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I really thought that there wasn’t that much left to pack and that it wouldn’t be too big of a deal…after all, the holiday decorations and many other things are already in bins. If you can’t think of it, you don’t really need it. Don’t pack your bathroom first; you use your bathroom every day. If you’re using your guest bedroom, make sure that each box is already labeled so you don’t have to go back into that room until moving day.

We did paperwork the following Tuesday, the sale went live that Thursday, and we had about a week to get things ready for house photos and our first showing, both of which were yesterday. Once they’re done, you may decide you don’t want to leave your house anyway! Maybe if I’d taken 15-30 minutes every day working inside cleaning/organizing, or outside tending to the yard or garden, we wouldn’t have had so much work to do later. Don’t let selling get in the way of enjoying your summer…or whatever season you’re in.

Despite loving this home that we raised our daughter in, that my husband proposed to me in, that we brought both of our animals home to, and where we’ve celebrated many Christmases and birthdays, we knew this wasn’t the house we wanted to stay in forever. While I’m fine with a smaller home and having a paid-off house in five more years was a compelling reason to stay, there are just some things that we could never change to make this house everything we want. We secured a storage unit and plan to take excess stuff there and to Brad’s parents, since our rental will likely be smaller than our current house. My emotions are all over the place…a bit scared about what the rental period will look like, excited about a fresh start and the prospect of a new home down the road, proud that we’re working as a family team on this, anxious about all the work to be done, and sad to let this home go.

Money’s usually tight, many clothes and things are bought second-hand, gifts are nice but limited, and she certainly doesn’t get everything she wants. Until recently I didn’t have her help in the kitchen, because as much as I get tired of cooking or doing dishes, I learned through my daycare years that the kitchen could be a bit of a sanctuary from the chaos of little feet I’d learned about this book, Cleaning House (A Mother’s 12 Month Experiment to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement) and finally ordered it. Every morning I will check and her bed needs to be made, toys and clothes picked up, room tidy…but also the cat box scooped (that’s one of her morning jobs), and there shouldn’t be any of her things lying around the living room, hallway or in the bathroom.