Our house was recently listed with a realtor. It’s not the prime time to put our home on the market, but the realtor was hoping to catch the folks coming up for the ski season. They just didn’t anticipate that we would have very little snow and the ski season was nearing the end. However, the house is listed and although there is no one looking at Vermont real estate right now we still have to live as if we might have a showing any day! Maybe this spring?
How do you live while your home is on the market? The first step was getting rid of all the family photos everywhere so they are not a distraction. I also cleaned everything off the tops of the cupboards and the windowsills. For some reason I love having little collections displayed on the windowsills! We had one windowsill that had several decoys on it, they have all been packed away.
Once those items were packed away we then began looking at what furniture we will not be moving and have either listed these items for sale or given them away. The unwanted pieces of furniture have been moved to the garage. The boxes have been moved into closets. We want folks to be able to see the house and not be distracted by our stuff!
Our extra bedrooms now look clean and clutter free.
We also have a series of storage closets in our basement that are full of various items. One is a game closet. Another stores extra outdoor clothes such as scarves and hats and the third has the camping equipment. My next project is to decide what we want to keep and what we no longer need.
The house is constantly kept picked up. When we eventually get a phone call saying we have a showing it will be easy to get ready. I have to say this is the hardest challenge for me. I have piles on my desk of works in progress and keeping it clutter free is hard. However, I have it down to a manageable level where when we do get a showing I can easily pick up what’s on my desk and store it away for a showing. I have to admit, the less clutter there is the easy it is to keep the house clean!
Keeping a house in show condition can be stressful. Our realtor told us it could take us three years to sell the house. Hopefully it will be sooner than that. As I pack things away knowing it could be along while before I see them again I do wonder just what I need to save!
I’m thankful as the last time we sold a house and moved we had four children ranging in age from 3 – 9 and I was homeschooling! That was a crazy time as we lived in Florida and had showings every day, luckily it was only a matter of a few months before the house sold!
Have you sold a house before? Do you have any tips to share here?
Nancy on the Home Front 
The thought of moving makes me sad, it will come to Nick and I eventually as the house is already too big for us! I look at our ‘stuff’ and think how on earth are we to get rid of all of this and like you I wonder what we would need to keep and what to get rid of. We haven’t thrown much out for the 20 years we have now lived here. Both sets of parents have sadly died since we lived here so we acquired things from their homes too! Our kids have, like yours, grown up and left but so many memories are still echoing around here. Maybe another couple of years! Good luck with the sale, you have a lovely home I’m sure it will be one of the ones that is sold swiftly, fingers crossed and God willing.
LikeLike
Julie,
Our situations sound very similar, I have lost both of my parents in the last few years and have acquired so many things from their homes. Not easy to get rid of things especially when there are memories attached to them!
LikeLike
Looks like you are well on the way with your packing and preparation for selling. Either fortunately, or unfortunately, when we sold our properties we had already moved out. The difficult part was staging with only a few things left and the final clearout when it was all settled. I took a lot to thrift stores because in condos we weren’t allowed to have garage sales. I found a doll store for my precious dolls from my childhood and we found someone to take the large pieces of furniture that my dad built but wouldn’t fit into our new even smaller condo far, far away. On the flip side, starting out new and fresh has it’s benefits. – Margy
LikeLike
I,ve had to move several times and this is what I do .
When people come to look around ,. have a casserole in the oven , a vase of flowers on the table ,,fresh new fluffy towels in the bathroom and a big bar of chocolate beside the bed .
If it is cold ..light the fire , if you have one , people like to see it working .
Outside have one big pot of seasonal colorful flowering plants to welcome them up the garden path to your front door .
Be excited about the move to your new place..but also have in your mind that you could still be here for Christmas, and thats O.K. because actually …you love this place ! : )
LikeLike
Daisy,
Excellent advice! Thank you for sharing! I especially like your last sentence, “Be excited about the move to your new place..but also have in your mind that you could still be here for Christmas, and thats O.K. because actually …you love this place !” So true!! 🙂
LikeLike
I am just floored that it could take 3 years to sell!!! Our house has been on the market since mid-December, yeah not a great time to sell but we want to move to our homestead this year.
We too, cleared out alot of personal stuff – the only picture left is my son’s Marine picture from last summer. It is so nerve wracking to live with each day not knowing if it will get shown but it does encourage you to keep your place tide. I find that hard sometimes. The plus side it that with spring coming, everyone’s yard looks better – in the winter we have no snow to make it look pretty, it just looks drab and dead!
In the south, the spring and early summer bring out the buyers. I am ready!
Good luck with selling your property – it is very pretty.
LikeLike
Melissa,
Good luck with selling your home! I do hope our home sells sooner than later!
LikeLike
I think you are doing all the right things, Nancy, and you’ve definitely included some great tips in this post. I’m sure it won’t take 3 years! You have a lovely home! Thank you for sharing this post with us at the Hearth and Soul Hop.
LikeLike
April, We’re hoping it won’t take three years!
LikeLike
Really wonderful advice about how to do this! I liked all your suggestions! Hope you sell soon!
LikeLike
Marie,
We are hoping our house sells much sooner than later!! 🙂
LikeLike
Three years is a long time to live like that so I do hope you don’t have to go that long without pictures of your family and all your treasures around you. ps….I love the display on the window sill!! Thanks for sharing at Fun Friday Favourites.
LikeLike
Cath,
We sure are hoping the realtor is wrong and it sells within the next year!
LikeLike
we too put our house in the market, don’t know when we will sell.
LikeLike
Swathi,
I wish you well with your house selling, may both our houses sell quickly!
LikeLike
I would not survive selling my house. I plan on dying here. Hope your house sells quickly!
LikeLike
Eden,
I sure hope it sells quickly, I do not like this limbo life!
LikeLike