc, etc). We were told it would cost us around $600/month to "stage" with someone else's furniture to which we said "pass". ;-P). Instead, I borrowed from my own home and went to Wal-mart and purchased a few additional items to carefully "stage" this home.

 

Kitchen: pretty placemat upon which I placed one dish (displayed on a stand so that it stood on end so to speak), bowl, coffee mug/coordinating napkin tucked into it on one section of the counter

tea pot on the stove burner

colorful silk plant by sink

small coffee pot with a couple mugs, sugar, creamer bowl nearby

colorful tea towel displayed near coffee mug

 

Pantry: colorfully packaged non perishable food items

 

Den: silk green plant on mantle over fireplace

 

Bathrooms: small silk green plant either on counter or back of toilet depending upon space; colorful spa type bath items (soap in dish, lotion/gel soap,etc), fresh new colorfully coordinated bath and hand towels hanging on rods tied with twine or ribbon to keep folks from using them

 

Master Bedroom: silk green plant on bookcase

 

Fresh seasonal/colorful plants on porches (found good buys at Lowe's)

 

Empty formal living room: tall silk tree strung with white lights (lights optional)

 

Hope this helps in some way! I found the best buy on silk plants at Wal-mart and the best buy on towels at the Dollar General. My color scheme was sage green, whites/creams, and reds that popped against those colors. Of course, colors you use would be dependent upon colors in this particular home.