Real estate sales are competitive, and sellers who stage their homes have greater success than those who don’t. Buyers want to visualize how their furniture and possessions might fit in the homes they visit. If your home is on the market, here are some basic staging suggestions:
· To increase curb appeal, make sure the lawn is mowed and edged. If the deciduous trees have dropped leaves on the ground, pick them up.
· Clean the windows and entries. These are the first things people see when they approach your home.
· Clean the house completely and get rid of clutter. No more than three things should be on the top of any flat surface, and it should be clean and polished. Store any extra furniture. Put away family pictures and personal items that might distract potential buyers.
· Open blinds or window coverings to let in as much light as possible, and paint the walls white to make your home seem larger.
To sell our homes, we actually have to move out all the things that are so dear to us; family pictures, books and figurines that buyers consider clutter. Today our lives are much the same. We have to be careful about things we say or do so we don’t offend others. If someone asked for the real Miss Sue to stand up, would some people be surprised?
When I think of myself as a follower of Christ, and that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, I wonder if it shows from the outside. Do my appearance, motives, speech and behavior demonstrate my faith or do I say one thing and do something else? Do my hope, joy and peace inspire others to love God, or does stress clutter my life and relationships?
God wants our lives to be clean from stress, guilt and pain, but filled with love and purpose. When His love is at work in us, our lives are a lot like the staged home, inviting and pleasant. But even more than the sterile environment of the home on the market, we have the opportunity to share His light and love in a dark and lonely world by being who we are in Christ. Mercy, gentleness and kindness are not things that clutter, and they are not staged. But they are real and they bring peace, comfort and joy into our world.
1 comment:
Sue, I loved this blog. That's a good question we as professing Christians, need to ask ouselves constantly! And your story picture of the staging of the home connected with me as that is what a good deal of our business is. Many of our clients are Home Stagers so it's something I can talk with them about when speaking of our beleifs. Thanks!
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