Not only does staging your home on a budget effectively help you show off its best features, but it also can increase your final sales price.

In fact, on average, experts report that sellers receive $2 in increased sale price for every $1 they put into staging a home.

Here, RISMedia offers the following five golden rules of home staging to help you show off your property’s best assets.

1. De-Personalize

Buyers need to picture themselves in the house rather than you. That wedding photo may mean the world to you, for example, but it’s a distraction that prevents the buyer from envisioning the home for their family. 

2. Maximize

Declutter and maximize the space in your home. Closets packed with all of your clothes make a place look like it lacks closet space. Consider temporarily storing the overflow off-site.

You also might want to use boxes stacked together to hold and hide the clutter, and replace wire hangers with matching hangers to make your closets more luxurious and visually appealing.

3. Sanitize

Cleaning your home is the easiest and least expensive way to stage your residence. A sink full of dirty dishes is as unappealing to you as it would be to a buyer, and cleaning floors, walls, baseboards, ceiling fans and windows is well worth it.

If walls are grimy, spray them using a common spray bottle filled with a mix of one part bleach and one part water and then follow up with a fresh coat of paint. 

4. Modernize

Unless your home has exceptional period built-ins, it probably could benefit from some updating. If someone feels the home is dated, that feeling will be reflected in a lower offer.

Consider simple changes, such as swapping out gold fixtures for nickel and chrome. Dated cabinets ca be touched up for less than $200 with a coat of new wood stain or even a good sanding and a coat of paint, with brass or wooden cabinet hardware replaced with brushed silver or stainless steel for a more modern look.

5. Neutralize

Color can make or break a buyer’s interest in your home. You may love that shocking red wall, for instance, but all the potential buyer sees is a great deal of painting in their future because red clashes with their style. Painting is one of the most inexpensive ways to change the look of a home.