Last week I talked about getting our house ready to move. It's a week later, our house has been listed, and, I have to say, I'm a little surprised I survived. Our home is more of a workhorse than a show pony so it needed a good decluttering, which took a lonnnnggg time. I had to remove two of the three dressers in the main bedroom (we're not fashionistas; we have small closets) and at one point my husband pointed out that I'd packed his underwear. I had no clue where I'd put it but, luckily, I managed to find some in the clean laundry. The problem is that life has to carry on: You have a job, kids to feed, laundry to do, dance recitals and hockey lessons to attend, plus! this monumental task set before you.

My Tips:

Hire a Babysitter. This past weekend we were down to the wire so I paid my friend's teenage son to take our six-year-old son for the day. Best forty bucks I've spent getting the house ready. While we worked, he frolicked. His sisters, meanwhile, staged the living and dining room. I actually had to reserve the "staging privilege" as a reward for the cleaning I'd asked them to do. Aside from one little disagreement we had about the arrangement on the dining room table, all those hours they spend watching HGTV has paid off.

Ask for help. For some reason, women's friends are much more useful in times like these. My friends have offered gardening tools, meals, babysitting, and pretty items for staging. My husband's friends?? [Crickets]

Beware Touch-Ups. I needed to touch up paint in the master bedroom and I still had the paint tin that the previous owners' used. I went to the store where it was bought to have it checked out and they said it was good to go. Except the walls in the room have faded and they no longer match the colour in the tin. After wigging out, I called our painter and he managed to tint the colour with a little white. So, touch-ups are good, just test first!!

Know What You Can Do. Our agent came by Saturday evening and admitted she was worried we wouldn't be ready for the photographer Monday. It was understandable: my husband had half a porch to paint, I had half a garden to plant, there were moving bins everywhere, boxes from new lighting fixtures that we'd installed in every room, the kitchen was a work in progress, and we were about to leave to watch the girls' dance recital! He breezily assured her we'd get it done, and we did, because we knew exactly how much work it would take. If you look at a job and think, "That'll take half an hour," you're probably underestimating. Double or triple your time estimates and then you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Enough from me. Here are some more tips from Taisa Dorney, my friend, the professional stager:

Clean clean clean. "Every surface, every window sill, every baseboard. Dust and dirt is a huge turnoff."

Clear it out. "I know everyone knows this but people buy into the idea of buying your lifestyle. If your home seems neat and orderly they will assume their lives will become the same by moving in to your home."

Store it. "Make sure that you have plenty of storage. If you don't have enough closets then purchase cabinets and wardrobes that appear to look built in. Hooks by doors also can be used."

Shelf Displays. "My pet peeve: If you have open shelves or display cabinets, display only decorative items in an aesthetic way. Display books, frames, ornaments, and baskets/boxes neatly. Don't have items or books on the shelves that extend beyond the shelf depth. It looks unkempt. Don't run books across the whole length of the shelves. Break them up with other items. It is important to see the back of the shelves to create a little breathing room and depth. You can display books on their sides or with the covers facing out especially, if they are art books or beautiful coffee table books."

The work is done, the house looks beautiful, and within an hour of listing we received two appointments for viewing. Now it's just a matter of keeping it clean...

Next week: Finding a new home