When you are working with a real estate agent to sell your home, you may be excited to get the property on the market. Perhaps you are already having daydreams of a home buyer waltzing into your house, falling in love with it, and making you a large offer. No matter how grand your visions may be, you have to dot all your I's and cross all your T's if you expect to connect with a home buyer who is truly interested in your property. Before you have a showing of your home or place it in your real estate agent's hands for an open house, you need to make sure to follow this cleaning checklist.

Steam Your Carpets

If you have carpets in your home, it's extremely important to have all of them professionally cleaned. Steaming your carpets is usually your best option. This can get out old dirt, grime, and, most importantly, foul smells. Since bad smells from pets or other spills on the carpet can really get in the way of an enjoyable home showing, cleaning the carpets is a must.

Wipe Windows on the Inside and Outside of the Home

Cleaning the windows is something that home sellers often skip. They may assume that no home buyer would look so closely at the home that they spot smudges on the first or second floor windows. However, home buyers are looking for small details. They're seeking reasons to like or dislike a house. Smudges on the windows can be seen as signs that you don't keep up the property beneath the surface. Have your windows cleaned and scrubbed inside and outside your home. If you have a hard time reaching second floor windows, hire someone to do it for you, but don't skip this step.

Do a Once-Over for Small Details

On the day of the home showing itself, you are going to need to make sure that you do a clean sweep of the home to get rid of any last-minute messes that may have popped up in your home. If you have kids or pets, that may mean that you will be busy doing that once-over. Get rid of trash cans that have stinky trash. Wash out sinks of grime or remaining dishwater. Remove the crumbs from your kitchen counters and dining room tables.

Finally, keep in mind that your home may already look nice, and you may be an immaculate housekeeper. However, it is still important to follow all these cleaning steps before you open your house to potential home buyer. If the house isn't perfectly clean and free of smells, perspective buyers will have a hard time immersing themselves in thoughts of owning your property. Set yourself up for success by following the cleaning checklist, and you may soon be preparing to go to the closing sale of your home.