Karen Otto wrote a great blog post about the importance of staging a home.  In it she points out that home sellers must consider themselves merchandisers when preparing their home for a sale.  We won't buy dented cans on a grocery store shelf.  We discount a dented car.  And we discount a home with flaws -- even minor ones.  Most of the time buyers of any product won't pay full price for a product with dings and scratches.  If you know this, then prepare your home like other merchandise being sold. 

Below are other points she makes about preparing a home for a sale:

1. Start thinking about your property as a marketable product. You need to disconnect your emotional attachment to your home and treat it as a product for sale that you want people to buy. Sever you emotions to your house and start envisioning the memories you'll make in the next one. You're on to better things right? Now let's get this house to help pay for it.

2. Look objectively at your home or hire a home stager to give you a professional assessment on how your house shows both inside and out to potential buyers. As the old expression goes, "we stand so close to the trees that we can't see the forest." By being objective you'll be able to see the flaws that others most certainly will.

3. Clean, clean and clean some more. This is what I call the white glove treatment. From baseboards to light switches, grout to faucets, everything must sparkle.

4. Declutter and depersonalize. Remember you're selling square footage, counter space, architectural details and a lifestyle. Ask yourself through the process, is this something I'm selling? Pare down excess furniture, accessories, personal items and other knick-knacks that tend to accumulate over the years. Go through all closets too. Sell, donate, store or throw away things you don't really need or love. Give your children the same task and make it a family project. You're moving anyway, start packing and ridding early. The house will be so much easier to maintain while showing this way too.

5. Neutralize colors and outdated features. Think "move in ready". Do the rooster wall paper or 1970's paneling really translate to that? Also make repairs as needed. Fix cracks in walls, nail pops or condensation damage to window sills. Scrutinize every detail as a buyer would.