New House Standards?

I spent much of today (well, yesterday, seeing as it is after midnight) assisting my older sister in the final clean-out of my parents' home. The moving truck had come and gone days ago, Salvation Army arrived and removed a truck-load days ago, and family swarmed to pick, choose, and remove items of interest. Yet a seemingly empty house still had hours (and more remain) of stuff to deal with.
Now, I understand that time ran out on all the "out of towners" and we were left with the final run of stuff to go into storage, and those items someone wanted but didn't have room for at the last minute remained, but where did all of the trash and dirt come from, and how much should someone deal with before the new owners take over?
I am not, by any means, holding anything against my father, or anyone else, in regards to the cleaning time spent today. But the realtor says the house needs to be "clean" for closing. What is considered "clean"? Making sure the trash is removed? Running a vaccuum over the floors and carpets? Or is it fully gutting every single, little item from the entire house, garage, and exterior? What is the standard for the state in which a house is left when you move out? Every house I can remember moving into during my childhood was brand new, therefore EMPTY. My current house belonged to my inlaws and I moved in while my husband was living here, so I inherited a garage full of stored crap. (That will make for another post one of these days) Back to the 'rents' house... how empty does it need to be? Can I leave behind the odds and ends that no one wants- clay pots, door hooks, rakes etc.? According to the husband, yeah, stuff is "always left when you move into a used house." Personally, I think it might be a little rude to leave shit for others to deal with...
Grumble, grumble, no I'm not angry, just dusty and up too late.  :)

To begin with...

It is January, 2011. Last summer I said I would start a blog to document how things in my life are progressing. 5 months later, I am finally getting around to it. So let's sum up what the 5 months would have contained before getting to the current. 2010 was a shitty year. I lost my mom to cancer in March (she was 59), my husband had surgery for kidney cancer in March, my father moved to KS after losing my mom in April... hmmm yeah, 2010 had not much to offer to me early on.
So then I go to Illinois to visit my best friend, who was pregnant with her first child at the time, and decide that, it is time to put the baby plans on the calendar for me, and wouldn't it be interesting to blog about life leading up to it. Well, No, I am not pregnant, and am not currently trying... but it is on the calendar.
So who am I? A teacher, heading on 30 (ewwww), married for 4 1/2 years, stuck in a state I don't particularly like because there is no way on Earth we could sell our house. No kids (yet), 2 cats (crazy), and ambition to make a somewhat interesting entry regularly. Maybe about life, maybe about the oddities of FL, maybe just a rant about some dumbass celeb's idiocy...we shall see.