In years gone by if you wanted to sell your home, you would typically give it a cleaning, maybe shampoo the carpets and slap up a for sale sign. Those days are gone. In today's tough market it takes a great deal more creativity to sell homes, which is where home staging comes in. At Simple Appeal (www.simpleappeal.com) we know what it takes to create an emotional response to a home in order to make the sale. However, I can not understate the importance of properly cleaning your house as well.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to preparing their homes for sale is not taking the time to clean them properly. All too often, sellers will take the time to clean the floors, wipe the counters and tidy up the visible clutter, but that's not enough. Think about what you would do if you were shopping for a home. Would you open the closets? Peek into drawers, the pantry, and look in the basement? Of course you would!

When you are cleaning your house, don't forget to pay special attention to the cupboards, pantry area, those messy closets and the dreaded basement. A surface clean is not good enough, because buyers will open cupboards; they are going to look under your sink and even in your medicine cupboard. It is essential that even these areas of your home are clean, organized and tidy. Put away any personal items that may be embarrassing and throw away and organize all the clutter that tends to accumulate in these areas.

It's essential to create the illusion of space, even in the tight closet spaces, drawers and areas that typically accumulate clutter. Try thinning out the number of cleaners that you have under the sink, in the laundry room and other areas. Make sure towels are folded in the linen closet, and everything is neat and tidy ? even behind closed doors. That way when buyers come through, they will notice the shelves, or closet organizers and not all the clutter that you've collected.