There are so many small things home stagers can do to a property that will dramatically shorten the time it spends on the real estate market while increasing the final sales price for home sellers.

Here are my five favorite home staging tips, so you can help each property you stage sell faster and for more money:

1. Reduce drive-bys

Imagine you're on a home hunting mission. Your real estate agent has ten properties to show you on a Saturday afternoon. When you drive up to what could be your dream home, you see a rusted-out mailbox, broken handrail and children's toys strewn across the lawn which hasn't seen a lawn mower in weeks. You're probably going to say, "Um, no thanks, let's move on."

Curb appeal is so important. If the outside of a house looks like this, a potential buyer is going to think nobody cares about it. You should make sure, no matter what, that lawns are freshly cut, leaves are raked or snow shoveled from the driveway. A potted or hanging plant can make a big difference near the entrance. Repair or replace any obvious defects, often this is cheaper to do than a prospective buyer will imagine. Make sure the walk ways and porches are swept clean and garbage and recycling containers are tucked away at the rear of the house or in the garage. Make sure the exterior gets a good pressure wash and the decks are scrubbed clean. It's a good alternative to painting and once everything's clean you might see it doesn't need to be repainted at all - perhaps just a touch up will do.

2. One man's junk is not necessarily another man's treasure, it may be their reason not to buy the house

De-cluttering is essential. Tackle one area at a time so the task isn't so overwhelming. If you're doing this with your client, make sure they look at each item carefully before deciding whether it's to keep or to toss. Each closet will probably have to be gone through more than once to get its contents down to the absolute essentials, but it will be worth it. If the home owner is having a tough time parting with things, recommend they rent a storage locker so they can keep their beloved items, just remove them from the house they're selling. They'll have to move it eventually anyway!

3. Avoid wandering eyes

You want to make sure there are no little problems in a room that will have a potential buyer looking from one flaw to another thinking about they work they'll have to do. You want them to see the bigger picture and imagine themselves living there. For example, do a walkthrough and look for chipped paint on the door frames. These can be filled in with "white out". Old nail holes can often be hidden behind strategically hung art, but don't just throw things on the wall where the old nail was (see point 5). Peeling wallpaper should be glued back down. Make sure there are covers on all electrical outlets and light switches, and replace any that are cracked. These little things make a big difference!

4. Color is your friend when it's time to sell a house

If you have to repaint a home's interior, or some rooms in a home, try to choose a pleasing color palette that allows each room to flow nicely into the next. All colors should go together. Try to repeat one signature color throughout a home. Maybe it's the feature color in one room used as an accent in the others, through accessories or throw cushions.

5. Make a big impact with a little art

By strategically using art, you can enhance a home's perceived value, draw the eye away from tiny flaws, give an otherwise uninteresting space a focal point and replace personal memorabilia.

Position art at eye level and use pieces that are appropriate to the size of the wall. Art with a large frame on a small wall can make the entire area seem smaller. Avoid religious art, or anything edgy that could be offensive to some potential buyers. (For more tips about using art for home staging, visit Staging Diva Art Shop.)

These are only five of dozens of tips that can improve your next home staging project. Check out Staging Diva Ultimate Design Guide: Home Staging Tips, Tricks and Floor Plans - an essential guide for every home stager. It's full of home staging design tips and tricks (as the title suggests) and they're all brought to life with before and after photos and sample floor plans from my own home staging projects.