Let’s have a show of hands here… you pull up in front of a home and see weeds in the flower bed, spider webs on the porch, and dog slobber all over the front storm door.  You walk inside – expecting the smell of wet dog fur – and find a cluttered living room with nail holes in the wall.  As you enter the kitchen, the counter is covered with cannisters, a knife block, toaster, blender, paper towels, coffee maker, and a salt & pepper shaker.  On top of the fridge are a line of cereal boxes: Fruit Loops, Shredded Wheat, Special K, Count Chocula, and Cheerios.

The shower curtain is drawn in the bathroom and the sink has a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, hand lotion, astringent, cotton balls, Qtips, and floss.

In the bedroom you find three dressers, clothes draped over a chair, 29 pictures on the wall of family members, one Holy picture, and a pile of magazine and books on the side table.

I wouldn’t want to buy this house, would you?  Clearly the home has been lived in – and that’s okay.  But I do not want to live in someone else’s memories, so to sell you need to provide a CLEAN, NEAT slate.

Carol-Jean Dixon of Latter & Blum Realtors in New Orleans wrote a great post about staging a home for fun and profit. My favorite part,

Consider removing (gasp!) about 30% of your furniture. This will visually open up your rooms and allow for more space, a key component of every buyer, young or old. Everyone is looking for more space when they buy.

Read the rest of Carol-Jean’s post… she’s got some great ideas that we can all benefit from!