Leave a clear path through each room

Move chairs and baskets so a visitor can walk in, turn around, and see the floor.

Walk from the front door to the back of the house the way a stranger would. Every time you turn sideways, stop. A chair in a doorway, a bin in a hall, or a cord across a rug is a path problem. The fix is to move the object, not to explain it. A buyer who is watching their feet is not seeing the room.

Start with the widest walk you can make without buying furniture. Pull dining chairs in. Slide a bench out of the entry. Coil a lamp cord along the baseboard. If a rug slides, a short roll of rug tape is often under $15, or you can roll the rug up for showing days and store it in a closet. Bare floor that you can walk is better than a rug that bunches.

Use the path from the kitchen to the back door as the example. If a trash can, a dog bed, or a stack of shoes sits in that line, move all of it for showings. The shoes go in a closet. The bed goes in the spot you chose for pet gear. Then walk the path again with your hands at your sides. If an elbow hits a cabinet or a chair, the path is still tight.

You do not need to empty the house. A made bed, a table that fits, and a chair you can sit in can stay. What leaves the path is anything that makes a person step around it. On showing mornings, the same walk takes five minutes if the extra pieces already have a home. Give them that home before the first appointment, not during it.

What to do

1. Walk from the front door to the back and stop wherever you turn sideways.
2. Move chairs, bins, and cords out of that line.
3. Tape a sliding rug or roll it up for showings.
4. Walk the path again with your hands at your sides.