If you’ve ever had a house on the market then you know how exhausting and frustrating it can be to keep your home show ready at a moment’s notice. And if you’ve ever had a house on the market with three small children living there, then you know how challenging it can be as well! Our house hasn’t been for sale too terribly long, but it’s still a chore to keep it ship shape while still living inside. During the holidays we let housework slide, so naturally come the beginning of the year I got a call from my realtor.
“I know it’s short notice…” he said.
To which I answered, “you know I’ll say come on.”
Then I entered monster cleaning mode. After four straight hours of scouring and stuffing my husband came home from work and helped me with some last minute details. The hard thing about this particular viewing was that it would occur while I was at work.
*insert hysterics
This would mean that I wouldn’t be present for the last minute fluff and folds. Instead my children would be present, and if you know anything about kids, you know that if they’re breathing they’re making messes. The thing about me was that I liked everything perfect. So whenever the house was shown I liked to make a thorough sweep to make sure everything looked, smelled, and radiated flawlessness. The problem was since I wouldn’t be there I couldn’t ensure an impeccable appearance.
*wince
“Are you gonna turn all the lights on before you leave?” I asked my husband nonchalantly.
I knew he knew to do this, and I even knew he probably would. But I needed to remind him offhandedly. You know, just in case.
And later…
“Don’t forget about the dog.” I said with a laugh. “That would be terrible if they couldn’t look at the house because the dog was trying to eat them.”