For those who are moving.....
We have had our house listed for a couple of weeks, and it is the PITS! I spend my one free day at home just cleaning it up for the open house, the kids are fed up with hubby and I being after them to clean up after themselves, and spring is coming and the landmines in the backyard are now all showing. 
We have bought a house in town, conditional upon the sale of ours. We didn't want to take a chance on having 2 houses, or none...at the same time. So, the fun has begun.... |
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| Nope not selling or buying anything at his exact moment..but wanted to offer sympathies. Nothing is worse than when your house is on the market and untold numbers are going to be coming at any given time. Urg! house has to be spotless...dogs out...I couldn't stand it.
Plan on selling my place in the future and not looking forward to it at that time. Good luck to you! Marianne and the boys |
| Good luck! We've sold 3 houses over the years, with multiple dogs and kids.
The smartest thing I did was pack up all of the clutter. This included some of the toys that the kids weren't playing with, but not ready to give up yet. When we got into the new place, the "old" toys were brought out and the kids enjoyed them like they were new. Boxes with a blue number were to be unpacked in the new place. Boxes with a red number were to go in the attic or other storage area - for example, our Christmas stuff. I kept a notebook with a list of what was in each box, in case I needed it quickly. Empty all closets, cabinets and drawers of anything that you can live without for the next few months. Make your place look as spaceous as possible. Keep the laundry done, even if it means a couple of small loads in the evenings. An empty washer and dryer can be used to hide stuff, if needed. I would throw clutter in laundry baskets, stuff them in the van and leave if I was short on time. I kept the leashes, a large water bottle, poop bags, and a water bowl near the door to the garage. An old backpack for each of the kids would hold some stuff for them to play with while we were waiting for the people to leave. Sometimes I took an ice chest with drinks and snacks for the kids/dogs, sometimes we just ran to a drive-thru. |
I'm just starting Ooooooh  Our house goes on the market next week, then buying later. After being here for 24 years it is a big step for us. Already had 3 different agents through the house, keeping it clean for that week was the pitts!! Sheepie girls left hair on the agents nice dark suits LOL, and this is only the start 
Yep if there is a forum going on moving, I'll be in it, maybe it is somewhere I can go to ask for advice, stress management etc etc as we are not even up to the stage of inspections yet!! Still discussing which agent to go through with one lot here tonight to discuss contracts and terms. Oooooh  |
| Great advice! Clutter is a killer. Rent a storage locker, get it out of the house and garage. Cull the closets several times. It should not be cluttered or packed tight. A few family pictures are one thing, but a whole wall or scattered on every table is a no-no. The family can be boxed and return for the new home.
Also upgrade light bulbs in all the lamps and ceiling lights. Leave the lights on when you leave so the house is light and bright when it is shown. One realtor suggested keeping bread dough handy and baking it just before the people arrive (when they give you a heads up) so the house smells homey........take the bread with you as it may not be finished, LOL. And don't burn it!  You don't need a whole loaf, a couple small rolls will do. Also oatmeal cookies........yum.
Avoid artifical scents, people will wonder what you are hiding. Fresh flowers always help....but save them for open houses. Florist bill could be huge. If your house is ideal for a family, maybe the kids could write something like where to play, things to do in the area. Obviously poop patrol is paramount. Several times a day........ Remember, front door is first impression. Flowers in beds near door, shrubs trimmed, door in excellent condition and maybe a new paint job with a nice wreath?????? |
| I'm not moving but you DO HAVE MY SYMPATHY |
| Ugh, don't own 2 houses at once. You're smart to not get yourself into that! I did it and the second house didn't sell right away and it was the most miserable 9 months of my life. Nothing like working to maintain a home you no longer live in, both physically and financially.
Rather than a storage locker, I'd suggest storage pods. They bring them right to your house so you can load them up when you feel like it, a little at a time, and then they come and take it away for you. It's not very expensive either. On a separate but related note, I've seen houses actually made from the pods. People build a pole barn type of structure but change the exterior to make it look more like a house and the "rooms" are the pods. They can stack on top of each other or in front. It's actually very cool. |
| I can so relate to this, as our house goes on the market next week. YUK! Oscar is shaved, so we don't have a shedding issue, but the nose prints and drool on every piece of glass in a two mile radius is killing me! I should've bought stock in Windex! All I can say is that we did not have a sheepie when we went out and bought all glass tables for our living room, family room and foyer....and don't even get me started on the front windows and sliding glass door..... Anyone looking for a house?????
One other tip for showing...the quickest way to freshen up a bathroom is to wipe down the counter, sink and toilet (preferably with separate cloths!) with the pre-moistened wipes, and hit the mirror and faucet fixtures with glass cleaner. Spiffy in a jiffy! Good luck with your home sale! Laurie |
| Laurie, try keeping an old sheet or towel over the glass tables - just pull them off and go.
We imited our kids and dogs to playing in a couple of rooms. This allowed us to keep the others in ready to show condition. I had it down to 15 minutes needed to finish prepping the house and evacuate. A major reason we were able to do this was there was no clutter. If you can't rent a storage unit, line the boxes up against the wall in the garage. Buyers understand. We set aside a couple of times that our house would absolutely not be shown. Breakfast, dinner and during deep cleaning (ceiling fans, blinds, paneled walls and mopping the floors). I did the vanilla on the light bulbs. In the morning, after getting dressed, do a quick clean up of the bathrooms and bedrooms. Make the beds, grab the dirty linens, make the beds, dust, quick vaccuum, de-clutter and wipe down the bathrooms and any woodwork that needs it. Then try to stay out of these rooms. Then on to the dowenstairs. A quick dusting and vacuuming or dusting the floors. Then on to the backyard for scooping duty. Make a list to follow of the last minutes things you want to do. There were times I crammed dirty laundry in the dryer with the clean. 
And for the things you didn't have time to do, hey, you do live in the house. |
| Mom of 3--what's the vanilla on the lightbulbs? Is that for scent? |
barney1 wrote: Mom of 3--what's the vanilla on the lightbulbs? Is that for scent?
It is, the heat pushes out the scent. I put oil on a really hot bulb and the bulb exploded once. I haven't done it again since in fear of another incident. See, it doesn't matter what I do. There's always an accident. |
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