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Preparing your home to go on the market is both an art and a science.

If you’ve been thinking about listing your house — or it’s already for sale but there hasn’t been much interest — consider these six home staging tips that you can try to increase the appeal and resale value of your property.

Gather Ideas: By looking at other listings in your area for inspiration, you can increase your chances of making a quick sale. Search for nearby homes that are on the market and view their listing photos to see what the sellers did for staging. Refine your search by looking at homes in your price range, keeping in mind that homes in West Chester are currently selling for $258,000 on average. You can also attend open houses in the area to take a closer look at the competition.

Declutter: Eliminating your home’s clutter is one of the easiest ways to stage it. Try to limit your decor to statement pieces, and keep all your kids’ and pets’ belongings neatly stowed away. In fact, you may want to remove any evidence of your pets’ presence. Avoid the temptation of haphazardly throwing clutter into a closet minutes before a showing. Remember, closet space is a big appeal for potential buyers, and they will be peeking behind those closed doors.

Clean Often: Unless you are able to commit to regular deep cleanings, you might want to hire a cleaning company to come by regularly to keep the house in tip-top shape (which costs an average of $75 to $125). Staging a home is all about the little touches, which can add up to make a big impact. Dusty baseboards, smudged windows, and dirty ovens will be noticed — and won’t be forgiven. If you are confident you can keep your home sparkling clean, follow this cleaning checklist for daily, weekly, and monthly tips for homes on the market.

Depersonalize: By taking out sentimental and personal items, you give buyers a chance to imagine themselves living in your home. Remove family photos and instead hang a large piece of nice, yet neutral, art. Speaking of neutral, let the walls follow suit. Repaint any bold colors or accent walls with whites, creams, or neutral tones. You don’t want your home to feel sterile; you want it to be inviting. But you want potential buyers to be able to see your home as a blank canvas ready for their touch.

Prioritize Curb Appeal: The outside of your home is your listing’s first impression. In fact, many house hunters make up their minds before they even open the front door. Lack of curb appeal can be a huge deterrent to home buyers, but fortunately, you can improve your curb appeal with a few easy and inexpensive fixes. You can keep it simple by painting your front door, upgrading your mailbox, adding modern address numbers, and using planters to add pops of color. A well-manicured lawn can also up your curb appeal.

Boost Natural Lighting: Natural light is extremely popular with home buyers. As architectural trends change across time, natural lighting has always been favored by home buyers. Natural light is dynamic — it changes based on what is happening outside. Several studies have shown that natural light is a natural mood booster. Plus, everything just looks better in natural light. It has the right balance of soft and crisp, focused yet relaxed.

All home sellers know that when you put a home on the market, your number one goal is to appeal to the right kind of buyer. You want to attract someone who sees your house as their future home. Following these home staging tips can help them see themselves cooking in your kitchen, entertaining in your living room, and relaxing in your backyard.

Author:  Alice Robertson
Alice Robertson began her career in the home organization industry as a professional house cleaner. After cleaning and organizing her clients’ homes for years, she decided to open her own home organization business