Do you watch those HGTV shows and read every thing you can because you want to stage your home yourself?

Are you a seller who is frustrated with your home sitting on the market?

Try some of these tips and then call your agent to take photos:

• Declutter. It’s that easy. Get rid of your magazines. Get rid of your candy jars, photos, extra plants, shoes by the door, candles, food items, papers, etc.
• Get everything that is not a piece of furniture, out of sight, even if you use it every day. You can just put it back up after you use it.
• Take large pieces of furniture that aren’t “necessary” out of the room. Pack it away, put it in storage. Hey-You’re moving anyway! Just move it now. China Buffets are a big culprit of space takers. Take out the middle table insert in your Dining Room table.
• Take all your family photos down. Buyers will focus too much on who “you” are, and not your home.
• Take all the stuff in your closet that is just laying around and shoved in, and put it in plastic cartons with drawers. You can get these at Wal-mart. Yes, buyers will look in the closets.
• Get a soft, yet subtle fragrance, Not 50 plug-ins, strategically placed in every space. Changing the a/c filter sometimes helps. I like Orange Oil myself. It’s natural.
• Keep the floor clean and clutter free. Remove baskets and anything besides the furniture.
• In the kitchen, take all the food and appliances off the counter and put them away. Put the soap, sponge, dishes, etc. away.  If it looks plain, put a flower vase in.
• Take out the extra furniture you don’t need! If you have a 2 bedroom condo, you shouldn’t have seating for 10. 1 couch and 1 chair should do fine.
• In the bathrooms, put all your make-up, perfumes, deoderants, hair trimmers, and all those toiletries AWAY in the cabinets!

I always tell my sellers to envision that they are running a hotel/motel and that everything personal must go. Neutral enough so that the potential buyer will have space to walk through and can envision themselves in the space. I explain that the packing can start now. We only use about 20% of the stuff that we have anyway.

This article was contributed by Sandy Aichner. Sandy is a RE/MAX Realtor who specializes in Lake Norman real estate.