The Twin Cities real estate market has remained competitive, and sellers in the southeast metro are always looking for an edge. One of the most cost-effective things you can do before listing your home has nothing to do with renovation — it's simply removing excess stuff so buyers can see what they're actually purchasing.

Real estate professionals consistently point to clutter as one of the biggest obstacles to a clean showing. When closets are packed, counters are full, and the garage is a maze, buyers struggle to visualize themselves in the space. A temporary storage unit lets you remove the excess while keeping everything accessible and organized.

A 10x10 unit is typically enough to hold the contents of two or three rooms — extra furniture, seasonal gear, hobby equipment, and personal items that make a home feel less neutral. Clearing even a modest amount of space can make rooms photograph significantly better and feel larger during showings.

The timing works in your favor too. Moving items into storage before you list means you're already partway through the packing process when an offer comes in. Sellers who've pre-staged their home this way often find the actual move less chaotic because the heavy lifting has already been done in stages.

Month-to-month rental options at most storage facilities make this a low-commitment decision. You're typically looking at two to four months of rental while the home is listed and under contract — a modest cost when weighed against a faster sale or a stronger offer price.

For homeowners in communities like Hastings, Cottage Grove, Woodbury, or Farmington, local storage options are close enough to make frequent access easy during the selling and moving process. Proximity matters when you're staging a home and may need to swap items in and out.