Having clean bathrooms and kitchens, including the appliances, will reduce the time it takes FSO to clean your house to prepare it for showing to potential buyers.  Cleaning windows can be another good use of your time because they will likely stay clean throughout the downsizing and moving process, and reduce the time spent for the final cleaning.  This is another part of the process that can be done by a source other than FSO with minimal affect on the rest of the process.  If you already have a cleaning service, you may want them to do the final clean for you.  The biggest inconvenience of having another source is that many times we need to leave behind cleaning tools and supplies, which can slow down the sorting and packing, and the client becomes responsible for making sure any supplies and tools left behind are distributed or taken to the new home.