Safety First: Before Listing Your Home, Remove That “Block of Knives”

By Lucy Butcher

I have been professionally staging homes in Colorado Springs, Denver and the Front Range area for four years. Safety for the Realtors who show the homes I stage (or any home listed for sale), has long been a passion of mine. Why? Years ago, a friend was a Realtor in my small hometown of Casper, WY. She received a call from a man who wanted to see a property near the mountain. At the time there were not many homes in the area. That man attacked my friend and nearly killed her with a knife he found on the kitchen counter. That memory has never left my mind.

The reality is that hundreds of Realtors have been hurt or killed on the job. Realtors and homeowners alike need to be aware of the real dangers for Realtors showing a home to perfect strangers. Most people are kind and do not wish any Realtor harm, but personal safety must always be at the forefront of all agents’ minds.

How many of us have that useful block of knives sitting on our kitchen counter? How many list our homes for sale and never give the block of knives a second thought? That block of knives needs to be removed from the kitchen all together. If that isn’t possible, then relocate the block of knives to a bottom cabinet, turn the block so the handles are facing the back of the cabinet and then slide it clear to the back. Also, place any sharp utensils that may be in the silverware drawer, like steak knives and forks, in a plastic bag and put them in the same location as the block of knives.

As a professional home stager, I passionately share the story of my friend’s attack with all my clients. Not once has a client ever given it a thought about removing that block of knives, or other potential safety hazard in the home. For example, I recently consulted with a woman whose home had been on the market for a long time. As I was walking through the home, I noticed that not only did she have the block of knives on the kitchen counter she also had three rifles perched against her husband’s desk in the basement. When I suggested that she remove the rifles from the home, she balked, saying the guns were not loaded. I then reminded her that many people have been killed or gravely wounded by the butt of a gun. She quickly picked them up and placed them in the trunk of her car.

All professional home stagers should insist that the homeowners they work with create a safe environment for all Realtors showing their home. Also, suggest that they remove anything that can be used as a weapon: a child’s bat propped against a wall, the handgun in the closet, the rifle mounted on the wall or the hunting knife sitting on the shelf. It’s so easy to present a safe home for Realtors who are showing it by discussing safety at all listings and/or during all staging consultations.

Unfortunately, professional home stagers also need to guard their own safety, while in their client’s home. Signs on their vehicles are great advertising, but at the same time they announce that you are in the home and most likely alone. Make sure that after you have unloaded your vehicle, secure all doors, close the garage door and always remember to ask the homeowner if they would be expecting anyone to arrive at their home during your staging hours. We, as stagers, must also practice personal safety.

It is always so much better to be safe than sorry!

Lucy Butcher is a Certified Master Home Stager and Interior Redesigner, whose company Presentation Is Everything, LLC, provides staging consultations, real estate staging and interior re-design services. Contact 719-638-4395, email presentationiseverything@msn.com , or visit www.presentationiseverything.net .