Everyone wants to get a little more in the sale of their home. Many do not feel that they have the time or the money to put a lot of work into their home to bring up the price to where they want it. The truth is, though, that a lot can be done with a little money - and not a lot of time needs to be invested either. Whether you are selling your home on your own or with an agent, here are seven simple home staging things you can do to get a better deal for your house.

Selling a home requires that you put a lot of those extra little things away. Take most of the pictures off of the wall, the papers off of the front of the refrigerator, the little end tables - all with the intent of creating more space. Clean off the tables and the loose items that tend to clutter up the rooms. By doing this, you make the rooms look larger than they are - and more desirable. Besides that, it will help you see the problems with the walls and enable you to clean and make your home staging repairs easier. You can put the extra stuff in storage, give it away, or put it in the garage.

If you have any holes in the walls, cracks, or other problems with the plaster, then you want to fix the spots. Sand them down to match the smoothness of the wall around them. Make sure you take down nearly all of your pictures and fill in those holes, too.

If some of your rooms are in good shape then you do not need to worry about painting them. You probably should paint them a more neutral color though, if the room is not a more conservative or neutral color. Be sure to prime anywhere that you have plastered before you paint it - or the paint may come off before you sell your house. You also want to look at the ceiling in each room and hold up a white piece of paper near it. If there is too much of a difference - paint it. Most people are not aware how white (or not) their ceilings really are, unless you have painted them recently.

Go through the house and look at every outlet, light switch, switch plate, ceiling fan, and light. Replace any that are broken, painted over, or not a matching color. All covers should be the same color in each room. Remember that you are doing your home staging to impress your visitors or to avoid annoying turn offs.

When a house is really clean, including the bathroom and kitchen, it can make almost any place look good. It adds a "welcome" feeling to it, and will make your entire home staging efforts worthwhile- and want to buy. Dirt, on the other hand, makes people feel uncomfortable. Because of this, you want to take the time needed and clean thoroughly...

Some items may need repairing or replacing. Doorknobs are probably one of those things where replacing the old ones is a good idea. Broken trim boards should be fixed. Doors that are not quite right need to either be replaced or have the trim adjusted; windows that are not working right should be fixed. This applies to items inside the house and outside, too.

Go the extra mile with your home staging and fix up your yard. Give it some real curb appeal that will make people who see the yard want to see the inside. Put some fresh flowers by the front door. Have the lights on when you have your open house.

A lot of these home staging things are simple and low cost - yet they will cause potential buyers to take a second look. More expensive projects could be undertaken, but make sure that you are likely to get most of the cost back when you sell your house. Remember that it does not matter if you sell the home yourself or with a real estate agent, if your house is not made ready by proper home staging - you won't get the maximum sales price.

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