Staging and selling a home is a lot of work, but making sure your house is clean, organized, and free of clutter is an important part of making a sale. Maintaining it when you’re a busy parent, however, is another beast entirely. It can be extremely difficult to keep things spotless and neat when you have a full schedule and a family who needs to continue living their lives throughout the preparations, and this can lead to stress that you just don’t need. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to make the process much easier on everyone while still ensuring that buyers can see all your home has to offer.

Because the kitchen is one of the first things a buyer will look at–and because this area could potentially make or break the sale – it’s crucial that you take the time to get it organized and updated as much as possible. You might benefit from the help of a professional stager who can come in and make small changes to highlight the room’s best features, but you can also declutter and depersonalize so that when a potential buyer walks in, they’re truly wowed.

Here are a few tips on how to stage and sell your home the right way.

Hire a stager

A professional stager can come in and see things in your home that may be holding you back from a quick sale–things you never even noticed or thought about. That’s why, if you have extra money in your budget, it’s a good idea to bring one in before you put the house on the market. A good stager will know how to highlight certain areas or how to make small changes that will make a big impact. Keep in mind that the average cost for professional staging services is around $955.

Declutter

In many homes, the kitchen counter becomes a catch-all for everyone in the family; everything from mail, backpacks, and phones ends up in this space (in addition to all the items that actually belong there), but when you’re looking to sell, it’s imperative that you keep the counter cleaned off. A great way to maintain order is to get organized with storage solutions. A mail sorter will help you keep bills and other paperwork together, while a small charging station can be created in an out-of-the-way place so that everyone has a place to keep their phones and devices.

Choose your appliances carefully

The appliances you choose to keep in your home while it’s on the market are important. Think about what you’ll need to use the most, and pack everything else away for storage; you might even be able to get rid of a couple of things. Appliances, pots and pans, and dishes can create clutter in the kitchen that can distract from the room’s features, so losing a few is always a good idea. Remember that buyers will look through cabinets, pantries, and closets, so don’t neglect these areas.

Clean up every day

The best way to ensure that your home stays clean while it’s on the market is to clean a little every day. It can be difficult to keep up with big cleaning jobs when you have a busy schedule, but if you take ten minutes each day to wash the dishes you’ve used or to dust the living room, you can make sure things look great when you have a last-minute showing. Get the family involved, and ask them to clean up after themselves as they go so you can maintain tidiness.

Staging and selling a home can be a lengthy process, but it doesn’t have to be. With a few small changes, you can make sure your house is updated and spotless, and secure a quick sale at the same time–and you won’t have to make major changes to your already-busy schedule in order to do it.