By Katie Wainman | April 28, 2020

Being stuck at home during quarantine is the perfect opportunity to get ahead on your spring cleaning. It might not be the most fun way to occupy this new-found free time, but if you're planning to sell your home, cleaning is a must.

A clean home is a major component in the home staging process. Here are some things you need to clean to get your home ready for spring selling:

Appliances

Great, grimy appliances are not something a potential home-buyer wants to see. Make sure to deep clean your refrigerator, oven, microwave and any other appliances that you may have in your kitchen. It might be a bit of a pain, but pulling our your appliances and cleaning under/behind them is also important.

If you're running low on cleaning supplies, distilled white vinegar mixed with warm water acts as a great disinfectant and cuts through tough grease on kitchen appliances.

Counter-tops

Aside from wiping down counter-tops as you regularly would, you can also polish them, depending on what kind of material your counter-tops are. You should also consider de-cluttering your counter-tops of some smaller appliances.

You might think that your air fryer, instant pot, mixer and juicer are all necessities for your counter-top, but a potential buyer will just see those as clutter. Clearing out cabinet space to put some of these smaller appliances away will leaver your counter-tops looking more spacious.

Sink

Sometimes we can go "nose blind" to smells in our home, meaning that we get use to certain smells. However, a new person stepping into your home will immediately smell that strange odor coming from your kitchen sink.

Even it you don't think it smells, if can't hurt to freshen up your sink. One of the most common cures for smelly sink is to dump a cup of baking soda the drain, then dump down a half cup of distilled white vinegar. Let it fizz up and sit for about 20 minutes and then pour hot water down the drain to rinse it out. For a quicker fix, you can also take citrus rinds and put them through your garbage disposal to create a fresh, clean scent.

Windows

Windows open up your house to the beautiful spring world, so it's important to keep them looking pristine if your home is on the market. Not only do you need to clean the inside of the windows, but you'll need to clean the outside as well.

Before wiping them down with a cleaner, outside windows might have to be rinsed off with a hose first to remove any dirt or debris that may be built up. You should also remove the screens and wipe off any dirt or dust, and don't forget about cleaning off those pesky windowsills.

Ceilings

Did you think dust bunnies only liked that spot under your couch? Turns out they love your ceilings even more! Now is the perfect time to open up your windows, get out the extended duster, and dust off your ceiling fans, light fixtures and moldings. This can make a huge difference in the appearance of your home by brightening those fixtures again.

Walls

Washing the walls isn't an old urban legend - people actually do this! Washing your walls with warm water and a non-abrasive cleaner will remove any stains, grime or marks that you might have forgotten were even there. Before wiping an entire wall, it is best to try it out on a small portion, just to make sure you aren't going to ruin the paint.

There are obviously plenty of other spaces that can be cleaned that aren't listed here. However, these surfaces alone cal already make a huge difference in the appearance of your home. During these times, you may not have as many people looking at your home in-person, but virtual tours have become the next best thing in the real estate would, and people can still spot a dirty house through the camera screen!

For more advice during the buying/selling process, visit https://www.realestateinbowlinggreen.com/blog/category/company-news.