diff --git a/docs/source/guides/network_node/staking_guide.rst b/docs/source/guides/network_node/staking_guide.rst
index 28db3c05c..e2cbf363c 100644
--- a/docs/source/guides/network_node/staking_guide.rst
+++ b/docs/source/guides/network_node/staking_guide.rst
@@ -512,12 +512,13 @@ This can help to decrease gas consumption in some operations. To merge two stake
 Remove unused sub-stake
 ***********************
 
-When sub-stakes terminate, or after merging or editing sub-stakes,
-there can be 'unused', inactive sub-stakes remaining on-chain.
-Continued tracking of these unused sub-stakes adds unnecessary gas costs to daily operations. Consequently, removal of unused sub-stakes will reduce daily gas costs.
+When sub-stakes terminate, are merged or edited,
+there may be 'unused', inactive sub-stakes remaining on-chain.
+Continued tracking of these unused sub-stakes adds unnecessary gas costs to daily operations.
+Consequently, removal of unused sub-stakes will reduce daily gas costs.
 
-You can find out if you have unused sub-stakes by listing all sub-stakes and
-checking if you have any marked as ``INACTIVE``:
+Unused sub-stakes can be displayed by listing all sub-stakes
+and will be indicated by the ``INACTIVE`` status label.
 
 .. code:: bash
 
diff --git a/nucypher/cli/painting/staking.py b/nucypher/cli/painting/staking.py
index 9477de641..0fa76d89c 100644
--- a/nucypher/cli/painting/staking.py
+++ b/nucypher/cli/painting/staking.py
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ def paint_stakes(emitter: StdoutEmitter,
                 emitter.echo(f"\t Blockchain Provider: {worker_data['blockchain_provider']}")
     emitter.echo(tabulate.tabulate(zip(STAKER_TABLE_COLUMNS, staker_data), floatfmt="fancy_grid"))
 
-    rows, inactive_substakes = [], []
+    rows, inactive_substakes = list(), list()
     for index, stake in enumerate(stakes):
         if stake.status().is_child(Stake.Status.INACTIVE):
             inactive_substakes.append(index)