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How to decorate and stage you home for a quick sale without busting your budget.

The most important factors in decorating and staging your home for sale are simple, common sense everyday principles. The overarching concept is that of making a good first impression with prospective home buyers. The rules for making a good impression are cleanliness, orderliness, freshness, presentation, completeness, and curb appeal. Read on to discover what it means to decorate and stage your home for a quick sale.

"Squeaky" Cleanliness. Every room in your home must be "Squeaky Clean" from ceiling to floor. Giving your home a squeaky clean appearance means using a lot of elbow grease and cleaning materials. Remove every stain, streak, smudge, mold, spider web and crayon art anywhere and everywhere. You will need furniture polish, metal polish, window cleaner, rust remover, and your favorite assortment of household cleaners. On the list for squeak cleaning is the inside of every cabinet, drawer, shelf and window, as well as bathroom fixtures, light fixtures.

Recommendation; Start at the back, or the least used room in the house and work your way to the kitchen. Pay special attention to the bathrooms and the kitchen as these are usually the most important selling considerations when making a sale.

Clutter Be Gone. Grab some boxes or plastic storage containers and pack up everything that isn't nailed down. Clear off the walls and the shelves, the book cases, the desk top and the counter tops. Clean out the cabinets, top and bottom. Leave nothing that could distract potential buyers away from the natural beauty of your home.

Recommendation: Don't hold a yard sale on the day your home is being shown. Somehow, clutter will magically accumulate over time and if you really don't need it, find a way to get rid of it. Why pay the movers to have boxes of clutter taken to your new home just to take up space for another decade?

Freshen up the Paint. What pleases the home buyer's eye is what makes the sale. Once the clutter is removed from the walls and shelves, the need for a fresh coat of paint is going to be obvious. It's important to get the colors right, as color fashion changes every few years. Earth tones were popular colors a decade ago, but are rarely found in modern homes today. A fresh coat of paint will cover the dirt and grime and mask odors as well.

Arrange for an Attractive Presentation. Remember that you only have one chance to make a good impression. As prospective

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