Our house looks like chaos right now, so we made a spontaneous decision: this will be Moving Week. While we unpack and locate our underwear, I’ll share everything about selling our current home since so many of you asked. Over the next few posts we’ll cover staging and selling, a budget breakdown of what we spent and what we made, photos of the empty house (it feels strange but satisfying), moving day photos at the new place, a few houses we casually toured during our search, and a few other odds and ends I’ll remember once we stop tripping over boxes.

• How we staged and sold our house, including a look at our real estate flyer and a list of small changes we made before showings.
• A financial breakdown: what we made selling the house versus what we put into it.
• Photos of the empty house—there’s something oddly freeing about seeing every echo and empty room.
• Moving day photos at the new house—always fun to compare “day one” photos from past moves.
• A casual house-hunting recap of a few homes we checked out along the way.
• Other bits and tips we remembered in the chaos of packing.

To start: a lot of you asked whether we staged the house and if we depersonalized it for potential buyers. You also wanted to see our For Sale flier. Below is the double-sided flier we made in Photoshop (with personal details removed). Click to view bigger if you want a closer look.

And here’s the back side of the flyer.

We don’t strictly follow the typical “neutralize and depersonalize” staging playbook. After selling our first house by owner without removing personal touches, we decided to lean into the cozy, lived-in feel instead of converting every room to a sterile showroom. We left meaningful elements, like our framed hallway display, because a warm, personal home can help buyers imagine living there more easily than an empty, neutral space.

That said, we did make a focused effort to present the house at its best. We weren’t trying to hide our life—just to highlight the home’s strengths and make it inviting. Here’s a practical list of what we did before showings, which helped our curb appeal and the overall impression without major renovations:

• Over-seeded the lawn a few weeks ahead of time and let spring rains help the grass fill in for a greener, healthy-looking lawn.
• Mulched garden beds and added a few seasonal annuals to increase curb appeal and signal the house is cared for.
• Organized closets, attic spaces, and the basement so open storage areas looked functional and uncluttered.
• Wiped down kitchen and bathroom counters and polished fixtures with a mild cleaner so surfaces looked and smelled clean.
• Rolled up a rug in the cooking zone to show off the cork flooring and make the kitchen feel more spacious.
• Mowed the lawn and used a leaf blower on the driveway, deck, and patio to remove pollen, leaves, and debris.
• Touched up scuffed paint on doorways and baseboards for a fresher look.

• Tucked away our dog’s food and water—stored in a walk-in closet—so it wouldn’t be the first thing visitors noticed.
• Removed obvious kids’ items from the main bathroom, like bath toys, a potty seat, and a step stool, so the space didn’t read as exclusively “a kids’ bathroom.” We left a few toys in baskets where they felt intentional.
• Removed bath mats to showcase tile and make bathrooms feel larger and cleaner.
• Vacuumed, dusted, and tidied general living areas. The last half-hour before a showing is always a sprint—singing the clean-up song and tossing things into bins does wonders.
• Wiped pollen haze off the front door with a damp rag and mild soap—five minutes made a noticeable difference to the entry’s appearance.

• Left the separate basement entry unlocked during showings so visitors could explore the entire property without hassle.
• Placed a small note to indicate a vented microwave location, so buyers wouldn’t miss built-in features.
• Set a runner and a few cups on the deck table to create an inviting, sit-down-ready outdoor space—even though the furniture moved with us, a staged surface helps buyers imagine themselves using it.

Most of these tasks were one-time or easy to maintain between showings. The hardest part was wrangling a toddler and a dog out the door on schedule, but we ended up with only three showings this time around, which felt manageable compared with past experiences. What tips do you use when your house is on the market? Any advice for first-time sellers or people prepping to list?