We were long distance. Beforehand, check with churches/good will/ etc. to set up a pick up time for furniture, kitchen items (mixer/pots/pans/plates), linens, clothing. It might be 2 different places. A local church had a ministry to a poor area and took all furniture. We did not bother with estate sale--we needed it gone quickly. Definitely leave MIL somewhere else. We had my Mother move to her new retirement center before we started. It took 10 days (10 hours a day) of painting/minor reno/clean out with dumpster (completely filled) and then 5 more days of "stuff" clean out (clothing, kitchen, etc.).
So, Rent a commercial dumpster to put in driveway-confirm you can discard mattresses. you'd be surprised how much "stuff" including damaged/soiled old furniture that's essentially unusable there is in a house. After the dumpster went away, I had to make 2 trips to the dump with 2 SUVs full of bags. Not a fond memory.
To get house ready: Find out the market of your area. For Mom's house, we were prepared to reno kitchen (new countertop, painted oak cabinets). Realtor said don't bother, as we were towards top of market due to size and new buyer was likely to knock out kitchen wall anyway. She said fresh paint inside and replace carpet if not in very good shape (or house has a musty smell). If you are getting carpet. Schedule carpet guy day 1 to measure and order carpet. Many places have "stock" carpet that doesn't need to be ordered. But you'll still have a lag for an installation appt. If you're using a realtor, see if he/she can supervise carpet install later before it goes on the market. IMHO, a realtor should be willing to do this. Check for dry rot and pests, repair. Trim yard, get fresh plants, esp. for front of house.
good luck!
