Using Self-Storage when Staging your Home
It’s a well-known fact that staged homes sell faster. Not only that, but they sell for a higher price too! Some reports say that homeowners can make up to 25% more profit if decorating their place before the sale. That’s one more reason to consider working on the house’s visual appeal before putting it on the market. This certainly isn’t the most straightforward task you will ever do, but it can be made simpler by using self-storage to store your belongings. Just like renting a storage unit while renovating ensures everything remains protected and in one place, using self-storage when staging your home provides the same.
How does using self-storage help you sell the house faster?
Well, easy – by providing a safe place for all of the items you may need to remove from the premises. When selling a property and staging it for sale, stripping it of all personal touches is a must. Essentially, you don’t want the house to be stuffed with things that scream, ”someone lives here”. You want it bare. Not in the literal meaning, that is. Just free of anything that could be directly associated with you.
But why is this necessary? Why not just leave everything as it is? For starters, potential buyers need to be able to visualize the place as their own. Having a plethora of furniture and other things lying around makes that hard for them. By clearing space of excess furniture, you make it feel more spacious and thus, allow them to picture their things inside it. Family photos, a bathroom stacked with hygiene products, and overflowing kitchen counters can cause buyers to feel like they are visiting a family home rather than inspecting their future ones. You must avoid this scenario at all costs!
That’s where storage facilities come in handy. They are an irreplaceable part of the home staging process. They help you maximize the visual potential of the property by allowing you to declutter it efficiently. And you must take specific steps to make the most of self-storage and organize everything properly. You will find tips on how to do this right below.
Determine what items to keep and what to store
No matter if staging your home on your own or with the help of a staging company, the obvious start to the process would be to assess your belongings. Various factors come into play here, some of which are:
- Size
- Style
- Pattern
- Color
Once you’ve evaluated everything, you will realize what it is that goes hand in hand with the décor you’ve picked. These things will remain in the house for others to see. The rest, however, will find its place in the storage unit.
Pick a suitable storage unit
Before you start using self-storage, it’s essential to choose the right one sizewise. Typically, units come in small, medium, and large. Choose one depending on the dimensions and the number of items you want to keep in it. If you are looking to store lots of things, some of which are bulky, renting a small unit is clearly not the choice to make. In this particular case, perhaps, upsizing is better than thinking later on how you should have gone with the bigger one.
Think about organizing the storage
You don’t have to wait for the items to arrive to begin organizing your storage unit. In fact, work to create a system for your unit as soon as you’re done evaluating everything you own. Once you know for sure what you will be bringing to the place, you can add finishing touches such as shelves and racks. After you’ve done that, you can map the space and make a list of where to put what. By doing this, you ensure you’ll have an easier time finding whatever it is you need once you need it.
Think about whether you need a climate-controlled self-storage
Certain items don’t cope well with extreme heat, extreme cold, and moisture. This includes electronics, furniture (especially one made of wood), artwork, photographs, instruments, antiques, and more. Before you start asking if you can benefit from using self-storage with climate control, think about whether you have these kinds of items lying around. If yes, then you have your answer.
Pack the belongings that you want to store
You’ve evaluated your belongings, picked a suitable storage facility, and created an organizing system. Now it’s time to take care of the packing. Sure, the trip to the unit probably won’t be a long one. Still, damages are a thing no matter how short or long the transport is. Therefore, you want everything as protected as possible!
Bear in mind that large pieces of furniture will probably need to be disassembled before storing. If you end up hiring the crew to take care of the transfer for you, they may be able to do that for you. Otherwise, you’ll have to deal with it yourself. Just make sure you keep all of the tiny parts in one place, for instance, in a zip bag, to avoid losing them. In addition to breaking down the furniture, you will also need to wrap it in bubble wrap to ensure it remains scratch and dent-free.
Start staging
After you have finally transferred your belongings to the storage, it’s time to begin staging your home. Taking care of the excess stuff by storing it away should have made the job a lot easier. Now that you are left with only a handful of things, you can arrange them more strategically.
Remember, the focus should be on retaining the balance; keeping the place as neutral as possible. Colors such as grey, beige, and white work best for the walls. Of course, you don’t want the place to feel cold. You want it to feel like home. Just not yours. You can make it cozier by covering sofas with soft pillows and blankets and incorporating rugs into the place. You can also put up some artwork and introduce plants to the area to give it a bit of life.
Takeaways
The advantages of using self-storage when staging your home are many. It provides the much-needed space for the belongings that, temporarily, need to be put away, it helps with organizing, and allows for easier transport to your next home. If it weren’t for it, preparing houses for sale would be a lot harder, and the whole process would probably take longer. At the end of the day, storage units save time. And time is money.
