Why it comes first
Of the things you can do before listing, this is the cheapest and the one agents recommend most. NAR surveyed real estate agents in February 2025 (1,266 usable responses). Among sellers’ agents, the most common advice to sellers was to declutter (91%), clean the entire home (88%) and improve curb appeal (77%). More than half of those agents (51%) did not stage homes before listing, but did recommend decluttering or fixing faults.
That is an agent survey, not proof that a clean house sells for more. What it does show is what professionals ask sellers to do first. A cleared house also photographs better and is easier to show.
How much to remove
There is no exact rule. A practical test is that every surface should show a little of the house and not much of your life.
- Furniture: take out one or two pieces from any room that feels tight. Buyers should be able to walk through without turning sideways.
- Counters: kitchen and bathroom counters should hold at most a few items. Put appliances you do not use daily in a cabinet.
- Closets and storage: buyers open them. Fill them about two-thirds so they look roomy. Move the rest to a pod, a storage unit or a friend’s garage (see moving and storage costs).
- Walls and shelves: thin out photos and collections. Leave a few neutral items.
- Basement, attic and garage: buyers and inspectors look here for water, damage and space. Clear paths to the furnace, the electric panel and the water heater so an inspector can reach them.
If you are clearing a whole house for a move or after a loss, see the whole-house cleanout guide.
Rooms in order
| Order | Room | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garage, basement, attic | Sort into keep, donate, sell, discard. This is the biggest pile. Do it first because it feeds everything else. |
| 2 | Closets | Take out off-season clothes and extras. Pack them, label the boxes and move them out. |
| 3 | Kitchen | Clear counters, empty the fridge door and thin out cabinets. Buyers open every cabinet. |
| 4 | Bathrooms | Remove half of what is on the counters and in the shower. Replace worn towels and mats. |
| 5 | Living and dining rooms | Cut extra furniture and décor. Open sight lines. |
| 6 | Bedrooms | Clear the floor, nightstands and dressers. Make the beds. |
| 7 | Entry and outside | Clear the porch, steps and yard. Sweep, trim and clean the door and windows. |
| 8 | Deep clean | Last: floors, windows, baseboards, appliances, bathrooms. Do it again before photos and before the first showing. |
What buyers notice
Buyers tend to react to smell, light, clean floors and clear counters, then to stains and clutter that hide the size of the room. In the NAR survey, buyers’ agents said staging made it easier for a buyer to picture the home as their future home (83%).
- Smell: pets, smoke, mildew and cooking smells. Air the house, wash fabrics, clean the sink and trash cans, and do not rely on strong sprays.
- Light: open blinds, replace burned-out bulbs, wash windows.
- Personal items: you can leave a few, but remove piles of mail, medicines, collections and anything private.
- Safety and security: put away jewelry, cash and papers before open houses. Lock up medicines.
Doing it yourself or hiring help
| Task | DIY | Hire out |
|---|---|---|
| Sorting | You know the items best. Work in short sessions, one room at a time. | A senior move manager or an organizer can run it. See senior move managers. |
| Hauling big items | A borrowed truck, a dump run or a donation pickup. Check what your charity pickup takes. | A junk removal crew carries from any floor and disposes. Prices are by item or load. |
| Selling things of value | Online sales and consignment. An estate sale for a full house. | An estate sale company. See estate sale companies. |
| Deep cleaning | A weekend of work with a few helpers. | A cleaning company. Ask for a written quote and what is included. |
What it costs
We did not find a reliable statewide price for decluttering or house cleaning, so we do not print one. Get at least two written quotes. For hauling, one posted price list gives a sense of how pricing by item works:
| Item or load | Posted price |
|---|---|
| Minimum pickup | $109 |
| Couch | $119 |
| Mattress (includes the Massachusetts recycling fee) | $89 |
| Half trailer | $289 |
| Full trailer | $469 |
Disclosure: JUNKRUN (junkrun.co) does junk removal and cleanouts from Melrose to Lowell. It is a related business with the same owners as Home Options MA, and we may earn money if you hire them. It is one option. Other cleanout and junk removal companies exist, and you should get a quote from at least one of them too.
Add the cost of any storage you rent for items you want to keep, any donation pickup fees, and a cleaner if you hire one. Agents sometimes arrange this. In the NAR survey, the median cost for a staging service was $1,500 and $500 when the seller’s agent staged the home themselves (see staging costs).
A timeline
| When | What |
|---|---|
| 6 to 8 weeks before listing | Sort the garage, basement and attic. Book a hauler or donation pickup. Start renting storage if you need it. |
| 4 weeks | Closets, kitchen, bathrooms. Fix small things you see (see repairs worth doing). |
| 2 weeks | Main rooms and bedrooms. Order the deep clean. Book the smoke and CO inspection with the fire department. |
| Photo day | Final tidy and clean. Move cars, bins and hoses out of sight. |
| During showings | Keep surfaces clear. Have a plan for pets and for leaving the house on short notice. |
If you are selling as-is or to a cash buyer, you may not need to do much of this. See selling as-is in Massachusetts and compare in the cash offer vs listing tool.