When you’re putting your home on the market, it’s a good idea to take a good look around it with fresh eyes and objectively assess whether it needs a good de-clutter. A streamlined, uncluttered look will make it easier for potential buyers to appreciate the space and features of your property without being distracted by all your possessions.

Some people find this process easier than others; some people are just naturally tidy and take a minimalist approach at all times. However, if you’re not one of these people, here are a few tips to make the process as painless as possible.

• Don’t try to do it all at once. Divide up the task so it doesn’t overwhelm you – maybe one room at a time, or 30 minutes at a time, whatever feels achievable.
• Sort through that drawer of random stuff everyone has in their kitchen while you wait for the kettle to boil.
• Filling bin bags or boxes as you go is a good way to keep track, for instance one each for bin / tip, charity, loft. Make sure that anything for the tip or charity goes straight there or at least into your car boot so that don’t un-do all your hard work by having a pile of bin bags piled up by the front door!
• Sort clothes you no longer wear and give them away or sell them. There are different ways of doing this, for instance some professional de-clutterers swear by turning all your coat hangers one way, then as you wear each item of clothing turn the hanger the other way round when you return it to the clothes rail. By the end of an allotted time period – say six months – you can see what you’ve worn and what you haven’t. A similar way of doing this is to put everything you think you no longer want out of sight – for instance in a suitcase or in a spare room – if after six months you haven’t missed it and gone to dig it out of its hiding place to wear it then it can be got rid of.
• Clear out kitchen cupboards and make space for some of the clutter that is sitting on your worktops.
• Tackle the bathroom(s) – get rid of any empty containers or products you don’t use and put away most of the bottles and items into a cupboard / storage unit. If you don’t have a storage unit in the bathroom, consider getting a pretty basket or a small drawer unit to tidy things away into. Only keep out items you use every day.
• File away paperwork, letters, bills etc. Deal with these as soon as possible after they arrive and have a designated place for them to live until they are dealt with.

Once you have cleared away all (or most of!) your clutter, you’re ready to start showing your home to potential buyers, so make sure you keep on top of the clutter and show off your home to its best.