This week we invited Joan Gale Frank - author of Home Seller's Blues And How To Beat Them - to answer 3 questions about decluttering and selling your house quickly.

Question One: Do you feel it is important to de-clutter before advertising your house for sale?

JGF answer: Decluttering, although it is a pain to do, is essential for advertising and selling your home, for three main reasons:

1.You need to show attractive photos of the rooms in your home in your online and print promotions, and to shoot these photos, the rooms of your home must be clean and decluttered, so house hunters can concentrate on the characteristics of your rooms, and not on all the personal items contained in them.

2. The first two weeks when your home is on the market is when you get the biggest wave of Realtors and buyers who come to tour it, because it's a brand new listing. You need to make the best impression that you can at this time by displaying a clean home, which enables house hunters to envision themselves living in your rooms. The minute people see clutter, they can't visualize themselves living amongst your stuff -- which reduces the likelihood of selling your home.

3. It's much easier to maintain the cleanliness of your home throughout the home selling process if you have fewer objects in each room. The more clutter there is, the harder it is to chase dust bunnies around and to make each room sparkle.

Question Two: Would decluttering improve your likelihood to sell quickly or/and at a more favorable price?

JGF answer: When people see a clean, decluttered home, they translate this as "pride of ownership" and often assume you're taking good care of the property as a whole. Properties that like this, that appear more "move-in ready" tend to sell quicker and for more money. The other aspect of why clean decluttered homes usually sell faster is that these homes provide the appearance of a care-free life. Psychologically speaking, when buyers see a lot of clutter, they see the heaviness of your life with all its encumbrances. On the other hand, when they see clean, immaculate rooms, they assume this is a comfortable home where living is easy -- and that it's probably an easy home to keep clean and organized.

Question Three: What would be the main rooms or areas in the house to de-clutter in priority?

JGF answer: Truthfully, every room needs to be decluttered. However, if you are talking about priorities, you want to declutter those areas that get the most use first, such as the kitchen, master bath and bedroom. However, because you really need to declutter every room before putting your home on the market, the best way to tackle the process is to start with the easiest places first... such as a guest bedroom or hall closet. By doing this, you give yourself the instant lift of knowing you are already partly done. Then move on to the next "least-cluttered" area. By tackling your spaces in this order, you get better at it, you gather momentum, and you become more committed to the process because you know with every step, you're closer to getting it all done. Once you've got your house looking great, it's time to celebrate your hard work with some sort of reward!

If you would like to find out more about declutering Joan runs her own Home Selling Advice blog where you can find lots of very valuable advice and recommendations.