To sell your home, put your best face on it. Easy, right?

The best advice is to keep it easy – that is, don’t make it complicated. Perfection, for the most part, is not going to happen. Just improve as you can, and accept what may be beyond your reach and budget.

I recommend going through the house room by room (or area by area). Select your first room and remove everything you can carry. This includes hanging wall art, curtains, scatter rugs, light furniture – and every bit of knickknack, piled stuff, and clutter.

Look at it – really look. Notice those flaws – the brown spot on the ceiling where the roof once leaked, the cracks in the drywall from the house settling, or the grout that looks positively black. Fix these yourself, or use a good handyman.

I don’t recommend remodeling kitchen and baths, as you’ll rarely recoup the cost.

Next, clean the room – thoroughly. Wipe down the walls, the ceilings if you can, and don’t forget the baseboards. Wood floors should be polished, perhaps refinished. Scrub tile, shampoo carpet, and make those windows shine. Any furniture too heavy to move can now be buffed until it gleams. You’re done when the smell of lemon wax and pinesole makes you smile.

It’s amazing how scents can alter people’s perception. Psychologically we know the place has been well-care for, adding to the enticement. Just don’t make the mistake of substituting overpowering air freshener, which merely masks odors. It detracts from the overall effect.

The next step is to really look at your furniture layout, perhaps with a friend whose home everyone admires. Would the couch go better in a different spot? Should that curio cabinet that blocks the window be moved into the hall? Rooms crowded with furniture appear smaller – despite the square footage listed on paper. Far better to remove the excess to the garage.

Lastly, return only those pieces that enhance the room. Go ahead and take that old picture with the ugly frame to Goodwill, and hang instead the pretty seascape you bought two years ago. And while a lovely vase or set of candles stand out on the mantelpiece, crowding it with twenty odds and ends has the opposite effect. The leftover can be packed away for your move.

Even if you’re storing boxes there, clean the garage.

Don’t ignore the outdoor spaces. Sweep that porch, clear that deck. Use the same technique to remove and rearrange. Somehow a patio cluttered with debris transforms it to a junkyard. Far better to present an attractive seat out by a rose bush, or an outdoor table with cushioned chairs. Buyer’s can imagine their family barbecuing.

It’s amazing how much a thorough clean, strict decluttering, and a little creative decor can accomplish. Your house will stand out from the competition.

And that’s how you sell a home.