April 2, 2007
don’t touch ANYTHING
We spent the weekend making the last push to get the house ready to show. Wade leveled the flowerbeds and swept the porch and replaced the smashed drainpipes and fixed the porch roof. I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned some more. The pantry is practically alphabetized, and the laundry room looks like it could be a home office (except for the washer and dryer, which might be a little distracting). You could eat off the floors in the bathrooms. On Saturday, I loaded the trunk of my car with things to give away; on Sunday, Wade went to Goodwill and dropped off the stuff in the trunk of my car. Last night I cleaned out more closets, and today the trunk is almost full again.
I have decided that if I didn’t marry it or give birth to it, I don’t really need it. And if Wade and the kids get in my way, I might drop them at Goodwill, too. Or just drag them to the curb, since tomorrow is trash day.
Every surface in the house is clear; there is not one extra bit of paper or piece of playdoh or plastic dinosaur. The boys have been practicing taking their shoes off in the garage and cleaning up every single little toy in their rooms. The realtor has house keys and is supposed to come today with a lock box. I have promised her that the house can be ready to show in thirty minutes.
Without all the stuff around–without the toaster on the counter and the blocks in the family room and the crayons on the art table–the house feels like it’s not really ours any more. We took down the family pictures over the sofa so the painters could redo the wall, and we chose not to put them back up because we didn’t want to mark the new paint; the wall looks incredible, white and pristine. It also looks kind of like someone else’s house.
Our offer on the other house was accepted. It’s a great house, in the neighborhood where Wade grew up. It has a screened porch and an upstairs playroom and a wet bar. And a wine refrigerator.
See why I wanted this house? I can sit on the porch and drink wine while the kids play upstairs. Perfect.
In the meantime I have to sell this house, though, which makes it hard to think about the new house without needing to breathe into a paper bag.
But honestly–wouldn’t YOU want to own that kitchen? Come on! Seriously.
I can make that happen for you. Today!
Posted by Susan @ 10:50 am • Uncategorized
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April 2nd, 2007 at 12:19 pm, The Daring One Says:
You know what? I do want to own that kitchen, or at least paing my cupboards white. Everything looks so clean and crisp. I love it.
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:37 pm, Marmite Breath Says:
All your hard work is going to pay off! It looks incredible and if it was up to me, the house would sell today!
PS) Don’t kill yourself over stuff being out–potential buyers have to realize that you actually do live there. (I’m telling myself this so that this time next year I don’t kill myself when trying to sell this house).
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:51 pm, Annika Says:
I totally want to buy your house! How much extra to move it to LA?
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:18 pm, karly Says:
Love the parquet floors. We just put those in our entry way and I love it!
April 2nd, 2007 at 2:25 pm, Melissa Says:
Ooooooh, it looks fabulous! You sure you still want to move? Even for a wine refrigerator?
April 2nd, 2007 at 2:42 pm, Magpie Says:
The house looks great - I love the clean black and white of the kitchen. Good luck selling it.
April 2nd, 2007 at 2:47 pm, Tracy Says:
Whoa. Your house is glowing. Are you going to drop from exhaustion? That is some amazing cleaning! Great job!
April 2nd, 2007 at 2:58 pm, Barbie Says:
Don’t tempt me lol I WILL be looking for a house in NW OKC in the next month:-) I just need to get this matter of the pesky divorce settled lol Funny it lasted 18yrs and only takes 90days to end:-/
April 2nd, 2007 at 4:09 pm, Gidge Says:
If you will move that house to Georgia for me, I would be happy to live in it.
April 2nd, 2007 at 6:05 pm, MamaChristy Says:
Bravo! It will sell in a flash! Awesome!
April 2nd, 2007 at 6:52 pm, lovelee Says:
I have a friend looking to move to OKC from Edmond. They might be interested. Can you give me the specs on your house? The housing market is great in OKC right now. My sister listed her house last week and sold it last night! Good luck with your house and congrats on the new one!
April 2nd, 2007 at 6:58 pm, Susan Says:
Okay, you all, if anyone is interested in my house, for real, e-mail me and I will give you the scoop.
It’s a cute house. And VERY VERY CLEAN, at least right now.
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:33 pm, Sheryl Says:
It looks awesome!
April 3rd, 2007 at 5:56 am, chichimama Says:
May you sell your house quickly and painlessly.
And may your house stay ready to show in 30 minutes or less. And may you stay sane. But that wine refrigerator and front porch and upstairs playroom will be TOTALLY worth it.
Your house looks amazing. If I didn’t already own two kitchens, I would totally buy yours too.
April 3rd, 2007 at 6:35 am, The June Cleaver Diaries Says:
YAY!! Congrats on the new house!!! Are you arranging furniture in your head yet? I’m sure Wade’s parents are thrilled you’re moving back into the meighborhood.
Don’t sweat the old house— it looks great, and it will sell.
April 3rd, 2007 at 6:48 am, Amy W Says:
Good Luck! Sending you good realtor vibes today!
April 3rd, 2007 at 6:56 am, cce Says:
Love that white kitchen. Quick, don’t touch anything and make sure that coffee maker is put away. Coffee is sooo tough on the white painted cabinets. Just repeating myself here but wanna make sure you heard me the first time.
And finally, doing a home buyer rain dance for you.
April 3rd, 2007 at 10:46 am, Erin Says:
Good luck selling the house. It looks amazing. You’ve done a lot of work!
April 3rd, 2007 at 10:54 am, Velma Says:
The way it looks, someone is going to fall in love with it and buy it soon. It looks pristine and well-cared for, so I can’t imagine it wouldn’t sell quickly!
April 4th, 2007 at 8:35 pm, Cathy Says:
one suggestion - put some more stuff out on your kitchen counters.. we just did the same thing (minus the paint in the kitchen) we had one week to fix, finish projects, stage, throw out etc. and then it sold in one week. when I had the counters all cleaned off, it look TOO bare like I was trying too hard to say - “look how bare these counters are..”
good luck.