Selling a home is as much about presentation as it is about price or location. First impressions play a critical role in influencing potential buyers, and professional home stagers know how to create an environment that appeals to a wide audience. One of the key strategies used in staging is decluttering and carefully removing certain items that may distract, overwhelm, or negatively influence a buyer’s perception. While some items are obvious, others are subtle, yet their absence can significantly enhance the perceived value and livability of a property. Here are eight things home stagers always remove before a house goes on the market and why.
1. Personal Photos and Family Memorabilia
Personal photographs, trophies, or family mementos are a homeowner’s pride, but for buyers, they can make it difficult to envision themselves living in the space. Homes filled with personal memories often create an emotional barrier for visitors, making the house feel like it belongs to someone else.
Professional stagers remove personal photos and memorabilia to neutralize the space. By doing so, they create a blank canvas, allowing potential buyers to imagine their own memories and belongings in the home. This simple adjustment helps buyers connect emotionally with the property while keeping the focus on its features rather than the current owners.
2. Excess Furniture and Clutter
Overcrowded rooms can feel smaller and less functional. Stagers often remove excess furniture to create a sense of openness, improve flow, and highlight the size and versatility of each space.
Cluttered surfaces—such as countertops, coffee tables, and shelves—distract buyers from architectural details and storage potential. By removing unnecessary items, stagers emphasize spaciousness, organization, and a lifestyle that buyers aspire to. Minimalism in staging is about making spaces feel inviting without overwhelming them.
3. Large Appliances or Obtrusive Electronics
While some appliances are essential, others, like large entertainment systems, oversized refrigerators, or bulky exercise equipment, can dominate a room and make it feel cramped. Similarly, numerous electronic devices and cords create visual clutter.
Stagers recommend storing or relocating oversized appliances and electronics to create open, functional spaces that showcase the home’s potential. Buyers should be able to imagine arranging the room in multiple ways, and removing these items helps achieve a neutral, flexible setting.
4. Garden Hoses and Outdoor Tools
First impressions extend beyond the front door, and stagers know the yard matters. Garden hoses, rakes, shovels, and other tools lying around can make a property appear unkempt. Even small items like a hose coiled across the lawn or garden debris can subconsciously signal neglect.
Professional stagers remove or conceal hoses and tools to highlight landscaping, flower beds, and outdoor living areas. A tidy yard emphasizes care and enhances curb appeal, making buyers more confident about the property’s maintenance overall.
5. Personal Toiletries and Kitchen Items
Bathrooms and kitchens are heavily scrutinized areas during showings. Countertops cluttered with toothbrushes, razors, soap bottles, or dishware give a lived-in impression, which may distract buyers from the room’s design and storage potential.
Stagers recommend clearing countertops, removing personal toiletries, and minimizing visible kitchen gadgets. A clean, organized appearance showcases countertops, sinks, cabinetry, and flooring, allowing buyers to appreciate functionality without distraction.
6. Excess Decorations and Seasonal Items
Decorations such as holiday ornaments, knickknacks, or overly themed items can reduce the perceived space and make it harder for buyers to focus on the home itself. Seasonal décor can also inadvertently date a property or create an emotional disconnect if buyers do not celebrate the same holidays.
Professional stagers remove these items to create a neutral, timeless environment. By limiting decorative elements, stagers emphasize architectural details, natural light, and layout. Minimal, tasteful décor may still be used strategically to add warmth, but it should not compete with the home’s features.
7. Pets and Pet Accessories
Pets are beloved family members, but they can be polarizing in real estate. Pet toys, bedding, litter boxes, and even food bowls can create distractions, odors, or cleanliness concerns during showings. Some buyers may have allergies, phobias, or simply prefer a pet-free home.
Stagers often suggest removing pets during showings, along with all visible pet items. This creates a clean, neutral environment and allows buyers to focus on the home rather than potential challenges related to animals.
8. Trash and Personal Belongings in Visible Spaces
It may seem obvious, but trash, recycling bins, and storage items in plain sight can significantly detract from a buyer’s perception of cleanliness and organization. Similarly, personal belongings left in living spaces, garages, or closets make rooms appear cluttered and smaller.
Stagers recommend removing all trash, unnecessary storage items, and personal effects from visible areas. This emphasizes clean lines, open space, and the home’s potential. Buyers are more likely to visualize themselves living in a home that feels tidy, organized, and ready for occupancy.
Why Removal Makes a Difference
Removing these eight categories of items is not about depersonalizing the home entirely—it’s about creating a neutral environment that highlights the property’s strengths. Professional stagers understand that buyers make subconscious judgments during showings. Even minor distractions, like a coiled garden hose or a toothbrush on the sink, can influence their perception of maintenance, space, and value.
Neutral, uncluttered spaces allow buyers to focus on what truly matters: room size, natural light, flooring, storage, and architectural details. It also helps buyers emotionally connect with the property, imagining themselves living there rather than being reminded of the current owners’ lifestyle.
Additional Benefits of Staging and Decluttering
- Increased perceived value: Homes that appear well-maintained and spacious often sell for higher prices. Removing clutter and personal items can make the property seem larger and more desirable.
- Faster sales: A clean, neutral presentation speeds up decision-making for buyers, reducing the time a property spends on the market.
- Improved photography: Online listings are crucial in modern real estate. A staged, decluttered home photographs better, attracting more potential buyers.
- Focus on features: Removing distractions ensures buyers notice key features like hardwood floors, crown molding, or outdoor entertaining areas.
- Reduced liability: Items like garden hoses or loose rugs can pose tripping hazards. Removing them ensures safer showings for visitors.
How Homeowners Can Implement These Tips
While professional stagers are experts at identifying what to remove and how, homeowners can take proactive steps themselves. Start by creating a checklist based on the eight categories above.
- Store personal photos and memorabilia in boxes or closets.
- Relocate excess furniture and appliances to storage or less visible areas.
- Clear countertops and remove personal toiletries.
- Conceal garden hoses, tools, and seasonal decorations.
- Ensure all pet-related items are out of sight and pets are secured elsewhere.
- Empty trash bins and tidy storage spaces.
Even small adjustments can significantly enhance the home’s appeal. Pairing decluttering with minor repairs, fresh paint, and strategic décor can make the property appear polished, inviting, and ready to sell.
Conclusion
Professional home stagers understand that selling a home is about more than showing rooms—it’s about creating an experience that allows buyers to envision their lives in the space. By removing personal photos, excess furniture, large appliances, garden hoses, toiletries, decorations, pet items, and visible trash, stagers ensure the property is neutral, spacious, and appealing.
This strategic removal highlights the home’s best features, reduces distractions, and creates an environment that feels cared for, organized, and move-in ready. Homeowners who follow these staging principles improve not only the visual appeal of their property but also the potential for faster sales and higher offers.
In short, what may seem like small, mundane items can make a disproportionate impact on buyers’ perceptions. By carefully removing or concealing these eight categories before a home goes on the market, sellers can create a polished, inviting space that captures attention, evokes emotion, and encourages buyers to imagine their future in the home.