Everyone IS looking for a deal, which is why I think you need your house to stand out. But you don't have to spend a lot of money to make this happen. Make sure your house is spotless (pay to have the house cleaned if you can afford to) and find the money to have someone clean your windows inside and out, you'll be surprised by how much cleaner your house will look. And remove any obstacles like wallpaper or bold paint colors, that are specific to your decor. I don't think complete depersonalization is necessary, but you do need to declutter. If your kids toys don't already have a home in the living room, find a lidded basket or a storage bench to tuck away the toys on a moments notice. This is the same for random stuff on your kitchen counters, coffee table, nightstands and bathroom counters. Essentially, make sure you've got a home for everything.
We sold our house this time last year, in under a week. Now, I will say our house was in a very desirable suburb, in a very desirable neighborhood with a contemporary design. The contemporary design is in short supply, so for someone looking for this style, there are very few options. We were moving across the country and couldn't afford to drag out the process, so we priced fairly, but aggressively and we did a lot of clean up and minor repairs so the house was spotless. We repaired and repainted any obvious drywall issues (nail pops, scuffs and gouges, etc.), updated the faucets in two outdated bathrooms, which made them look more current, replaced carpet in our basement to match the new carpet we had replaced in the rest our our house the year prior (so essentially, all carpet was new). We had the entire house cleaned, including the windows, and we spruced up the garden with fresh mulch and put some potted plants on the porch, since spring hadn't really sprung yet. We also replaced the roof since we knew it would be flagged on the inspection. Oh, and we replaced the front door handle lock set and put on a new kick plate, which really made the house pop. We left the house spotless and went away for a week's vacation, putting the house on the MLS the day we left and had an open house the following day. We had three offers by the third day and closed less than a month later. All told, we spent just over $10K in repairs, but still made a profit on the sale.
Do all your math, and make sure you know what profit you might realize from the sale before you decide how much money to invest. You'll need to estimate the sale price minus what you owe, as well as any commissions, taxes and titles, title company fee, realtor holding fee, a home warranty and resale package fee (if you have them) and any cash you expect to pay at closing. This will really give you your bottom line.
Good luck! I hope this helps.