If you have kids in your house that you are trying to sell, you know that their "stuff" is one of your top staging dilemmas. Aside from getting the kids to keep their rooms clean, there are a few other selling strategies I suggest you employ.
1) You must put it in storage. I walk into homes exploding with toys. Kids can't possibly play with it all. Keep their favorites out and pack the rest away. When you open those boxes at your new house, it will be like Christmas!
2) Actually have a kid friendly space. If you think your home attracts young families with kids, putting away all evidence of children makes it hard for potential buyers to imagine where their kids will play. I'm not saying to leave all the toys out in a toy room, but having a few keys child friendly clues can help a buyer visualize. If you don't have kids, but again, but live in a "kid magnet" neighborhood", you may want to create this type of space also.
3) For the kid stuff you do keep out...You will need to develop some hiding strategies in the main living spaces. Decorative storage like wicker trunks and baskets or smaller boxes for quick hiding are good ideas. Bad idea: lots of rubbermaid dressers that you use as end tables in your living room.
4) De-accessorize their rooms! Too much stuff on the walls and dressers is distracting for buyers. If your market is extremely competitive, I would argue to de-genderize the room too. If a family of all boys is looking at a home with all girls...they immediately think of all the work they will have to do to get it ready for their boys.
I understand that all this is life changing and hard to do imagine if your home may be on the market awhile. I can tell you it will be on the market a lot longer if some of these changes are not made! Remember: how you live in your house and how you sell your house are two different things!