Spring is approaching here in Canada. Buds are forming on the trees, wildlife re-emerges from their winter dens, and everywhere you look, you get a keen sense that life is resuming. And it isn’t just the natural world kicking into high gear; homeowners, real estate practitioners and renovators are also springing back into action, eager to make improvements.

There are several common circumstances for renovating. Some homeowners renovate as a self-improvement project, an investment in making their domicile enduringly liveable and comfortable. Others renovate to sell, hoping to add value to a property before its big market debut. And others renovate when they buy, aiming to build equity in an impressive new asset.

Regardless of your reasons for renovating, NEATSPACES can help. Our organizing, decluttering and move management services make an ideal companion to any home-improvement, equity-improvement or home staging endeavour. We can be there for you before the walls come down, during the process, or after you lay the finishing touches on a project. Here’s how.

Setting the Stage: Pre-Organizing and Decluttering Before a Renovation

Let’s say you’re a homeowner hoping to finish a basement, complete with underpinning, electrical installation and plumbing. Perhaps you’re keen to court renters as a strategy to offset rising mortgage costs, or maybe you just always wanted a rec room! Before you tear down walls for insulation or invite installation teams onto the property, you need to declutter.

Basements – like attics, spare rooms, kitchens, etc. – can become receptacles for clutter over time. We shuffle our excess belongings into boxes, cabinetry and corners as a way to keep our common living areas more attractive. Renovations may force you to confront these often-overlooked spaces – to finally audit those belongings. 

That’s where NEATSPACES excels. Our full home organizing services help you clear excess belongings methodically and compassionately, while devising smart organizational systems for storing your remaining belongings. 

The Complete Makeover: Simultaneous Decluttering and Renovating

Take another common example: A homeowner plans to remodel their entire ground floor, complete with new paint, flooring and appliances in the kitchen, bathrooms and primary bedroom. Essentially, this is a self-improvement project. Tired of living amidst outdated interiors, a homeowner seeks to overhaul their space – to make it a source of pride again.

But how can you completely overhaul a space without also inventorying its belongings? I.e., how can you get that picture-perfect result you’ve been dreaming of while there’s still clutter around? You can’t, really.

If you want a complete makeover, consider engaging a renovation team and a decluttering/organizing team simultaneously. The end result will be a fully remodelled home with concise organizational systems, unobstructed sightlines and an open, airy feeling.

Incidentally, decluttering during a renovation may also help with cash flow. As you work with NEATSPACES to earmark belongings for sale or consignment, you might find that those excess belongings pull in some considerable cash – which can go a long way toward mitigating the high costs of renovating. As always, we’ll help advise you on where best to sell belongings (private sales, auctions, consignment stores, etc.) so you see maximum value from your decluttering efforts.

When the Dust Settles: Getting the Home Back in Shape After a Disruptive Renovation

Renovations can get messy. And we aren’t just talking about the loose nails, empty caulking bottles and plywood planks left over from an intensive home overhaul. We’re talking about the disruptive displacement of belongings. As you renovate, you need to clear and relocate several belongings to make room for renovation teams. You might stuff a sideboard with kitchen items before hauling it into a spare bedroom, or heap living room bric-a-brac into a corner of the attic.

In any case, once the literal and proverbial dust settles on the renovation, those belongings need reintegrating. And what better time to consider their placement than now – when home beauty is top-of-mind? Once the last of the tradespeople vacate, call in NEATSPACES in to finish the job. We aren’t a cleaning service (although we’re happy to recommend third-party cleaners), but we can ensure that you begin your life in this newly remodelled space on the right foot.

Some renovators might even opt to fully empty their home before a renovation, moving their belongings to an offsite storage facility or POD. In these cases, NEATSPACES can help you declutter before moving your belongings to storage (there’s no point hauling unwanted items back and forth, paying to store them only to purge them later). We’ll aid in decluttering the home, pack everything into bins or boxes separating what is to be kept versus discarded,  arrange for donation removal, move other items to storage, and set them back up once the renovation finishes.

Real Estate Strategies: Renovating, Decluttering and Organizing as a Buyer or Seller

Lastly, NEATSPACES can help with your real estate-related renos, whether you are a practitioner, buyer or seller.

We have ample experience working with realtor partners across the transactional spread – from listing agents to selling agents, home staging companies and SRES (Senior Real Estate Specialists). If you’re in charge of staging a home that’s recently undergone renovations, and need it decluttered and organized for a quick sale, we can get the job done. Likewise, if you’re coordinating move management for a busy client, we are effective real estate partners to add to your third-party Rolodex. 

We’ve also aided countless sellers as they prepare their homes for sale, and buyers as they establish their new homes. If you’re a real estate consumer adding renovations to the mix, chances are you’ll need extra hands on deck. Buyers and sellers who renovate (as part of staging or equity-adding/flipping, respectively) often find their mental and physical capacities overtaxed. And that’s where NEATSPACES’ full service move management team can share the load. As you deal with the logistics of renovating a real estate property, our team will handle your upcoming move from end to end.

At every step of the renovation journey, NEATSPACES can be your trusted partners. We can clear spaces for renovation teams to do their work effectively. We can work in tandem with renovation teams for a full-service refresh of your home spaces. Or we can ensure that you implement sensible, followable organizational systems in the aftermath of a sizeable renovation. And when it comes time to buy or sell your renovated property, we’re there too – setting the stage for staging, shouldering the burden of moving and more.

If you want to make the most of your spring renovations this year, contact NEATSPACES for more information.