We’re getting ready to put our house up for sale! Whoohoo! It’s been like a whirlwind around here. Doug and I have weaved our way throughout our home, touching up paint, filling nail holes, clearing out clutter, hauling “stuff” to Goodwill and filling up our temporary storage unit. I’m embarrassed to say that my husband has been doing most of the work, and a fine job he’s done at that!
To Purge or Not to Purge
But you should hear our conversations as we weed through the stuff in our basement:
Me: “Do we want to keep that, sell it or take it to Goodwill?”
Him: “It’ll be fine to keep for now. We can move it over to the house with us.”
Me: “But if we get rid of it now, the less we’ll have to worry about when it comes time to move.”
Him: “Yes, but we’ve got plenty of room in the new house.”
Me: “I know, but why fill up the new house with old junk we’ll never use?” (Don’t you agree? I think my logic is perfectly reasonable.)
Him: “It’s not a bother. Let’s move it over to the storage unit for now. Then we can decide if we want to get rid of it later.”
Me: “Oh, okay. If you don’t mind moving it twice. It’s your call.”
I figure since he’s doing the heavy lifting, the least I can be is flexible.
Floors and More
After the basement was sorted out, we hired my brother to clean the carpets. While we vacuumed before he came over with the carpet cleaner, I’m horrified to tell you that wiping around the baseboards with a damp rag turned up gobs of dog and cat hair. Here I thought I kept a clean house, but obviously not clean enough! When my brother was done, the carpets looked fabulous. Now I hope the dog and cat don’t shed too much before prospective buyers come through. I shudder when I stand near the heater vent and see fine little hairs floating through the air. They’re like slender snowflakes.
Next we tackled the entryway floors. All of the grout had cracked apart at the tiled doorways, so we had a contractor come to re-install the tiles and put down new grout. I learned how important it is to lay an “anti-fracture uncoupling membrane” on top of the subfloor so it absorbs any movement. I was impressed with how thorough they were. (I’m also impressed I can remember the name anti-fracture uncoupling membrane.) So now the tiles look beautiful!
Makes me wonder why we didn’t do all of this sooner. But isn’t that the way it is? You scramble around making improvements and fixing things before you sell your house rather than during the years you’re living there. At least we can enjoy it for a few months before we move.
And now comes the cleaning. I have to wash the windows and doors, wash and wax the hardwood floors, dust the blinds, clean the oven and oodles more. We’ve got to make the house presentable for showing so people can walk through the house in 15 minutes flat. No one will notice the door jambs.
Are you getting the sense that I don’t like to clean? Well, I don’t. I’d much rather be outside, reading or sitting at my computer writing. I do what I must and thankfully I don’t have a fussy husband.
Actually, I have the best husband in the world. He’s made this whole home-building and moving process a lot easier than it could have been. I’ve heard people say they’ve ended up in divorce court over building a new house. I think our toughest “discussion” was where to put the toilet in the master bathroom. I can’t remember who won that interaction!
The house we’re in right now was built right after the wildfire destroyed my cabin home. It’s been a great place to live for almost ten years. I’ve enjoyed being surrounded by the trees that thankfully did not burn, listening to the wind whooshing through the pines and appreciating the sunshine of our southern exposure.
It’s going to seem strange to know that people are walking through our house, sizing it up and imagining their own belongings filling our rooms. Thank goodness we won’t be here during those visits. I want everyone to love this place like we have. I want to find good buyers for our neighbors, who are wonderful. Um, I mean, I want to find good buyers for our house who our wonderful neighbors will love!
And surprise, the very first day the house went on the market we got a call scheduling a walk through. And so it begins. Wish us luck!
Funny Quotes:
“Before you marry a person, you should first make them use a computer with slow Internet service to see who they really are.” —Will Ferrell
“Never criticize your spouse’s faults; if it weren’t for them, your mate might have found someone better than you.” —Jay Trachman
“The only reason I would take up jogging is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.” —Erma Bombeck
Cabin Puns:
Why did the cabin go to therapy? It had too many siding effects!
Why was the cabin always so organized? It had a great shelf-esteem!
The cabin owner loved having guests; she was a “tree-mendous” host.
