Getting your home ready for staging is a team effort. A little prep before our visit means we can spend more time on strategy, styling, and high-impact changes—and less on basic cleanup. Use this quick plan to get the most out of your consultation and set your home up to shine.

1. Shift Your Mindset

Staging success starts when you begin to see your home as a product, not a possession.

Remind yourself: this is no longer “my home”—it’s a house I’m preparing to sell for the best possible price. You don’t need to be fully objective (that’s my job), but try to look at each room with a critical eye:

What will buyers notice first?
What feels cluttered, dated, or overly personal?
What small tweaks could make the biggest difference?

2. Commit to the Process

In a competitive market, halfway efforts don’t deliver full results.

Staging can feel like work, but it’s work with a payoff: homes that are properly prepared typically sell faster and for more money. Once you’ve decided to list, commit to making yours the best-looking home in its price range—and follow the full staging plan we create together.

3. Tidy First, Then We Strategize

To make the most of our time during the consultation, please have the home “picked up”:
Dishes done and put away
Beds made
Laundry put away
Floors and surfaces generally clear
As we walk through your home, I’ll be taking notes and, when possible, doing some of the work for you—straightening towels, demonstrating bedding styling, and suggesting simple tweaks so you’re one step closer to picture day. Before professional photos and your open house, we strongly recommend a professional cleaning. I’ll bring a price list for a trusted cleaner to our consultation.

4. Simplify Kitchens and Baths

These spaces photograph and show best when surfaces are clean and calm.

In the kitchen:

Clear counters of excess items and rarely used appliances
Keep only your most attractive, frequently used pieces out
Consider packing extra glasses, dishes, and gadgets so we can find a streamlined “home” for what remains

In the bathrooms:

Remove personal products from the counters
Place out your best towels
Have extra bedding, throw blankets, and pillows accessible for possible staging use

5. Start Packing Now

Think of staging as “pre-moving.” Use our 3-Steps to Packing Process to begin packing items you won’t need in the next six months.

Carefully label each box by room and contents
Stack boxes neatly in a garage, storage space, or locker
Whenever possible, donate or discard items you no longer use—it’s easier to let go now than to move and unpack them later

6. Tackle Obvious Repairs Early

Small fixes make a big difference in how “move-in ready” your home feels.

Before or shortly after our consultation, start on the easy wins:

Replace burned-out light bulbs
Touch up scuffed walls and trim
Use a magic eraser on visible marks
Repair simple, noticeable issues buyers will see right away

A little preparation on the front end allows our staging session to be more focused, creative, and impactful—so your home can hit the market looking its absolute best.

Home Preparation Plan for Staging