Getting market-ready

I did have grand plans to do a little series on getting the house ready to put on the market, but time got away from me!  But I do have some pictures and ideas I want to share.  Then I can get back to posting about our days!

In no particular order, here are my ideas on how we are surviving having our house on the market:

1.  Keep paperwork organized.

2.  Clean up the outside.  Toss old toys, remove ugly piles, straighten furniture and clean what you can.

Jeff cleaning out the gutters

3.  Go through the house and clean up hot-spots of clutter.  Here is a quick example:

4.  Don't forget paperwork in the de-cluttering.  I had all this in a basement cabinet. Paperwork from 12+ years of marriage!  I piled the boxes up on the table and sorted (= mess!).  I was left with a few piles that I found space for in a drawer, plus the plastic filing box.

5.  Don't forget the big cleaning jobs.  I have never cleaned this oven. The last time I cleaned an oven I accidentally inhaled some of the fumes and I had to stick my head out of the window to catch my breath.  I used my Shaklee Scour Off and it not only cleaned great, but my faithful assistant was able to help!

Other cleaning jobs I did (or are still on the list!):  Light fixtures, windows, wipe down walls and doors, sweep cob webs and scrub floors.

6.  Keep the kid's stuff organized.  This is in their bedroom.  I put away some toys and left out the ones I know they play with regularly.  Things have gotten a little crazy since Christmas so I will have to revisit this one.  The idea is to have a place for everything so that clean-up for a showing is quick and painless.  Other ideas: go through the clothes and keep out just enough- pack away the rest; use a toy rotation system to keep all the toys from being pulled out at once; a good ol' purge with  the kids is always helpful.

7.  Make sure the kitchen gets some TLC.  We painted the cabinet doors and got new hardware to freshen it up.  

8.  Stage it using what you have.  I went room-by-room and tried to clear out any clutter and set it up as I would like it to be seen.  Keeping in mind that we live here (with 3 kids!), I tried to keep it manageable.  No magazine photo shoots here, but I think it works.

9.  Try to keep each space so that it can be picked up in a few minutes.  Even use baskets or containers to throw miscellaneous stuff in (for those last-minute calls of "Can I bring someone to see your house in 30 minutes?").

10.  Enjoy your home for whatever time you have left in it.  We did a lot of little projects that we needed to do since we moved in.  It is nice to appreciate it for a while.

Here are a few of the pictures from when we had it really clean for the agent to photograph:

This house is a blessing, no doubt!  I am thankful for the time we have had and continue to have living here.  

Organizing Paper Clutter

I have been cleaning out.  Story of my life. :)  One area that I easily overlook is paper.  I have been amassing piles of recipes and clippings.  Since I have been in one of those I-don't-know-what-to-cook funks, I thought cleaning out my recipes would be good inspiration.  As I was doing it, I realized a cute little method I typically use when organizing anything:

Pull Out

Purge

Pile

Process

Put Away

It works for just about anything- clothes, toys, books...

Here it is working for my recipes:

I like making collages, but I need to figure out how to flip-flop it.
It would have made more sense in this case. :)

This (and an Energy Chew!) got me motivated to tackle another hot spot: my desk.

I used some file folders I had to organize the papers into categories.  Then I made better use of my wooden desktop organizer ($2 at a yard sale!).  I had been stuffing papers into the red, open notebook.  I pulled out a smaller calendar and put away the cleaned-out notebook.  I grouped all my Shaklee paperwork together.  I even put some pictures in the organizer. 

I did the recipes while Eli was taking his morning nap.  The desk qualifies for a quick clean-up, though, because once I got on it, it was fast work. 

Except the papers are still all over the floor.  

Linking up at A Bowl Full of Lemons!

Quick Clean up

When the house it kind of out of control, my favorite method to get it back is a quick clean up.  I take a trouble spot and hit it hard for 10-20 minutes.  Here is the office/guest room:

Notice the little people.
 This can be done with kids around!

I got a little out of hand piling things up everywhere!

Boxes and papers and other stuff were put away to their homes or

 holding areas (to-be-filed).  

So much better.  :)  

Learning Spaces

We do the whole learn-all-around-the-house schooling.  This set up is fairly new since we moved rooms around this summer.  I like it, but I'm sure it will get tweaked as we go.  

Since the boys share a room and Eli is with us, we have an extra room for the office/ guest bed.  This is where I store most of our stuff.  I will be adding some more storage soon to the hall outside so some of the things here will be relocated.

My desk

Reference books, current curriculum and misc supplies.

These 2 shelves hold the books I am using now, plus any others I think will go along with upcoming studies.

This is how it looked getting ready for the week!

 We just acquired this table for free (yay!).  The sweet grandparents are getting us 2 more chairs so all the boys will have a spot.  I like this being in the kitchen so I can have the boys working or playing while I cook.  Plus, it keeps the dining room table cleared off. 

The shoes are put away here, but they drive me a special kind of crazy because they are usually in a big pile!

Nature table and scripture memory basket.

I'm sure we'll still end up spreading out here to do some stuff.

 I keep read-alouds on this shelf.  Eli's toys are on the bottom.  This is also the t.v. cabinet.  We don't have cable, but we do have Netflix.  Sean loves documentaries and they watch other shows, too.

Yes, that is a bench turned up, blocking the doorway.  Gotta corral that baby!

 Here is where we read some and the floor is usually covered in toys.  

This is in the boys' room. Sean doesn't use the desk much for writing, but I have a feeling Luke might later on.  I love it, though, because it's from when Jeff and his brother were little.  Most of Sean's chapter books are here.  I collect them from yard sales as I find them.

And I can't forget the back porch!  This is not cleaned up at all.  When Eli is walking we will have to barricade some more.

I am certain things will change up, especially when I reorganize a bit.  I will have to do another post with organization (because I am a total nerd like that and looooove seeing others' organizing ideas!).