December 5th we arrived home and fell into bed at 8 pm. At 3 am, our eyes popped open and our brains began spinning…so much to do and so little time! We haven’t stopped moving or started sleeping since then.
We created self-imposed deadlines of:
Declutter, prep the house in December,
List in January,
Sell in February,
Visa in March,
France in April.
The more you plan, the harder God laughs.
Mid-December I jumped the gun and listed the house on Zillow for about 4 hours. Then I read all the things I was doing wrong and could tank the sale, so I deactivated the listing.
So many trips to thrift stores and consignment shops. Over 100 Craigslist sales. As a joke we listed a spare Miata starter and added, “For another $999 you could have a Miata to go with it!” That night, in the dark, during a snow and ice storm, a buyer came to look at the car. The doors were frozen shut and it was up to its knees (bumpers) in snow. Two days later, he drove away with our baby. Sniffle.
Things were crazy. And then…
Finally a sun-break on Wednesday, January 12th. We were cleaning the front yard and entry in preparation for the bark mulch crew that was due the next day, when a couple drove past slowly. I assumed they were a Craigslist shopper, but no. They pulled alongside the driveway, rolled down the window and said, “ We saw your ad on Zillow in December and really liked your house. Are you selling it?”
We invited them in. They looked for 5 minutes. No staging, house in disarray. We walked them around the yard. We immediately fell in love with them. We had so much in common. Then, they made an offer. We shook hands. It was over!
We were planning to list the house on the following Monday. All the worries about staging and colors and everything that had been keeping us awake at night were for nothing.
Friday, we met at the house for a leisurely lunch. How could this be? We liked them even more!
Their realtor called and scheduled the closing for 1/25. OMG! Less than two weeks to cull 25 years of belongings. Neighbors were so helpful. They took truckloads of items to the dump and Habitat for Humanity, they took compost from the garden beds that had been disassembled, they took excess food from our Covid stash, they loaned us trucks to haul big furniture and they sent meals over and had us over for meals. The love and caring from all corners warmed our hearts. We went to bed every night feeling exhausted but, incredibly blessed and moving ahead.
Then things took a turn…
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