• Staging your home can get it sold more quickly.house image by hans slegers from Fotolia.com
  
  Staging a home for potential buyers increases your chances of selling the house. Staging removes some of the traces of your family's daily life, making it easier for buyers to imagine themselves and their belongings in the house. It may be inconvenient to keep the house so clean and uncluttered while you live in it, but by focusing on your home's appearance, you increase your home's saleability.
  
  

Exterior Staging

• Your house's exterior is the first thing a buyer will see. Clean the yard thoroughly, add mulch to your plants and keep the lawn well maintained. Paint the house if the existing paint is chipping, or clean the house's exterior with a power washer. Clean your patio and patio furniture as well. Move garbage and recycling cans behind the house so the buyers won't see them when they first arrive. Place a potted plant near the front door.
  
  

Entryway Staging

• Clean the area inside your front door and remove any clutter. Store shoes, backpacks and other items in a nearby closet rather than leave them out. Buy a new welcome mat and make sure the entryway is well lit.
  
  

De-clutter

• The less items a potential buyer sees, the larger each room looks. Go through your belongings to find things you don't want or need anymore. You'll want to de-clutter before moving anyway, and getting rid of unwanted items makes more room to store your wanted possessions out of sight. Hold a yard sale if you have the time, or donate your unwanted items if you don't. Place items such as holiday decorations and out-of-season clothes in storage lockers to make your attic, basement and closets look emptier and therefore larger. Put away family photos to make it easier for buyers to picture their own photographs hanging on the walls.
  
  

Keep Surfaces Clear

• Your coffee maker, stand mixer and toaster may not seem like clutter to you, but to a buyer, they make your kitchen look like it has less counter space than it really does. Set aside spaces in cabinets or closets to stash these items when buyers come over. Trying to clear away papers and other items from tables and counters at the last minute when a buyer is on their way over can result in lost homework and other important papers, so make this a daily task.
  
  

Clean

• Deep-clean your home's interior and then clean all surfaces regularly. Clean windows make the house look brighter and cleaner. Clean floors and bathrooms are more appealing to buyers. Remove dead leaves from house plants and make sure the beds are made. Clean the bathroom, leaving no mildew in the bathtub. Paint the grout to make it look fresh and clean.
  
  

Last-Minute Touches

• Put out fresh flowers, turn off the television and play soft music whenever potential buyers come to visit. Turn on lamps to make the house look bright and open the windows ten to fifteen minutes before buyers arrive to air out your rooms. Baking cookies in the oven will fill your home with a lovely, reminiscent-of home fragrance.