Many staging decisions are open for debate, but here are ten things that you absolutely must remove before your next open house. Your house will be cleaner, look more up-to-date, and will appeal to a wider audience.

1. Toilet seat covers. Your bathroom has to be clean. It's one of the primary concerns of buyers, and carpeted toilet seat covers always make a bathroom look dingier than it is. Consider putting away any toilet or bath mats as well, particularly if they are in a darker color.
2. Plastic vines and flowers. They collect dust and are painfully outdated. Instead, consider spending $30 on flowers at your neighborhood grocery store and arranging them in a simple glass vase. Fresh, classy, and easy.
3. Decorative bottles and jars filled with "mystery liquids."
4. Out-of-season clothing. Instantly make your closets look twice as spacious by removing your winter or summer clothes. Buyers are looking for closet space, so make sure yours look as large as possible.
5. Lotion, shampoo, makeup - and almost everything else on your bathroom counter.
6. Everything stuck to your refrigerator.
7. Unfiled mail and home office paperwork.
8. The pile of remotes on your coffee table.