CHAPTER 6 Eat-Off-the-Floor Clean and the Eight-Second Judgment Let’s talk about first impressions —because when it comes to selling your home, buyers don’t give you a second chance. Studies show they decide whether they’re interested within the first eight seconds of stepping through your door.That’s less time than it takes to realize your socks don’t match. So if you want that first eight seconds to scream "I’m The One," your house better be looking like it’s auditioning for the cover of “Better Homes & Holy Moly That’s Gorgeous.” Good news: You can do this. And you don’t have to sell a kidney to make it happen. Some of it you can hire out, but a lot of the staging magic? That’s DIY-friendly. So let’s dive in: Step 1: Declutter Like You’re Moving to a Tiny House Go through your home and remove at least 50% of your stuff. Yes, I said fifty. That random gnome collection? Box it up. That pile of mail from 2018? Bye. Out-of-season clothes, the treadmill doubling as a coat rack, and every photo that screams “Hi, we live here”? It all needs to disappear.Don’t panic—you don’t have to toss it all in the abyss. Just store it somewhere safe, donate it, or host a yard sale and use the profits to buy pizza and more storage bins.The goal: Let buyers imagine their own lives in the space. That’s hard to do when your cousin Eddie’s 3rd grade art project is staring at them from the fridge. Step 2: Clean Like Your In-Laws Are Coming Over Once the clutter is out, it’s time to deep-clean your house like you’re expecting royalty and also trying to erase every trace of 22
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