Home marketplace creeping up
Whenever someone buys a new home with me, I suggest they have a
housewarming party the first weekend. That way when everyone sees
the boxes all over, it is dismissed with a casual wave of the hand
and a breezy,
”
We JUST moved two days ago. All in due time.
”
It gets a lot more problematic when five years later you’re
still tripping over a couple of cartons in the entry way. (Now how
would I know that?)
So I have a splendid idea for this holiday season. Bring out of
the garage, attic, basement, back closet the boxes of decorations.
Open two of them. Take out an item or two from each, placing them
tenderly in the usual spot. That’s it. You’re done.
Home marketplace creeping up
Whenever someone buys a new home with me, I suggest they have a housewarming party the first weekend. That way when everyone sees the boxes all over, it is dismissed with a casual wave of the hand and a breezy, “We JUST moved two days ago. All in due time.” It gets a lot more problematic when five years later you’re still tripping over a couple of cartons in the entry way. (Now how would I know that?)
So I have a splendid idea for this holiday season. Bring out of the garage, attic, basement, back closet the boxes of decorations. Open two of them. Take out an item or two from each, placing them tenderly in the usual spot. That’s it. You’re done.
When someone comes over with that homemade gift of hand-decorated cookies (which you are matching with a gift card from Starbucks) you can say, “Oh, you caught me in the middle of decorating!” This is absolutely true. You have begun, you have not completed. You are in the middle.
The Performance Art of Decorating will also mitigate the pile of unfolded laundry on the couch and the dishes in the sink from breakfast. After all, who has time to clean when one is an artiste held sway by the muse?
The only tricky day is Christmas Eve. After all, it does seem to be a bit late to be decorating then. However, even on Christmas it works. “I just thought I’d start in cleaning up early this year. After Christmas I just want to get the house back to normal.”
All joking aside, it is difficult to keep the house clean for showings when it’s on the market for a long period of time. Even if, unlike me, you happen to live in an organized, spotless home there will be times when you’re in the middle of a project or laundry or something. Murphy’s Law indicates that’s when the phone will ring and some perky Realtor will announce, “I have a potential buyer. We’ll be over in half an hour!”
Whoa, doggies. Then you rev your engines and throttle up for a sprint through the house, picking up this and that, straightening the pictures that somehow ended askew on the wall, grabbing the cat box to put in the car with you since there’s no time to clean it out. Or maybe not.
I have gathered a few tricks in my time and I’ll share them with you now. The first one is to remove a lot of stuff BEFORE you list your home. After all, you’re going to be moving soon, right? So go ahead and begin packing now. Clear a closet or a drawer or a cabinet in each room. Then when the phone call comes, you’ll be able to shove the last-minute mess behind a door. I remember one time stowing some dirty dishes in the oven! Thank heavens I remembered to retrieve them before I preheated the oven for supper.
Another great ally in the War Against Mess is laundry baskets. This is especially good when the children are small and their toys are legion. You can toss everything in one or two of them, and out to the garage they go. When the real estate tour is over, back in they all come.
All is right with the world.
There are companies now that will bring a pod to your home. You can load it up, and they take it off and store it for you. This is a gift from heaven, right up there with the invention of the wheel. Out-of-season clothes and recreational equipment, sentimental treasures and things you want to keep but don’t use every day can be removed. When you move, they will appear on your doorstep at the appointed time. Life is good.
As for keeping your home clean (as opposed to picked up) I offer you this by way of suggestion. Please don’t ask people coming to look at your home to take off their shoes. If you must, supply potential buyers with hospital booties to cover their shoes. Most people have respect for the homes they are seeing. They will wipe their feet carefully before entering. It will not make people feel at home if they have to remove articles of apparel before entering. You might as well put up signs saying, “Please silence all cell phones” and “Do not litter. Violators will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
I realize we’re coming up to the dread Mud Season. Actually we need the rain so desperately I think I might even be able to tolerate mud this year. But if you don’t want the possibility of mud on your newly-cleaned carpet you probably should wait until late spring to consider selling your home.
One last thing. The musical Emmanuel will be performed at First Presbyterian Church in Hollister Friday, Decembe14 at 7 (dinner at 6) and Sunday the 16th at 2. No admission, free will offering. If you look carefully, you might see someone you know dancing.
Be kind to your Realtor.
