When you’re making a decision on a home purchase, do you find yourself confused by the number of options? That’s when you need to use an approach that works well for making a final decision: just walk away.

This concept may sound counterproductive, but in reality you may find that one choice stays in your mind over all of the others. Or it may just be that you will realize that you don’t really want several of the options you were considering. Even taking the time to walk away and then look again with fresh eyes may make the decision easier.

You may want to take a photo of the choices you are facing, or bring home samples. Many stores allow either or both options, with a small deposit on the samples. Once home, give yourself a break from the decision process – at least a couple of hours if not a day. Then go back to your photos and samples and see which ones stand out. You may find that the decision you have been reaching for is now there for you.

While all salespeople want to make a sale, good salespeople understand that letting you take the time you need to make a decision you are happy with will turn you into a long-term customer, which is much more valuable. Let them know when you come back to make your final choice how much you appreciate their patience, and how helpful it was for you in the decision-making process. And you can make your final purchase confident that walking away and thinking about it brought you to the right choice.

When you’re making a decision on a home purchase, do you find yourself confused by the number of options? That’s when you need to use an approach that works well for making a final decision: just walk away.

This concept may sound counterproductive, but in reality you may find that one choice stays in your mind over all of the others. Or it may just be that you will realize that you don’t really want several of the options you were considering. Even taking the time to walk away and then look again with fresh eyes may make the decision easier.

You may want to take a photo of the choices you are facing, or bring home samples. Many stores allow either or both options, with a small deposit on the samples. Once home, give yourself a break from the decision process – at least a couple of hours if not a day. Then go back to your photos and samples and see which ones stand out. You may find that the decision you have been reaching for is now there for you.

While all salespeople want to make a sale, good salespeople understand that letting you take the time you need to make a decision you are happy with will turn you into a long-term customer, which is much more valuable. Let them know when you come back to make your final choice how much you appreciate their patience, and how helpful it was for you in the decision-making process. And you can make your final purchase confident that walking away and thinking about it brought you to the right choice.

Do you find it challenging to match colors and styles when shopping for your home? There’s a simple tool you can create to make this process so much easier. Set up a set of kits with samples of all of your flooring, countertops, paint and fabric – organized by room.

When you have new flooring installed, grab a small piece of carpeting, a tile fragment or a piece of wood or your sheet vinyl. That’s your start. Next, as you paint, cover a sturdy piece of paper with your paint. Don’t rely on paint chips for your color, because the actual paint color will always be different. If you started your painting with a poster-board sampler, just cut a corner of your selected sample to put into your book.

Having furniture recovered? Ask for the fabric scraps and add a piece to your collection. If you can’t get your fabric or for existing furniture, check the hem to see if you can clip a little bit to give you that color or pattern. Do the same for any curtains in the space. To do color matching for other key pieces of furniture or accessories, go to your home improvement store and grab some paint chips in the right color range, and take them home to find the best match.

Finally, take a couple of photos of the room. You can put everything in a sturdy notebook, or even put each room’s samples in separate large envelopes or photo boxes and label them. When you go shopping for additional pieces, or even replacements years from now, you will be ready with the samples you need to match colors and styles.