This Wonderful House

/ Jessica

Have you ever moved? Ugh. It’s sooooooo much work.

For days, I’ve been in this big frantic panic to get my house completely perfect in case someone wants to look at it to buy it.

The selling market in our area is super good right now and I want my beautiful house to look really nice for someone, so I’ve practically been knocking myself out to get all of our “life” out of it.

Seems like there’s a lot of pressure to fix a house up just so, to sell it. The internet is full of advice on everything from curb appeal to how to arrange the cupboards in order to sell a house.

I’ve completely fallen for it, too. Yesterday, I packed up every nook and cranny of my pick up and hauled our stuff to a storage unit in town. It’s not the first load that’s gone there either!

Last night on Facebook, I posted the picture below of my cleaned up kitchen cupboard. I was so proud of myself for organizing it so it’d look beautiful for someone else.

That’s pretty ironic and makes me chuckle now, because, come on! My cabinets never look this good. Who has time for this kind of fancy? Ha ha.

This morning, a friend commented about how in the old days there wasn’t such a fuss to get a house ready to sell. She mentioned that people just came over, and if they liked it, they bought it. They sold four houses that way.

Now there’s a concept. Live your life, in your house, with your things, and invite buyers in. For real? Even with dust on the piano and crumbs on the counter?

This reminder came at the perfect moment. When Little Bit was a baby, someone with grown kids gave me some excellent advice. She said:

‘I wish I would have played with my boys more when they were little and vacuumed less. I was always so worried about having a clean house. They grew up so fast.”

I’ve kept that with me and I try to live by it. I’m usually not a stickler for housework, it can wait. Little boys are only little for so long. Dust isn’t going anywhere!

So, my friend’s comment today really got my thinking about what kind of message I’m sending not only to my kiddo, but to myself, if I feel like I have to hide my life away in some storage unit so that strangers can see my home?

Then, something shifted and it suddenly dawned on me that I don’t have to do that. I can choose to just live here until we don’t. I can choose to let Little Bit play and scatter his things about until we sign on some line that we live somewhere else.

What a gift this is! I sure don’t want him having 9 great years here, but only remembering some perfect version of our house with none of our things in it before we even moved out! Eeks.

So, here’s what I’d love the ad on my house to say:

“Want to see my house? Come on in! Thinking of buying my house? Let’s take a look around. Let me share some stories. Look out the windows. Come back at night and see the stars. Look in my messy cabinets and toy filled rooms. This isn’t a perfectly manicured magazine cover, this is a perfect house. One with wood floors for bare feet. One with views of the neighbor’s old barn and silo. One with a tree in the backyard that’s been struck by lightning many times, but is still standing. This house has been filled with Christmases and birthday parties. The yard has flown kites and been filled with Easter eggs. This house has been a haven and a refuge. It’s kept us warm and dry. It’s been filled with laughter. If you feel at home here, then this is the house for you.”

That’s it!! I’m giving back the “have to’s” and the extreme urgency I’ve been feeling to get everything about selling this house right. It’s already “right!”

Wahoooo! Forget cleaning! Today we are playing cars, reading books, and playing in the hose.

Soon enough, someone else will be doing that here, because I know in my heart, that no matter how many perfect kitchen cupboards I have, this wonderful house will sell itself. ❤️

25 thoughts on “This Wonderful House”

    • Oh my gosh, you totally get this!! We are soooooo ready to just move. Getting excited now! Planning the new gardens and rooms in my head. Ha ha. We are buying a house in a country subdivision that has 10 acres!

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  4. You’ll have people who will fall for your house in whatever state they find it – many buyers want a house to feel lived in and not sterile. There are tricks like the smell of freshly brewed coffee or just baked bread that tempt some. We were always told about ‘kerb appeal’ ie make sure the front of your home looks welcoming. Our last house sold before the estate agents even printed up the house details (good agents promoting to potential buyers plus a buoyant market) – though we were luckily. When we saw what would have been the details they’d not noticed our baby’s potty in the middle of the lounge and the photo with it in headed up the front page! Our house was definitely ‘lived in’ !

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    • Oh my gosh, I love what you said so much! Coffee and fresh bread is an excellent idea. I keep getting tripped up in the details of what’s enough. The do this or that, or do this and that… Plus, this has been our home for 9 years, now I’m supposed to fix it up for someone else? Seems contradictory. That’s why I love what you said. Someone loved your house. That’s all I want. ❤️I’d love for a great family to buy it.

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    • The Fake House! Yes!!! I can totally see that. What a great title. Ha ha. That’s definitely what this is like. Fancy it up for someone else! Thank you. All those dishes are hand-me-downs!

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  6. Wow that is some neat cabinet!! I have been slowing getting rid of all that I have accumulated in the home we have lived in 26 years. I fill bags and boxes every few months and call a local donation place who picks it up. Loads of china that I no longer use, and family members don’t want. It is hard selling a house- now many brokers like to “stage” them- get rid of all personal items and some furniture- so people can imagine living there- what happened to having an imagination? Good luck and keep us posted! (my mother had those wonderful bowls too :-)

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    • Oh! I love that your mother had these bowls! Such memories in dishes. Yesterday Little Bit was making pumpkin muffins and reached right for her bowls. ❤️

      What a fabulous idea to pass things on every once in a while. Would sure save lots of work later.

      It’s crazy to me that everything is “staged.” This here, that there. Guess I’m too old fashioned. Ha ha. I went to see a farmhouse last week and there was still stuff scattered about. It didn’t bother me, at all.

      Love what you said about what happened to having an imagination. Exactly!

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  10. Jessica, I understand but our house closed Monday, so I’ve just been through it. A professional photographer can do wonders as can a few touch ups here and there. We just did all this and got premium price. See some of my posts on this

    Livefree2sailfast.com

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    • Hi. Thank you for your great tips. Premium price sounds nice! I just got a little lost in trying to do everything. I’m going for “clean.” 😊😊 Thank you for commenting.

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