Wednesday, February 20, 2008

How do you do this?

Our house is on the market. We haven't officially decided what we are doing yet (Vegas or HK), but I think we're pretty sure we're heading to Vegas. We both really want to move to Hong Kong, but after doing some research, we found that 1.) it's so incredibly expensive to live there that we would be living no where near the fun part of HK on a first-year (or 5th year) FedEx salary, and 2.) FedEx may not actually be hiring guys with no heavy/international experience. So. Vegas looks more likely.

Now we (I) are (am) in the process of tidying up the house to make people not only want to buy our place, but pay a premium for it. Do you have any idea how hard this is to do? I didn't. There are toys everywhere. There is too much furniture in almost every room of the house. The yard is full of weeds, and the house needs touch-up paint on too many surfaces. And people who want to see the house can call with 30 minutes' notice and expect us to leave so they can walk through it! GAH. Tim thinks we are crazy for listing the house before the Heritage Festival is over (March), since he won't really be able to help much with things around here until it is over. But our realtor pointed out that if no one sees the house, no one is likely to want to buy it, so here we are. I am trying to be somewhat organized about the whole thing, but find that I start one project, and get distracted by another one mid-way through it. Oh, and I have 2 children who want attention most of the time. So. It's naptime, and I need to get at least one of my 800 things to do done. Catch ya later!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hire someone to clean up your yard. I have no children, I have no excuse for not weeding my own yard (and, now I have no yard...). But, really, it takes FOREVER. Hire help, it's not that expensive. I never would have had my place ready for renters without hired help. Now, it looks better than it did all those years I was living in it. Lucky renters...
Niki

Katie said...

Oh my GOD. That sounds positively impossible. Maybe you should just try to keep the kids outdoors/away from home as much as possible (I know that may not be any easier....).

I would definitely try to hide as many toys as possible. In fact, if you can clean out a closet (ha ha) and leave it empty and just toss EVERYTHING in there when you get the call, it might make it easier. When we were house hunting I saw lots of houses with closets jammed with toys, so I think that is what they did!

It will sell! I know it will. It is just going to suck for you in the meantime.

I agree with Niki, see how much you can hire out!

Anonymous said...

That does sound like an almost impossible task; one I definitely wouldn't want.

I have one other option. If Tim is super busy anyway, and since it's tax season in Oregon, you could come here (again) with the girls and have the house always ready to show at least for a few weeks or so.


Your organizational skills would be most welcome as I still attempt to unpack and settle in here.

Thanks for the update on HK vs. LV.

Anonymous said...

I think it would be worth investing in a storage unit for some of the excess clutter and toys. The less toys there are around the less there is to pick up. You can always swap toys out of the unit when the girls get bored with the ones at home and then you have brand new toys (in their eyes).

Remember how open you thought the house felt when you bought it? They had a child if I remember right so I am sure there were toys but they must have been hidden or gone.

I remember the stress of keeping the house in show condition. It is really tough and I only had one. Good luck.

I would also try to arrange with your sister to go to her house if you have a showing and need somewhere to go when it might be too hot or getting close to nap or mealtime.

Steph

Jen said...

GREAT ideas, everyone! You are awesome.