How to Stage Your Closets and Cabinets

Staging is an important part of selling your home. Be sure to stage every aspect of it, not just the obvious, large spaces. All it takes is a little bit of prep work and creativity for your closets and cabinets to look picture perfect. I know - I sold my house in four days thanks to thoughtful staging.

Bedroom Closets

Purge off-season clothing, shoes and accessories. If it's spring, you don't need winter boots or dark-colored sweaters hanging around. Go ahead and pack these items for the move.

Paint all closets with a fresh coat of white paint.

Hang clothing so that there's a bit of space between the hangers. Closet racks that are stuffed with clothing on hangers look very small. Empty space creates space.

Stage closets by organizing hanging clothing by color; it's pleasing to the eye. Place shoes in a straight line and folded items, by color, in a straight stack on a shelf. Add a nice shopping bag that coordinates with the bedroom colors to an empty shelf.

Coat Closets

Weather permitting, pack all but one or two coats for the move. Display remaining two coats on a wooden hanger by twisting the hanger so that the coats face forward. If the coats have belts, tie them at the waist for a tailored display.

If coats must remain in the coat closet, remove all but the necessary ones to create space.

Bathroom Cabinets

After discarding unused, unneeded items, use baskets for organizing remaining toiletries and cleaning supplies under cabinets. In an effort to be frugal, you can decorate empty coffee cans and various plastic containers for this purpose.

Kitchen Cabinets

Go through every kitchen cabinet and remove as much as you can. Now's the time to pack tools and gadgets that you rarely use. This will make your kitchen appear to have a lot of storage space. If you don't need the items you're purging, sell or donate them.

Once everything is purged, stage your cabinets by organizing them. If space allows, stack your dinnerware by place setting on each of the shelves in the cabinet: dinner plate topped by salad plate topped by soup bowl. Line glasses in a neat row, smallest in front.

Do you really need all 50 of the coffee mugs that are stuffed in that kitchen cabinet? Chances are you don't. For the purpose of staging this cabinet, remove all but one per family member. Space them evenly on the shelf. Add a decorative coffee can and sugar dish to create a custom coffee cabinet.

If the bottom of your kitchen cabinets and shelves show signs of water damage (due to a leak or residual dishwater on glasses), line them with a color-coordinated non-slip shelf liner which you'll leave behind for the future owners.

If your kitchen trash can is under the sink or out in the open, put it in the garage during showings. It doesn't add value to your staging efforts.

Organizing is the key to staging small spaces. Be purposeful, thoughtful and thorough when going through all of your cabinets and closets. You'll be rewarded with a quick sale.

SOURCE: Personal Experience