How to stage a family home for sale with young kids

As parents I think we can all agree that keeping a home tidy is hard. It’s not impossible as a one off, but the chances are that no sooner have you tidied the toys neatly into their cupboards and storage boxes than a child will come along behind you and empty an entire box of Lego onto the carpet.

If you’re trying to sell your house, this becomes much more of an issue. We’ve all seen the tips suggesting things like baking fresh bread to create a welcoming smell, but if your visitors are tripping over piles of Pokemon cards before they even get into the kitchen then all the fresh bread in the world isn’t going to get them picturing your home as their dream sanctuary.

Luckily for you, we’ve got some top tips!

The emergency basket

First up, I recommend heading to your nearest home superstore and investing in a few nice-looking wicker baskets with lids. Position these strategically around the house – definitely one in the hallway to catch stray shoes – and before a viewing do a quick sweep of any random items into the baskets. You know the kind of stuff I’m talking about – hats, socks, stray toys, magazines – all the detritus that clutters up your surfaces and makes things look messier than they are.

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Designate a messy zone

It’s unrealistic to expect kids to keep a house pristine over a long period of time, so rather than strive for perfection in every room, have a space that’s the ‘messy space’, where your children know they can relax and get their toys and games out as much as they like. 

Keeping the mess contained like this allows your kids more freedom but helps you at least create 90% of the illusion of tidiness!

Fix the little things

Family homes can quickly become a little rough around the edges and while you may have stopped noticing the bumps and scrapes, they’ll certainly be seen by new visitors. Spend a weekend blitzing all the little jobs around the house and you’ll be surprised what a difference it can make.

We’re thinking of small things like:

• removing old stickers from doors and walls

• touching up walls with blu-tac marks

• cleaning grubby finger marks off banisters, walls and doors

• fix the five sneaky clutter zones that make your house feel messy

Skip the viewings completely

If I was ever going to sell my house in Leicester, I’d be very tempted to cut out the middleman and go straight to a cash buyer like We Buy Any Home. You get a cash offer in minutes and can have the money in your bank in as little as seven days, without any need to so much as make the beds. If you’re living in chaos with a young family this is a very attractive idea.

I hope that this has given you a few ideas! Selling and moving is always going to feel a bit chaotic with young children around, but keep your expectations realistic, don’t be afraid to cheat and you can go a long way to creating that beautiful, staged home vibe.