Romancing prospective home buyers is the key to selling your home quickly and for top dollar and the key to romancing buyers is Home Staging.

If you're planning on selling your home, there are 10 steps, some easier than others, that need to be taken before the "For Sale" sign goes up in your yard.

Identify what you do not need right now. Take an inventory of your home. Consider anything you haven't needed or used in the past three months as something that can be removed. Do you really need all that hockey equipment in the garage in the middle of July? Do those holiday decorations need to be taking up storage space in the spare bedroom in February? All of the items in your home that are simply there because of an emotional attachment - do you need them now or can they be put into storage until you move to your new home?

Get rid of what you don’t need right now. Remove all clutter, items you aren't using, garbage, garage sale items etc. from your home. Don't put this step off. Get rid of what you don't need now and get it off site before your home goes up for sale. Remember, you're selling your home, not your things. The buyer doesn't need to see all of your collections and seasonal decorations!

Remove certificates, awards, religious items, nudes and similar items from the walls. These mean a lot to you but do little to make the home inviting to the buyers. You may like the painting of the Aztec sacrifice with the scantily clad victim, but a buyer may not appreciate it like you do.

Start painting, cleaning and making repairs. When it comes time to paint, clean and make repairs, you'll be glad you removed all clutter from your home! Once you have most of the ‘things’ out of the way, it is easier to get these tasks done.

Work on furniture placement. While you're in the process of selling your home remember that you're not decorating it for yourself anymore. You want to keep the decor functional and neutral. Don't keep a piece of furniture in the living room because it's a family heirloom - every piece of furniture needs to serve a purpose.

Buy or rent additional furniture. If you don't have the kind of furniture you need to create the desired atmosphere or if your home is vacant when it goes up for sale, you may need to purchase or rent additional furniture. Vacant or empty rooms make you look desperate to sell the home and that's not the way to romance a buyer. Vacant rooms make buyers think you're in a rush and that leads to unwanted low ball offers.

Buy or rent art and accessories. Art and accessories are needed to complete the look of a room. The art will need to complement the furniture and add to the room rather than distract people. The art will need to also be proportional to the furniture and placed where it enhances and completes the look and feel of the rooms.

Set the right mood with lighting. A buyer is looking for a beautiful, bright home not a dark, dreary dungeon. Ensure all your lights are on before a showing takes place and add lamps or task lighting where possible. It makes a big difference for a minimal cost.

Purchase and arrange flowers. Fresh flowers are inviting and a nice arrangement can make buyers feel welcome and happy. Flowers bring an energy and liveliness to any room and it's one of the easiest ways to enhance your home's appeal for a buyer.

Freshen the air. Your home will need to smell fresh and clean. This is best accomplished by opening the windows. Clean fresh air is one of the best ways to add freshness to a room. There are also other items that you can use, yet caution needs to be exercised in order to avoid anything with heavy perfumes or scents. Heavy perfumes or scents make people wonder what you are hiding and can irritate allergies in many of us.

Don’t forget curb appeal. First impressions are important. The first impression of a home is often how it looks from the street. The curb appeal and appearance as you approach the home is important to remember. Many sellers commonly focus a majority of their attention on the interior and only cursory attention to the curb appeal. Ensure your grass is cut, there aren't toys strewn across the yard and that the entry is clean and welcoming.