What are some things I need to do before I can start looking to put my house up for sale?

Clean it. Get rid of any junk and excess. Arrange the furniture nicely. Anything considered in bad taste - change it, such as black walls, mustard colored walls, dark purple walls and every color under the rainbow throughout the house. There should be a calm flow throughout, something pleasing. Repair damages that are obvious and not expensive to repair.

get it as clean as possible. consider removing some of your belongings and putting them in storage. fix anything that's broken and replace anything that looks old and shabby. repaint and replace any worn carpet if you can.