Tidying Up When Selling – Lessons Two and Three

Home offices, or bonus rooms can be a big selling feature for many homebuyers. But what happens when your valuable extra space is cluttered with bills, papers, books and more? Buyers start to see the space as a burden rather than a bonus! That’s where lesson two and three on the KonMari Method™ come in especially handy!

Lesson two focuses on books.

These could be adult, child, textbook, novels, dictionaries – if it has a binding and you’ve been holding on to it, time to tidy it up! The process for books is the same one you followed for clothing: get everything out and pile it on the floor or a table. Then evaluate one at a time if the book sparks joy for you. Marie also points out here that you should consider whether the books will be valuable to you moving forward.  And do not forget to thank each book for its service to you as you tidy.

Lesson three is all about papers.

These seem like they would be a little easier to judge whether to keep it according to the KonMari Method™ but we actually found this really hard! Cards, artwork, little notes can often hold a lot of sentimental value! Remember, Marie’s 5^th category is sentimental items, and she recommends completing those last. So, if you’re finding something too difficult, save it for later in the process.  Each paper that you keep should fit in to 1 of the 3 categories in the method.

1. Pending: these are papers that you need to take action on. Think bills, a letter you haven’t yet responded to, that notice to make a check-up at the doctor or dentist. Sort these in their own location so you can attend to them in a timely way.
2. Important: It seems self-explanatory, but these are papers that you need to keep permanently, like insurance forms, contracts, etc. Sort them somewhere they are protected – we recommend a fireproof safe where you can also store bank documents, passports, birth certificates and more. And remember, all of the papers should be together, so keep your safe with your other papers.
3. Miscellaneous: these papers are items you want to refer back to regularly and ones you want or need to read frequently. This could be magazine clippings, recipes, seminar notes, instructional manuals, etc.

When you take care to tidy up that bonus room or office, it will have buyers singing praises of your home’s space and will help them picture their life in your home.