When you are selling your home, you need to help potential buyers envision themselves living in the space. That often means you need to make some changes to your décor, or fully stage a home that is otherwise vacant. Staging allows you to change the impression your home makes, and can lead to a faster sale and potentially more money.

If the question of how to sell my house fast has crossed your mind, here are some tips to get your skills for staging on point.

1. Clean and Clutter Free

Before you do anything else, you need to thoroughly clean your home. It doesn’t matter how beautifully a vignette is put together if you can see dust and dirt on it from across the room. You need to assume potential buyers will review every detail, open every cabinet, and search every closet. If your home isn’t clean, some buyers may not be able to look past it.

Similarly, clutter is not your friend when selling your home. A pile of mail on the table, shelves full of collectible teacups, and children’s toys strewn about the floor all have to go. You can leave some decoration, but it should be kept minimal. You will also want to remove any family photos, children’s artwork, or pieces that may have controversial content.

2. Style Rooms Based on Function

You want potential buyers to understand how a space can be used in the most inviting way possible. For example, if you have a dining room, make sure it actually has a dining table in it. Then, take the time to accessorize the table, as an empty one can feel cold. Add a few place settings, or a few small vases featuring fresh flowers.

Arrange your living room to create a symmetrical appearance that works well for conversation. When possible, pull furniture away from the walls to create a more intimate seating area. It can also help a room look bigger by having space open behind furniture pieces.

If you have a guest room that doubles as an office, then you need to choose one of those functions and remove the other. It makes the room appear to have a greater purpose instead of it being a catchall for things that didn’t fit somewhere else. By removing the other features, you are also making more space available in the room which makes it appear bigger.

3. Think Neutrals First

Even if you prefer a bolder design, not every potential buyer will feel the same way. While a bit of color here and there is fine, you do want to create a sense of the home being a blank canvas that can easily be transformed to the buyers taste. This can mean repainting walls if your current choices may be polarizing, as well as editing your belongings to create a wider appeal.

4. Don’t Forget the Outdoors

Do you have a spacious backyard or a welcoming front porch? These areas also need staging to give them context. In a way, you aren’t just selling a home, you are promoting a lifestyle. Consider adding some chairs and a small table to a porch to bring to mind summer days spent sitting outside, or add an outdoor dining set to your patio to promote outdoor living.

You also want to make sure your landscaping is properly manicured. Take the time to add healthy plants and remove any that have died. Cut the grass regularly and have trees trimmed or shaped.

By painting an ideal picture of your home, you can sell your home faster. And, in the end, isn’t that what everyone wants? It is worth the time and effort, so make staging a priority.