Judy and I would like to wish you and your family a happy, safe and healthy New Year.

With the New Year right around the corner we thought we would share, 4 Completely Free Things Home Stagers Do to Make Your Closet Look Nicer from Apartment Therapy. Even if you are not thinking of selling your home, a little closet clean up always brightens the mood. Homeowners and apartment dwellers alike tend to need and accumulate a lot of stuff. For this reason and more, spacious closets are a sought-after feature for homebuyers. This fact is hardly lost on home stagers, who unanimously vouch for the importance of a well-staged closet. A closet that is decluttered, organized, and staged will show buyers that the home is well-maintained and move-in-ready. Here are four little ways home stagers make your closet look nicer without buying anything.

The 80/20 rule - While buyers may not be inclined to open your drawers and chests, you can bet they will take a thorough look inside your closets. Closet clutter can deter prospective buyers, so it’s important to downsize well before a showing.  “Most of the time, we only use 20 percent of the items in our closets. If you are selling your house, pack up 80 percent of your closets—this way, you can show off the spaciousness."

Lend the illusion of space - Sometimes it’s not the space you have, but how you use it. It’s important to give the impression that there is plenty of room in the closets. If at all possible, leave closet floor space open and reconfigure your hangers so that they’re spaced an inch apart.

Give accessories a home - Small accessories can be the most difficult items to keep organized. Place handbags upright on a shelf, ties and belts hung, and hats stacked one inside the other with the firmest and largest hat on the bottom.  As for shoes, downsize what you have and place the remainder on a shoe rack against the back wall of the closet. Ensure you are only using one-third to one-half of the rack, so that you can space the shoes out evenly.

Think visual impact - Use matching hangers, remove any extra hangers—especially the wired ones—and put smaller items in nice baskets or boxes for better visual impact. And though it may seem tedious, it doesn’t hurt to coordinate clothing by color. Human brains naturally like order and balance. When you group and sort items with similar sizes and by colors, it will put the brain at ease, making the closet more attractive to the buyers.