When arranging your home to sell, experts suggest a key part of staging is removing certain items so your home will appeal to buyers. Selling a home is all about presentation so you want to make sure your home looks and feels its best. The last thing you want to do is deter buyers by having some unflattering things displayed in your home.  Here are 9 items you should always remove from your home when staging it. 

Ashtrays
The last thing buyers want to see when they enter a home is a dirty ashtray. Even if they are outdoors, they are smelly and dirty and will most certainly be a huge turnoff to potential buyers. Be sure to remove ashtrays and any items related to smoking including cigarettes, lighters, cigars, etc.

Taxidermy
You might enjoy hunting and displaying your prized possession for all to see but a potential buyer might not be so keen about having a giant deer head in the living room.  Taxidermy will not be appealing to all people so you are better off leaving the antlers and stuffed badger in storage. 

Firearms
If you keep guns in the home, be sure they are locked away or placed in storage when you are staging your home.  Not everyone is a fan of keeping guns in the home and it can leave buyers with an uneasy feeling.

Doll Collections
 No, we aren’t talking about your 4 year old daughter’s Barbie dolls.  We mean the porcelain dolls that are borderline creepy looking. These unusual collections can turn buyers way off.  They want to envision themselves living there and not being haunted by a group of scary dolls!

Anything Political
While we do live in a country that welcomes freedom of speech, you might want to keep your political opinions to yourself when staging your home. Take down and posters, signs, or memorabilia that might showcase your political affiliation. The last thing you want to do is bring politics into a home sale. 

Urns
While it might sound a bit crazy, the fact is many people have urns carrying the ashes of a deceased pet or loved one. You will definitely want to remove them from the mantel or bedside table and relocate them when buyers come around. 

Giant Family Portraits
We can all appreciate the beauty of a lovely family portrait but the idea is to allow potential buyers to envision themselves living in your home. If your walls are plastered with giant family photos, it can be difficult for the buyers to imagine their own family there.

Pet Toys
While many people can appreciate the importance a pet brings to the family, it doesn’t mean they want to see half-chewed bones and smelly tennis balls lying around the house. Pet beds, ropes, chew toys, and dog bones can leave buyers with the wrong impression. They might think that your house is dirty or hasn’t been well-maintained. At least when there is a showing, put the pet toys in a nice storage place. 

Mousetraps or Bug Spray
There’s no better way to say “This home is crawling with critters!” than to have mousetraps and cans of roach spray displayed around the house. Tuck these items away when potential buyers are coming to your home and hope that these pests don’t make an appearance during a showing.