Paint the red steps to match the gray concrete porch. If the wrought iron is rusted, paint it with Rustoleum. Remove the shutters, BBQ and dish. Make sure there is nothing wrong that would cause the new renter and you any grief. Put your For Rent sign in the yard. Don't plant anything you don't want to be neglected and to die. Renters don't to much more than mow, and sometimes they don't even do that. Be sure they own a lawnmower and know how to use it.

I agree that I wouldn’t turn a mudroom into a cat room. It looks like your family uses that space. You won‘t want to walk through litter or smell cat poop every time you walk into the house. I have three cats. Two cats use a litter box in a less used bathroom. I really don’t like it, but at the time it was the best spot we had. The other cat belonged to my dad and came home with me when my dad passed away in June. We are still trying to get all the cats used to each other, so the new cat currently lives and uses a litter box in the garage (don’t worry, we spend a ton of time with him every day and work every day with all three cats and the dog to get them to get along. They’ve all improved a lot!). Once all the animals are getting along, I want both litter boxes in the garage. It’s out of the way but easy to get to, I’ll have my bathroom back, and the smell will be out of the house. We already have a cat door in the door leading to the garage because our other two cats already loved going out there during the day. So my suggestions? A bathroom, a corner of the laundry room, or a garage. As for feeding, all our animals (other than the new cat, obviously) eat in the kitchen. Their food is kept in our pantry and it’s just the easiest place. The cat’s play ”area” will likely end up being all over your house. =) Our cats go anywhere they want and we have multiple things for them to play on or crawl into throughout the house and garage.

Murphy beds are so useful. check some out. you can find ones that have a sofa on the pull down platform so the sofa in the day, and the pull down murphy bed at night. https://www.houzz.com/hsc/clk/k=MTY4ODgyMzgxMywzLDAsLE4sMCwvVVMvTUEvNTA2L0xvd2VsbC8wMTg1MiwxLDAsMCwwLDYwMjE1LDEwMSwwLDQ0NzExNzEzMixDUEMsLDMwLjAsYXVudHRoZWxtYSwxNzMxOTk5MjklM0EzNDQzNDglM0ExMTk0MjQ0ODElM0EzMC4wJTNBMjkwJTNBMSwsLCwsLDA0M2VhZWY3LWFlZmQtNGEwMy1iNTRjLTBjNzRjZDRmMjAwZiw7aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cuaG91enouY29tJTJGdmlld1NwYWNlJTJGMTczMTk5OTI5JTJGbGlkJTNEMTE5NDI0NDgxOzFmODZkNzhhZjdlNDFjMDMwMmZjZjVhMDg3NmEzMzE1

@littlebug - yes, the plan is to go through everything in there and get rid of unnecessary stuff. A lot of space is wasted currently because it’s hard to reach far left beyond the bifold door. So I hope if I could open up that whole wall / door and reorganize the shelves/storage it would be more useful/ practical