Helpful Hints for Showing Your Home

5. Get Rid of the Clutter

Don't just stash it somewhere, get it off the premises. Remove at least one half of your stuff from closets and box it up (you're going to have to do it sometime. You're moving, remember?) Clean out the basement, the shed the garage. Other than a couple of chairs on the porch, it should be bare. And no more than a nice set of patio furniture on the back deck--men look at a deck as the place where they are going to entertain!

Remember, every space, in and around your home, needs to shout to a homebuyer, "There's plenty of room here for your stuff."

6. Set the Dinner Table as if You Are Getting Ready for a Dinner.

Put out your best china and silverware. Don't forget the candles. In this room, and in every room, the idea is to show potential buyers how they would live in your home. . .that it's a place where they'll be happy to entertain their guests.

On to Steps 7 & 8