Whether you are or are not planning to sell, there’s something about a fresh start each January. Everyone selling, moving, or staying put can appreciate the peace of mind a clean slate offers. So welcome the fresh start decluttering, downsizing, and organizing gives you or a loved one you are a caregiver to. There’s no better time.

Great Benefits of a Fresh Start at Home

There are three “things” a fresh start at home gives to everyone who pursues this rewarding task: improved relationships, more productivity, and happier, healthier life.

For example, when you come home to clutter, how does that make you feel? If stuff is everywhere, feelings of depression, defeat, anxiety, and irritation usually take hold. Less stuff to push to the side, fewer dirty dishes, and less to trip over makes your home visually appealing and you just simply feel better. And peace of mind is the biggest and best benefit of a fresh start!

Here are some other great benefits you can have when you declutter, downsize, and organize your home:

Money

Simply, if you don’t spend money, you have more money. So, next time you go shopping, if you don’t absolutely love it, put it down and move on. Plus, the less you spend your money on, the less you have to make room for in your home. Storage systems or storage space rentals can cost you a pretty penny and fast.

Space

When you keep only what you need or want to keep, the space you have to store it is ample and sometimes more than enough. And storage space is valuable to the home owner and potential buyer.

Time

The less stuff you have in your home saves time. How? Because you have less to clean and less to clean around. Cleaning stuff takes time. And cleaning around a lot of stuff takes time, too. What about the time you spend just looking for something that you can’t find because there is so much stuff to look past to find it? That’s exasperating! Also, if you’re downsizing, there’s less stuff to pack and move to your smaller home.

Doing What You Love to Do

And that brings us to yet another great benefit of a fresh start. When you aren’t spending valuable time cleaning or unnecessarily looking for things, you have more time to spend doing what you love to do and with those you love to things with.

Stress

Less stuff means less stress. Cluttered homes cause stress, anxiety, and claustrophobia. Clutter also causes feelings of overwhelm, helplessness, guilt, or shame. If your home is a “mess,” how do you feel when someone stops by unexpectedly?

Pick a closet, drawer, one flat surface. Here’s how to get started on your fresh start and a stress free life now. No, you won’t be organized right away. But keep at it, one closet, drawer, or flat surface at a time. And remember, don’t move on to the next project until the one at hand is finished completely. Then before you know it, you’ll be done with your home (or even Mom’s) enjoying more space, time, and peace of mind.

Do you plan to stay in your Brooklyn home or are you thinking of selling? Decluttering, downsizing, and organizing to enjoy a fresh start now also prepares you for a stress-free move later. And that’s another benefit you may not have considered.

For suggestions and referrals for decluttering, downsizing, and organizing, call Charles D’Alessandro, your Brooklyn Real Estate Agent with Fillmore Real Estate at (718) 253-9600 ext.206. Or you can email him at [email protected].

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 Charles D’Alessandro

Your Brooklyn Real Estate Agent

718-253-9600 ext. 206

[email protected]

As a seller preparing to sell your Brooklyn home, you may be busily emptying closets and painting walls, but don’t forget about the outside of your house. Home buying is emotional and, like many emotional reactions, it can be heavily impacted by first impressions.

Here are some suggestions on how to encourage love at first sight by increasing the curb appeal of your Brooklyn home:

Tidy up – You may be so used to seeing the crumbling stack of firewood by the garbage cans and the old paint cans by the shed that they fade into the landscape, but potential homeowners see the mess.  As you look at the outside of your house, think about what you can throw away or put out of sight. The broken swing on the tree actually takes away from the grandeur of that old oak.  An extra hint: Not everyone will enjoy the garden gnome collection as much as you do.

• Trim Everything – If the hedges under the front windows of your Brooklyn home are so unruly that they cover the windows, it’s past time to find the clippers.
• Repair the Front Walk – If you have crumbling cement or stepping stones that slide deeper into the mud with every raindrop, check into updating the front walk so that it is inviting, safe, and weed-free.
• Power-wash decks so they look fresh.
• Clean the gutters – Tiny maple trees in your gutters scream “Water damage!” to potential buyers.
• Paint – If the paint is peeling on the outside of your house, potential buyers go in wondering what the upkeep is like inside. Spend money before you put your home on the market to get a better sale price and quicker purchase. If you absolutely can’t afford to paint the whole house, consider painting the shutters and front door for a fresher look.
• Make Friends with Mulch – If your green thumb is actually brown, and your garden sports a post-apocalyptic motif, consider the wonders of mulch.  It covers up that patch under the oak where the grass won’t grow. Buy a few simple plants and mulch around them to achieve a calm canvas on which gardeners can imagine more complex plantings, while those with challenged gardening skills can envision easy maintenance.

The theme of all these tips is to create an image of your home as a place of order, calm and cleanliness; a place where prospective home buyers feel comfortable and cozy.

Whether you’re ready to sell or need more information before taking the plunge, I can help. Give Charles D’Alessandro Your Brooklyn real estate agent with Fillmore Real Estate a call at 718/253-9600 ext 206 or email me at [email protected]