When you put your home on the market, it's like putting your whole life under a microscope. Every flaw and defect is put on display -- unless you can find a way to turn those lemons into lemonade and somehow conceal these imperfections from a prospective buyer. Here are some easy ways to downplay your home's liabilities.

• Advertise the holes in your roof as "added ventilation."

• So what if the chimney flue is malfunctioning? Explain that this feature just makes the living room a great place to smoke ribs.

• If there's a crack in your wall, go over it with a magic marker and say that it's your kids' growth chart (you may have to explain why the kids are over 8 feet tall).

• If the backyard is overgrown, use it as a selling point. "Who wants to venture into the Magical Jungle of Mystery?"

• If the den floor is slanted downward, convert it into a built-in bowling alley.

• Leaky plumbing? Say it's into an indoor fountain, "Just like Elvis had!"

• That hole in the wall? Painted duct tape works just as well as spackle.

• If your lawn is dead, tell prospective buyers, "You wouldn't want me to waste water in these troubled times, would you?"

• Explain away any gashes in the hardwood floor with "It's just well aged -- these are still as sturdy as when George Washington slept here." (Pick a different president for newer homes.)