You're heard the expression too much of a good thing. Too often this expression holds true when homes are being shown to prospective buyers.

While it may not be possible for a house to be too well decorated, it can certainly be too full of stuff even if it is excellent stuff. 

When preparing to sell your home, the standard rule is less is more. It's important to make your home look as spacious as possible. Minimal furniture and knick-knacks on tables make rooms look bigger and more neutral. An overabundance of antiques, art and various collections can not only make your home seem crowded, but can lead the prospective buyer's eye away from appealing features, such as hardwood floors, crown molding, etc. Mirrors can replace artwork on walls to make small spaces look bigger.

In the dining room, remove leaves from the dining table and leave only a few dining room chairs. 
 

According to professional stagers, who help get homes ready for sale, neutralizing the individual tastes of the person who lives in the home is one of the biggest challenges when preparing a home for sale. People buy art and furniture to reflect their own tastes, which may be a turn off to someone visiting a home. 

Real estate agents report that a home that is properly prepared before it's placed on the market will sell more quickly and command a higher price. In fact, it's possible to increase the value of a home by as much as $50,000 by applying a little elbow grease and investing in such things as paint or even new towels for the bathroom. 

Before you begin staging your home, analyze its curb appeal, which is the initial impression potential buyers get when they view your house from the street. Things to notice include: exterior paint, branches or foliage that block walkways, a neglected or cluttered front lawn, a shabby mailbox and faded or hard-to-read house numbers. 

Inside, make sure your home is exceedingly clean and tidy. This is particularly important in the kitchen in bathroom, which should sparkle. 

Windows should most certainly be cleaned and you may want to consider removing bulky curtains, blinds or other treatments so windows appear larger and allow in more light. 

Another trick of the staging trade is to create scenes of comfort and beauty, such as a chair placed by a window with a book nearby. 

While the way your home looks when you prepare it for sale is not the way you live, most sellers who take the time to stage their homes won't have to live on a stage set for long because they're homes will sell very quickly.