Living in your house while it's on the market can be stressful. Your home has to be presented in its best possible condition at all times, but you still have to live there.

Potential buyers understand that you still have to "do" life while you're showing your home, but a mess will turn them off immediately. And you never want to discourage a buyer from coming to visit your home with their agent because the house is a wreck.

Plan ahead with some of these suggestions to keep your home ready for every showing:

Pack, pitch, donate, sell and store.

Start packing immediately and don't let up. You might not know yet where you're moving, but get your belongings in order now, even if clearing out means sending some things to storage for a while. All those articles you've read about decluttering? Well, this is where it counts. Less stuff to take care of makes it easier to keep things clean and organized, and it gets you ahead on the moving process, too.

Remember, when potential buyers visit, less of your furnishings and personal belongings is more. Clutter makes the home feel chaotic and cramped.

Get your home squeaky clean inside and out.

Do a deep clean of your home, and make your exterior the envy of the neighbors. Outside, focus especially on the front yard and entryway. If you spend quality time doing these chores thoroughly at the outset, maintenance will become a lot easier and less time-consuming. Create a checklist of things that need to be maintained daily (emptying the garbage should be on this list), weekly and monthly, and stick to it. If you get behind, you risk not being ready when someone comes calling.

Send the animals to camp.

Your pets don't have to vacate completely, but it's better to have them out of the house when potential buyers arrive. It doesn't matter how sweet they are or how much they love people. Don't risk putting prospective buyers off because they don't love your animals as much as you do. Be mindful of your animals' smells, too. You might be noseblind to it, but it'll be the first thing buyers smell as they walk in. Bad first impression.

No smoking.

Again, the smell. Indoor smokers should consider painting and a professional cleaning before listing a home. Make sure to send smokers outside once that's been completed, then eliminate signs of them having been there.

Keep security in mind.

Go ahead and pack up your valuables or at least move them out of sight to avoid unnecessary risk. If you're concerned about your privacy, remove family photos, mail and mementos that reveal more than you're comfortable with about your family.

Leave!

Now that your home looks better than ever, get out of there when someone wants to see it. The goal is to have potential buyers come in, look around, visualize themselves in the space, and give some honest feedback. Your presence will keep that from happening.

Be sure that any time you leave your home while it's on the market, you leave it in a welcoming state just in case you get a call. Of course, the house should be clean and tidy, with beds made, personal items put away, bathrooms clean and dishes out of the sink. Open the blinds to bring in some natural light and turn on low lighting anywhere you have a dark space. Leaving a nice smell behind is good, too, but be really careful to not overdo it.

The keys to living in your home while it's on the market are preparation and planning. When you're ready to list, I'll help you decide how to best prepare for potential buyers. Call me anytime at (540) 793-0442 or email me at rpayne@mkbrealtors.com. Take a look at my listings here and like my page on Facebook.