Preparing your home for the market: A Checklist.

Ensure that you get top dollar for your home by preparing it for the market. It all starts with decluttering and staging.

( ) Gather up some large, sturdy boxes – one for each room of the house.

( ) Label the boxes with the name of the room each corresponds to.

( ) Check your cleaning supplies to make sure you have what you need and shop for what you’re missing.

( ) If you decided to hire a cleaning crew, schedule an appointment.

( ) Go through each room and place the clutter in the appropriate box.

( ) Organize cupboards, closets, and drawers.

( ) Remove everything that isn’t decorative from the bathroom and kitchen counters.

( ) Remove large furniture items.

( ) Take the boxes and furniture to wherever you’ve decided to store them.

( ) Clean the home thoroughly. Yes, even the baseboards.

( ) Rearrange the remaining furniture, making sure each room’s purpose is clearly defined.

( ) Tour model homes to get staging ideas.

( ) Check all the lighting in the house, buy new bulbs to replace dead ones and new lamps, if required.

( ) Go through the attic and garage, looking for anything you can use in staging.

( ) Create focal points by adding colorful accents.

( ) Wait until everything else is done and shampoo the carpets and clean the floors.

DON’T FORGET THE EXTERIOR

( ) Spruce up the exterior entryway, and add pots of colorful flowers.

( ) Groom the lawn and fertilize

( ) Remove all plant debris from the landscape beds and spread fresh mulch.

( ) Replace/Remove dead or dying plants.

These simple steps will showcase a home's best assets, impress buyers, and sell it quickly for the highest possible price.