Unfortunately, you don't really get a choice in the matter. It depends on the circumstances that will determine how or when the expenses are claimed and whether or not the rental was taken out of service or if the property still qualified to be considered in service.
Unless you continued to advertise and hold the property available for rent after the tenants moved out, it ceased to be a rental property between that time and when it was sold.
If it is no longer a rental property, the expenses that you incurred are personal expenses and not rental expenses. The "improvements" that you made to the property would be added to the basis and would be taken into account on your 2021 tax return when you report the sale of the property. The expenses for repairs or supplies are personal expenses and would not be deducted or added to the basis.
If the property did continue to be a rental property, then you would claim the repairs and supplies as an expense on Schedule E for the year in which they were paid. Improvements would be entered as a depreciable asset (carpet for example) placed in service when they were installed.
