Since my husband and I have been married, we've moved quite a bit! We've moved 6 times in the past 10 years (and have only lived in 2 different cities)! I know that's not much compared to others, but it was enough for me! Especially when you consider that I've always had a newborn every time we've moved.
This last move, I had 4 little kids and a 2 week old baby. Showing the house was always a stressful even to say the least!
I managed to come up with some good strategies for getting the house ready in a jiffy! Now, there were times I had a day (or a few days) notice and I could clean and confine the kids to one room for playing to keep the rest of the house nice and tidy. But when a realtor calls and asks if they can show your house in 15 minutes, you've gotta work FAST. Especially when you know 10 of those minutes will be spent getting loaded in the car!
So here are my quick tips for getting your house ready to show with a house full of littles:
-Bleach works wonders. At the time of our last move, I had three little boys so cleaning the bathroom had to happen DAILY although I couldn't always make it happen. So when I would get a "can we show your house right this second?" call, I would run for the bleach. If I could do nothing else, I would pour a little bleach in the toilet and in the shower. Because if a bathroom smells sterile, the eye tends to not look so critically.
-Let the sunshine in! Humans love natural light. So be sure to open every curtain and blind you can! Then go the extra step and turn on every light and lamp in the house! Maybe even light a candle. I know some people say not to do this because certain people don't like certain smells, but I'd go for something delicate ("fresh linen" for example). The point is, a bright place always seems like a cheery place!
-Give it to the Lord. Each time before I stepped out of the house I would just say something to the Father like "It's yours, you are here. Speak and move. And have your way." And as I drive off I continue to pray for the right people to fall in love with not only the home, but the Spirit in the home too!
What are some of your favorite tips for moving or showing a house when you have a lot of littles?
Linked to Works For Me Wednesday!
3 comments:
I agree with the laundry baskets! I used wicker baskets when I had littles and was showing our first house. Don't worry about stacking dishes correctly in the dishwaswer, just get them off the counters. I have also used the washer before to make the laundry disappear in a jiffy. I used to take a few extra minutes after the babies were in bed at night to do my major tidying of the rooms so that we could start the day off running if need be in the mornings.
Grace, you rock! We're hoping to put our home on the market this spring/summer and I am a tad anxious just thinking about trying to keep it clean! I've resolved that we will pack up anything that isn't necessary to daily living with the hopes that we'll be packing it all up soon anyway. Thank you so much for the tips! Very timely!
Diaper wipes are a huge lifesaver for me - quick clean up in a zillion different places!
We went through a period in 2011 when we were renting a house that was on the market and had showings almost daily for a few weeks straight. It was nuts with 7 kids, homeschooling, and pregnant with #8. Then we ended up moving twice in one month while we waited for our long-anticipated house in the country to be finished.
I can't understand why I had high blood pressure that pregnancy. :)
Post a Comment