Clear the Clutter
Since you are moving anyway, anything you can donate, sell, store or throw away will make the moving process cheaper and easier. And it will improve the look of your home. Now is the perfect time to hold a garage sale. Don’t wait until a month before the move. If you still have some extra furnishings or seldom-used items, consider putting them in a rented mini-storage facility until you move.

Organize Your Closets
Buyers want to see how much space is available in your closets and storage areas, not how well you’ve filled them. And rest assured, they will be looking. Remove out-of-season coats, sports equipment and other items from your front entry closet so buyers can see how roomy it is.

In your bedroom closets, sort and hang clothes in like groupings (according to pants, blouses, dresses, etc.). A general rule of thumb is to take out half of what’s in your closets to make them appear more spacious. To increase storage capacity, you can add an extra pole, shoe racks, wire baskets or shelves. An under-the-bed box turns once wasted space into storage for out-of-season clothing.

A Place for Everything
Make smart use of your kitchen cabinets and pantry. If you don’t use something at least once a week, pack it up and store it someplace else so your cabinet looks more spacious. Dividers and cutlery trays make efficient use of drawer space in both the kitchen and bathroom. Even if you will be taking your storage items with you, it is important to show buyers that your home offers sensible storage for bathing, cleaning and laundry items.

Maximize the Space
Storage areas in a garage, basement and attic often end up as catchalls -- their wide open spaces make it easy to save items that should be thrown out or given away. Make sure these areas are well-organized and give potential buyers the lasting impression that there will be room for all their possessions.

In the garage particularly, take advantage of wall space. Use a board-and-peg system to hang tools and gardening equipment. Wall hooks are useful for hanging bikes or large toys. Overhead racks also keep large items off the floor and out of the way.

Not enough closet and storage space is often the excuse of a prospective buyer who really likes a home but doesn’t see how the family furnishings and belongings will ever fit. Don’t miss out on a potential sale because you didn’t make the most efficient use of your space!

Video on Garage Storage and Optimization Ideas
Lowe's home improvement expert, Mike Kraft, gives some helpful tips on how to clean and organize your garage, including ideas on how and where to store some of those larger items that always seem to be in the way. Presented by Real Living; video.realliving.com