De-clutter and put away any personal items. Rooms should be tidy and a "blank slate" to a potential buyer. Seeing tooth brushes and other toiletries or clothes etc... makes it feel like someone else's house. You want them envisioning their own things in the space. Take down family photos and store them if you can.

Make sure floors and counter surfaces are clean and also clutter-free. Dirt and dust will show in the photos. Counter tops and tables should have a minimal number of small appliances or other items. They will make the space look smaller. Ideally, just a coffee maker on the counter would be great in a kitchen. Some decorative touches, such as flowers or a bowl of fruit are fine, as long as they don't dominate the available space.

Store, donate or sell any excess furniture. Too much furniture in a room makes the space feel small and claustrophobic. Some appropriate furniture gives the room scale without the impression that it is too small for it's intended use.

Patch holes and fix any other damage to walls, doors or cabinets. Make sure paint is even and blended around patches. Recent paint will often stand out. Re-painting an entire wall with a patch may be best, if possible, especially if the original paint is very old and/or unable to match properly.

Turn on all lights and turn off all ceiling fans. Using only light bulbs with the same color temperature is ideal. An incandescent in one lamp and a compact florescent in another will cause color casts of orange and blue light, repectively. Long exposures are usually necessary to capture the lower light in a room than outdoors, while keeping it all in focus. This will cause any moving objects to blur, such as ceiling fans.

Park any vehicles on the street. Preferably, park them across the street or next door during the exterior shots or photos of the garage. Moving vehicles into the garage for exteriors and back out for interiors will also work if street parking is limited.

Make the front and backyard presentable. Mow the grass, trim bushes and trees and remove any debris. Also, coil up and store hoses or other tools neatly. This is obviously easier in certain parts of the year, particularly here in the Willamette valley and Northwest in general. But, do what you can here. A nice yard can be a big consideration for some buyers.