It's no secret to you all that we are trying to sell our house right now. When we first found out Dave accepted a job offer, I immediately went into overdrive in getting the house ready as fast as possible to get it on the market. I'm not going to lie. Selling a house can be a really emotional experience. It's been something that can easily cause me a lot of anxiety if I don't continue to give up control to God and trust Him with the timing of our house selling. That being said I feel like we are finally in a groove, and though it can seem overwhelming at times, and if I focus too far forward on the future I start to get overwhelmed by thoughts of "will our house ever sell?" God has taught me a lot in the process and I wanted to share a few tips for any of you who are in the process of moving, or who will need some help with selling a home in the future!
So without further ado I give you....
How To Sell Your House and Still Live Your Life
1. Ask for help- This is huge for me! Especially since during the week I am a single mom. When Dave was going to school full time and working full time last year I bucked up and did everything myself. Never asking for help and only taking it if someone offered it to me. Though me being me...I pretended I was fine and plastered a smile on my face. To be honest during that season I was anything but fine. Before Dave left for his first day of work at his new job in May he told me "You need to spend time with your friends. You are going to be by yourself with a toddler and are going to go crazy so make coffee dates with friends. Do things with other people. You need to!" He couldn't have been more right! I have been so blessed by people in this season: offering to watch Abbie, bringing me Starbucks, asking me to go on lunch dates on my work days, inviting us over for supper, watching our dog, etc. My father in law has even been diligently sprucing up things around the house and mowing our lawn as needed while Dave is gone.
2. Declutter toys- This one has been so hard for me. I just want Abbie to be a kid, but I can't have a million toys out now since we could have showings at anytime. Plus one of the things they are pretty adamant about when putting your house on the market is encouraging you to get rid of toys and clutter. I put many of Abbie's toys in storage, and for the ones left I have them hidden in cute storage so they aren't an eye sore for people touring our home. We do the best we can with the season of life we are in, but I am so thankful for friends and family that allow us to come to their homes and let Abbie play to her toddler hearts content. In all honesty sometimes I go to Dave's parents house with her just cause I know she can get out whatever she wants, can play as long as she likes, and then we can clean it up before we leave. I also try to stay out of the house more on my days off. Being there is a source of stress for me right now and when I am home it's hard not to just have fun with Abbie cause I am so focused on keeping the house ready for show. It makes my heart hurt. So in order to spend quality time with her we go out a lot- the park, playground, splash park, zoo, museum, walks....when we are not at home I can enjoy time with her so much more and we both need that right now.
3. Learn the art of surface cleaning- Because my house is clean most of the time now I don't have to deep clean nearly as much. I clean the surface as needed. I can dust quickly using a wool duster to quickly get up what is visually dusty. I have Clorox wipes handy in the bathroom cupboard for quick wipe downs. I run the cordless vacuum more regularly to pick up toddler crumbs, and then vacuum and mop the entire house as needed when I notice it needs it. Keeping up on this on a regular basis actually has cut down my cleaning time...weird. I don't want my house to look like kids don't live there once we sell it, but in the future I am thinking there is some validity to this regular cleaning in small intervals thing. It's much easier than letting it go and deep cleaning on a regular basis.
4. Make a checklist- Each night I have a regimen of getting things ready for the next day (if the next day is a workday), and cleaning up around the house. Before I leave each day for work I make sure all surfaces are clean, all things are picked up, blinds are open, lights are on, and the air is on a suitable temperature in case a showing happens in the afternoon. Basically I leave my home show ready 247 whenever I am leaving the house for an extended period of time. This allows for no anxiety when a Realtor calls wanting to show it to a client, because everything is always ready for them when they call. I'm not going to lie...I don't want to see our electric bill right now, but to us that is a small price to pay when it means we are more readily able to show our home at a moments notice. Added bonus- I am a vet tech so a HUGE blessing....my dog comes to work with me :)
5. Eat simply- For as much as I love to make homemade nutritious meals for my family this new season of life has forced me to give myself grace and you know what? Grace is refreshing. It's teaching me that I don't have to have a homemade meal every night, and I can still find ways to feed my family nutritious choices most of the time. It's also helping me to be ok with a premade meal and eating out sometimes. The most important goal is: we need to eat, and as the mom...I don't need to beat myself up if this isn't homemade every night! I try to cook in bulk right now as much as I can and we eat a lot of things that are good as leftovers because of it. This means less clean up after meal prep and cooking since I do it less = less work and a cleaner kitchen! We also eat simple things like hummus and veggies, cheese and crackers with fruit, etc. The simpler the better!
6. Pray- This one is most important. Ultimately I have to trust God with the sale of our home and His timing. In all honesty, He is in control of all things, and if He wanted our home sold right now it already would be. I know He's teaching us so much in this. I must learn to be content in all things and glorify God no matter what season He has me in. This is hard to do, but it's a must. When I start to get worried or anxious I can go to Him and my heart calms once again, and the anxiety lessens. He may not take away the problem but He changes my perspective. All the sudden a burden becomes a blessing, and we are so very blessed.
Have you ever sold a home? What tips do you have to share that helped you keep your sanity in the process?
Blessings,
