A tidy home is a healthy home—and also a more presentable one.

As buyers look for a space they can imagine themselves residing in, staging yours to a T can make all the difference in obtaining a good offer. But the ongoing chores necessary to maintain such neat interiors can be overwhelming, especially if you live a busy lifestyle with children or pets. Thankfully, you can make some simple design choices that will take some of the hassle out of household chores, and ensure that your abode is always ready for that next home tour.

Put away knickknacks

While tiny figurines, picture frames, miniature candles, and other trinkets may add color to their surroundings, they can attract more dust than they’re worth—and worse, they can complicate cleaning the shelves or tables they occupy. While you don’t have to embrace total minimalism, paring down your decor to just a few choice pieces will make cleanup far less tiresome. As a bonus, this strategy will help depersonalize and simplify your home, making it look more appealing to potential buyers.

Opt for statement art

The recent trend of gallery walls encouraged art aficionados to stuff their walls with as many photos, paintings, and prints as they could. However, walls chock-full with frames leave you with far more surfaces to dust. To simplify cleanup and create a more appealing design scheme, replace multiple small frames with one large piece of artwork. Just make sure to fill in the unsightly remaining holes to avoid turning off buyers. If you’re worried that dialing back your decor will leave your walls too bare, choose a statement piece in eye-catching colors: it will draw the eye without inviting excess dust.

Select sturdy fabrics

Hardy, long-lasting fabrics, including sofas, bedding, window treatments, and more, can make a world of difference for your home. As you simplify your decor to stage for buyers, keep your best, most resilient fabrics on display and put your more delicate items in storage. For instance, opt for furniture lined in performance fabric, which is durable and stain resistant, or leather, which is simple to wipe clean and spot-treat when the occasional spill inevitably happens. If you’re worried about pet stains and other serious messes, investing in slipcovers could be a worthwhile solution as well. As for curtains, throw blankets, comforters, and other loose fabrics, consider swapping to machine-washable products; pop them in the washer when needed, and you’re good to go.

Roll up your rugs

Area rugs are often more high-maintenance than they’re worth, as they can absorb dust, moisture, pet hair, spills, and odors. Bare floors may be easier to keep clean, especially as you experience higher foot traffic from buyer tours. Only lay area rugs where necessary, such as in living rooms and in entryways, removing them from unnecessary spaces like the powder room, dining room, kitchen, laundry room, and carpeted bedrooms. Then make sure to vacuum them weekly. Practice restraint when placing rugs in bathrooms too: one near the tub or shower is good for absorbing moisture, but a rug by the sink or toilet will just be another object to spot-clean and launder.

Select satin

The rigors of daily life can show themselves on your walls and doors, especially if you have children or pets. Scuff marks may sully your bathroom and entryway walls, hard water deposits sodden your bathroom surfaces, finger smudges tarnish your doors, and food splatters wander onto your kitchen walls. But with the right paint, you can make these areas more resilient and stain resistant. Use this opportunity to upgrade to paints with a semigloss or satin finish, taking the proven advice to opt for light, neutral hues. These will add a protective layer to surfaces—so if a smudge or splatter appears, you can simply wipe it off.

When it comes to staging your property to impress homebuyers, cleanliness is just as crucial as design, and restyling your home with these tips can take some of the stress and time out of it. For more advice on marrying visual appeal with ongoing durability and increased home value, talk to a real estate agent. They can guide you toward investing in features that will make practical sense for you now and earn cents in greater resale value.