You may not be aware of it but many home improvements really do not increase the value of the home as much as they end up costing you. If you are considering the sale of your home and want to increase its value there are some home improvement tips that you can do that will actually help increase the value.

For example, before showing your home to prospective buyers, de-clutter it; experts claim that this is considered as much as a 970% average return on your investment just by cleaning it. Store items that you do not need in boxes or containers in an attic or basement, or better yet, in a separate storage facility; if need be, have a garage sale prior to having an open house.

More home improvements tips that increase the value of your home include making the house brighter; by simply replacing burned out bulbs or bulbs with low wattage, to a higher wattage and keeping your curtains and blinds open during open house you can expect an approximate 855% average return. Another is to make sure that your yard is free from clutter and that your grass is a healthy green. If possible hire a landscaper or gardener to trim everything back; this will gain you an average return of about 420%.

Additional home improvement tips include what is called "staging"; purchase some live plants and flowers or other new decorations and placing them around your home. You may also want to get rid of old furniture and large items that take up a lot of room in order to give the area a bigger more open appearance and gives you an average return of 250%.

Updating your bathroom and kitchen, nets a return of about 165% and can be accomplished by painting cabinets with a neutral color, replace old and dated fixtures with newer ones. It is also advisable to redo the grout in your sinks, tubs, showers and counter-tops; as well as using fresh caulking where necessary.

A few other improvement tips that will increase the value of your home include painting the inside of your house (140% return). Patch all of the holes, cracks or chips and then touch up or repaint with a neutral color. Basically, anything that you can do to outwardly clean up the appearance of something will help to increase your homes value.