Cosmetic work, cleaning, decluttering, paint touch ups and minor repairs, generally returns more than it costs because it removes objections during a buyer's home inspection, typically $400 to $600, without changing the home's structure or square footage.
Larger renovation projects are a different calculation entirely, since a full kitchen or bathroom redo rarely returns its full cost at resale in most markets, and the improvement that pays off in one house does not automatically pay off in the next one over.
Getting the comparables first tells you which fixes actually move the number and which ones just spend money. Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.