OK, I admit it...I didn't really think it through when we put our house on the market a couple of weeks ago. Oh, selling the house in favor of moving to a bigger one still seems like a great idea. It's just the logistics that have me down. Intellectually, I knew we'd be having open houses and requests for showings and brokers walking through...after all, that's what it takes to sell a house, right? What I didn't fully get is how hard it would be to keep the house clean and clutter free so that it's ready at a moment's notice to make a good impression on prospective buyers. After all, there are 7 humans, 2 rather large dogs and a rather smelly guinea pig living under our roof...and we all are very good at making a mess. As a result, I have spent much of the past few weeks cleaning carpets, tidying messy rooms, vacuuming, mopping, dusting, scrubbing bathrooms, and browbeating children to pick up after themselves on an almost daily basis....and no, that's not normal for us. (Tanya walked in after our first open house and said the house was so clean and neat that it was scary...speaks volumes about my housekeeping practices, I guess!) All of this is further complicated by the season...we're making gingerbread houses, wrapping gifts, and getting out our boxes of holiday lights and decorations. Packages are being delivered by Fed Ex and UPS...and our agent is gently reminding us that we need to keep the clutter to a minimum...sure, that'll happen.
As if the constant cleaning weren't enough, whenever we have a showing, we have to leave the house...common sense right? However, it means that I have to load whatever kids are home and the 2 dogs into the van and drive around town until I get the all-clear phone call from our real estate agent. Yesterday, Max ate his after school snack and did his homework in the front of the van while the dogs snoozed in the back. It was an hour before we could go home again...such fun.
On the other hand, our offer has been accepted for the house we hope to buy. The purchase and sale agreement is being finalized now and should be ready for signatures in a day or two. The girls have been inside the "new" place and are already discussing how to decorate their rooms. The boys are dreaming of a bigger basement playroom with a larger TV to play videogames on. Craig and I are dreaming of knocking out walls and adding a 3rd bath into the master bedroom. Now if we can just sell our house...sigh...time to tidy and clean again for the next showing.
Is this the doorway to our future? We'll see...
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