STAGE YOUR HOME EASILY & INEXPENSIVELY

Staging your home isn't faking it or hiding faults, it's showcasing the property's potential by allowing viewers to focus on the property, not you. You want them to visualise themselves living in the space and to imagine the home as their own - that's best achieved by removing any personal distractions. Here are a few quick and inexpensive ways to stage your home for viewings:

• Remove or reduce family photographs and memorabilia.

• Cleaning. This sounds obvious, but you need to go beyond the standard vacuum, dust, rinse, repeat. Either hire a professional cleaning team or prepare to do a deep clean, like scrubbing the grouting in the showers and tiles, removing limescale build-up on shower heads and taps, and so on. There are simple household materials and hacks like lemons and bicarbonate of soda that work a treat. Carpets hold odours, so a professional carpet clean is a worthwhile spend (or hire a machine from your local hardware, and DIY).

• Clean inside & out - from gutters to the garden. The garden must be neat & tidy, lawn cut, every pathway swept, and plants looking happy and healthy.

• Declutter - a word that's bandied about, but we all know it's not that easy...but it's essential. 'Experts' suggest removing 30% of the contents of each room - this will not only declutter the space but also make the room look much bigger. Consider hiring a small, inexpensive storage unit or garage in which to store this surplus furniture and clutter. The bonus is that if you decide you're happy living without all that, you can sell or donate from there when your property is sold. 

• Check the flow. When you're looking at each room, picture the flow. How to get from point A to point B. You may be used to navigating around obstacles, but try to create an open, flowing layout that's easy for prospective buyers to move through.

• Have clear surfaces. Remove utility and other items from the kitchen counters and do likewise in all rooms. Less is more, and makes rooms look larger and tidier. Clean lines are winners, every now and again a countertop can be softened with a bowl of fruit or fresh flowers.

• Eliminate odours - pets, cigarettes, food, or garbage smells are big No Nos. Begin by eliminating the odours, not masking them. You may be 'nose-blind' to your pets or cigarettes - ask a close friend or family member to pop into your home and be brutally honest with you. Once you've rid the house of odours, then consider a small diffuser or similar - don't overwhelm with sprayed scents! It's suspicious. Rather opt for the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.

• Neutral colours - it's always said that paint is the cheapest way to update a home, and it still is because it achieves a number of things. It modernises, refreshes, and can make a space visually bigger. As a rule, choose neutral tones. If you have a good eye - or a talented friend - a single coloured feature wall can add depth or modernise a room.

• Light & air - when you're showing your house, open every window, blind, shutter, curtain, and netting. Dark rooms are unappealing. Replace missing light bulbs and use warm bulbs in side-lamps and lights if it's a gloomy day.

• Fabrics - whether it's bedlinen, tablecloths, curtains, or upholstery, they must be spotless. If your bedding looks worn, buying a new set is an investment. If your chairs and couches are tired or have outdated patterns, consider slipcovers - those aren't wasted funds, as you'll take them with you. In small doses, plain throws can work.

• Storage - many prospective buyers look at storage in your home. Tidy up in those cupboards, and ideally, unclutter, because room in the cupboards gives the impression you have more storage than is needed.

• Patio - this is where much of the fun living happens, and buyers are often drawn to this area first. Remove all dog baskets, bicycles, broken furniture, grubby braais / firelighters / charcoal, pool equipment and other clutter.

• Decorate - fresh flowers and bowls of fresh fruit always work but use restraint. Your intention is to create a home not a flower shop. Most people have homeware and décor they don't often use.

• As you're staging your home, why not "shop your house" for these items and place them out for buyers to see? Put those embroidered towels you've been keeping in your linen closet out on the rack by your shower or set your dining room table with the good tableware that's been collecting dust in the box. Even if you don't plan to use these items after your move, using them as a decorative touch while your property is on the market is a great way to give them new life.

• Hire help. If staging your home, yourself seems a daunting task, you can always call in the professionals to assist with all these tasks, but a lot can be done yourself if you take it slowly. Few of us need to sell immediately, so start early with just one room or a cupboard.