Leslie - I enjoyed getting to see your before and after staging pictures. There's really nothing to be embarrased about. I'm sure you knew beforehand that the basement would need to be changed from the guest/storage area to a nice additional living area. It's so good that your house sold in 2 days. I had heard about clearing kitchen counters as a means to make the home more presentable but I would hate to have to live that way for a long period.

Our housing market here is also very slow. 2 years ago it was a sellers market. A condo in our development (only 44 units) would sell in the first week at or above the asking price. Currently we have 4 on the market (1 death, 1 couple into assisted living, 1 couple retiring out of state and 1 lost job). The units are barely being shown. I can only hope that the economy picks up before we need to make a move.