Perhaps you've seen such magazines? There's not a trace of dirt, or at least if there is it's intentional on a pair of wellington boots by the door, and no sign of clutter other than perhaps an assortment of wholesome vegetables sitting on the counter top waiting to be made into a warming casserole or an al fresco lunch depending on the season. My kitchen doesn't quite reach those standards, nor does it match their size (in some cases my entire ground floor doesn't match their size), but it's functional and, for a brief time at least, neat and tidy. These transformations can be short lived.
Admittedly, it would be harder for a prospective buyers to picture themselves in a house full of clutter, so it's as well that a cleaning frenzy has taken place in the hours prior to their visit. Flat surfaces become emptier, cupboards become more full, and other unlikely storage spots are pressed into action. Take the microwave, it serves as a handy home for the few mugs and dishes that you didn't quite get time to wash before the viewers arrived; pile the dishes in and shut the door. The car boot is another handy storage place for bags of stuff that ideally need sorting but for now just need hiding. Received wisdom has it that the seller welcomes the prospective buyer with the smell of fresh coffee and baking bread. I draw the line at these and prefer simply to give the place a good clean and open a window or two to let in fresh air.
It's not just the house that is transformed. The seller also takes on a new role, that of official tour guide who's job it is to show the would-be buyers around their prospective home. With no qualms complete strangers are ushered into every room in the house, left to talk amongst themselves in some upstairs room, and responded to politely when they ask their questions. What are the neighbour's like seems to be the standard one, though like every good tour guide I try to give them extra snippets of information and engage them in friendly conversation. Then, almost as soon as they arrived they are gone, copy of the house schedule in hand, off to see the next house they have booked to view that evening. Even if they buy the house I'll probably never see them in person again, unless they turn up with a tape measure to work out carpeting requirements or measure the drop of a new curtain while I still live here.
There is one very pleasant side effect of showing strangers round, it's that brief period before and after the visit where you are free to enjoy the house in all it's cleanliness. You can sit and relax, surveying your home while it still is your home, safe in the knowledge that nothing at all needs to be done. Well nothing that is until you try to remember where you put those important envelopes that were sitting on the kitchen table until you hid them.
