Friday, February 27, 2009

The State of the House

So, the decision was made on Monday, and the reality of the move started to sink in about five minutes later. I made a 40 page to do list (OK, maybe it just seems like 40 pages), of all of the things that need to be done to get our house ready to go on the market. Granted, we have only lived here about fifteen months, but we really live in our house. Thankfully, there are no major repairs to make, just painting and lots of decluttering. I guess the point is to make it look like no one really lives in your house (that is a challenge when 5 little people live here!).

As I am cleaning, I am really trying to "reduce our inventory". I have donated four loads of miscellaneous treasures, and I am sure there is more to come. I would love to take much less stuff into our new house. I have been focusing on one room a day, and trying not to get overwhelmed. It is a temptation to dive into the cleaning out process and let the rest of the house go. It is also a temptation to take a break from homeschooling. I am trying to resist both temptations!

I spent lots of time working on the master closet. It is fairly large, so it had become a dumping ground. Some things had not been unpacked since we moved last year. I forced myself to be honest about my clothes and get rid of stuff that I do not really wear. I decided that I need to clothe the body that I have, not the one I would love to have. I read that the average person wears about 20% of what is in his or her closet, so I tried to work on weeding out the 80%. The fun part is that I have bought a few things I like to replace the things that needed to go.

I scrubbed the master bathroom, which was quite a job. I am so thankful for Mr. Clean Magic Erasers! I had forgotten how white our shower is supposed to be! The master bedroom is still a work in progress. Eli takes his naps in there, so that limits the time I have in there. I have finished the laundry room, the video closet, the coat closet and Isaac's room. The biggest job ahead is painting the living room. Mark's mom is coming for a visit this weekend, so hopefully we will get lots of work done while she holds Eli!

It looks like it will be about two weeks before the house actually goes on the market. We have two appraisers coming early next week. It usually takes about five days for them to get their reports back to the relocation agency. After that we will get the all clear to list the house. The relocation agency is sending out two real estate agents, and we will pick the one that we like best. If the house has not sold after 120 days, Mark's new company will buy the house based on the price given by the appraisers. It is such a blessing to know that we will not be stuck with the house!

It is amazing to think that it has only been six weeks since we got the news about changes happening with Mark's current job. We had no idea on New Year's Day what big changes would be happening this year. Praise God that he has provided a new job! Praise God that He is control!

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