Rita Hill looked at some very basic and affordable things that you can do to impress buyers and sell your house for more.

Get rid of that clutter

Don’t just throw everything into the garage, attic, basement or the cupboards. Rita explained that all those areas must be well organised and clutter-free, because potential buyers will look there too. Options for dealing with clutter include: buying some cheap storage items to quickly hide away the clutter holding a garage sale, enabling you to get rid of things you don’t need and make a few dollars as well temporarily storing some items at the home of a friend or family member organising short-term storage with a self storage company

Room by room declutter tips

Living room: aim to create a sheer, spacious look. Remove excess or large items of furniture to make the house appear bigger and brighter. Put away all the family photos and knick-knacks on display on table tops and cabinets. The only thing you should add is a vase of fresh flowers.

Kids’ bedroom: Rita cleaned up in minutes with a cheap, yet stylish storage unit (Trofast, from Ikea).

Baby’s room: don’t leave nappies and cleaning products lying around. Tidy up and put everything away.

Kitchen: Rita’s golden rule is to keep kitchens clean and tidy. Remove appliances and other items from the benchtops. Keep cupboards neat too, as potential buyers may look inside

Back verandah: stow toys, bicycles, roller-skates and gardening equipment out of sight. There is a variety of storage items available to make the job easier. Rita used a Glis storage table and bench, which is a storage centre and a play centre in one.

Further information

Trofast combination storage unit available from Ikea for $197.

Glis storage table and bench available from Ikea for $75.

Short term off-site storage can be rented from a company such as Millers Self Storage. For more details phone 1800 635 537 or visit the website: www.millersstorage.com.au

Copyright CTC Productions 2003