we removed practically everything. the closets were spartan, with just enough so the buyers could imagine their own stuff fitting well. the counters had only a red ceramic pitcher. the bookshelf was empty. we took out a desk. We removed 95% of the toys, 100% of the dog, 100% of the kids' bedding, winter stuff (we put the place on the market in early spring). the place looked huge, spacious, and sold for almost 100K over asking the first day with 16 offers.

it was 800 square feet...don't underestimate the value of purging! we stored it all off-site.

De-cluttering played a huge part in getting our place staged, and it sold fast. Don't forget to remove alcohol, spare keys to the house, mail. Cat went to boarding; and all her stuff was stored w/ neighbor. All closets, drawers, were only 1/4 full. Get a stager to help you- worth every penny

The dog - he went to stay with my parents and we removed all signs of him including photos. It did not matter because the couple who bought our house were involved with animal rescue.

Anonymous wrote:Put a nice hanging plant on the sex-swing hook.

I am laughing so hard at this because when we toured our house, there were two plant hooks on either side of the master bedroom that did not have plants hanging from them. DH and I called them the S&M hooks.

One thing that the previous owner did hide away was her cat, and its accessories. I found out about the cat about a month ago when the vet sent a sympathy note to the house (with a paw print) after she euthanized the cat. We bought the house in 2013.

Apparently a lot of people look at homes in order to find/swipe drugs/medications- both prescription and over the counter. We emptied out our medicine cabinets.

Agree with all the PPs above. Now is the time to trash everything you don't plan to take with you, and box up 85% of what's left and get it out of the house.

My spouse was insane about clearing surfaces and closets. We removed 50% of everything on bookshelves and 100% of everything on the kitchen counters, except a nice bowl of fresh green apples.

Sold the day it listed for well above asking.

Put a nice hanging plant on the sex-swing hook.

Any prescription medication should be in the same category as jewelry. Get it out of the house.

I don't really think of people snooping, so much as they just don't want to see lots of stuff. Every time we move (which is more often than I like - thanks to jobs) I use it as a time to purge everything I don't need. Which is actually somewhat related to your question - that is, if it's something you don't want others seeing, it's probably not something you really need to hold onto for your next house. Obviously, there are some exceptions (like underwear and some bathroom products). But if you'd be embarrassed by snooping, then just throw it out. Even bathroom products, now that I think about it. If you have hemeroid cream - do you really need to take it with you? It's a good opportunity to throw out all the junk from the bathroom and start fresh in the new house.

What decluttering should you focus on? Get rid of the family photos and other things that reflect on your family. Clear all surface tops - kitchen counter shouldn't have anything on it but a fruit bowl. Not a toaster oven, or a mixmaster - which is basically a harsh reminder to potential buyers of how little counterspace they'll have once they start putting stuff in there. In the bathroom, make sure no towels or robes hanging on the back of the door - just 2 towels. Again, you don't want to suggest that there's not enough room for their stuff in the bathroom. In closets, throw out your clothes now - not when you are moving. Nothing is worse than househunting and seeing closets stuffed to the brim with clothes. It's stressful, messy and suggests to buyers that their clothes won't fit. In fact, I suggest buying velvet hangers (cheap from amazon or Costco) and put everything in your closet on them - this makes the closet less full, and more importantly makes stuff match. While you're at it, organize your closet by size and/or color - dresses all at one end, mens shirts at one end, etc. We all swoon over the closet displays at the Container Store - so try and make your closet look like that. Not too hard. Basically, you want to convince buyers that all their stuff will fit comfortably, and that they won't have any clutter in the house. You can only do that by purging first and putting what remains somewhere out of sight.

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Besides all the usual pictures gone, counters clear, valuables locked up: make sure there aren't books or magazines in the toilet room or on the back of the toilet. Icky to think about the previous owners reading while taking a dump.

We're listing our house soon (first time seller), and have been busy preparing cleaning, decluttering, etc. I'm a little nervous about random strangers/neighbors entering our home and potentially poking around where they shouldn't. Obviously we're removing all valuables, financial, identity docs, etc. What else did you hide away/remove? Underwear? Embarassing beauty/hygiene products (like facial hair waxing strips)?