So we signed all the paperwork to list our house today! It's a huge weight lifted on our shoulders to have the burden off us and onto our realtor! We are totally depending on her to sell our house!

So all we have to do now is sit back and wait for the offers to roll in!!

. . . and now comes the details. There are so many details when it comes to a home.

If you've ever watched HGTV, designers and realtors will tell homeowners time and time again to depersonalize the house. Make the home more of an empty slate - a place where buyers could see themselves living their lives and fulfilling their dreams. The home is no longer your own, you are showcasing it's best qualities so another family can call your home their home.

Anyone who knows me knows I love pictures. I love to be surrounded by the pictures of my friends and family. Of course, this is a big "no-no" when it comes to staging a house. I took down my Wall of Xander and Xaven, wedding pictures, family pictures, cross-stitching my mom had made, but that's not all.

I'm also a lover of the great outdoors (ok, when it's not snowing!!), and I had TONS of plants. Of course, many of them were well ready for their spring makeovers - new soil, new pots if necessary, and fertilizer. The stager and realtor said to get them out. I'm no Master Gardener, but I knew the plants wouldn't survive the trip cross-country, so I sold most of them. I had to keep my Cactus Dick planter my Uncle Bob made me - if the cactus dies, I can always replace it!

Finally, I had to get rid of most of my books. Foolishly, I'd heeded the advice of my college professors and kept all my books from my major subjects. Foolishly, I missed the opportunity to recuperate some of the thousands of dollars I spent on books in my undergraduate and graduate careers. I took the majority of the books to Half-Price Books, got my stipend and bought a couple of tourist books about Seattle. I did end up keeping some of the books - some are at the house and the rest are at our storage locker.

Which brings me to my final thought on the finality of the purge: whatever we didn't, wouldn't, couldn't purge had to go somewhere. Since staging the house means minimalism, we have taken all the pictures we took down, Christmas decorations we store in our storage closets in our finished basement, kitchen items we took out of our kitchen, and yes - extra books - all went to the storage locker. We also took extra shelving we are not leaving with the house, as well as tools and sports equipment from the garage. By opening up as much space as possible, we're showing perspective buyers how much of their stuff could be here!

It's been a long process, and with the help of my parents, my father-in-law, of course my husband, our realtor, and our contractor, we'll meet our deadline of listing this week and having our first open house on Sunday! If all goes well, we'll have the house under contract in the coming weeks!

Ok, so there have been a lot of no-shows for the appointments we've made, but by and far - Craig's List has been a Godsend!

Of course, Jeff thought of using his programming skills and bought http://www.MovingSale2008.com for $10, programmed the site to pull only our active items from Craig's List to post on this site, and we cross-promoted to direct interested buyers to the site for a full list of available items. It was a great idea for cross-selling all our stuff!

After having two weekends of people coming out to view our items, we took all the little stuff left over to St. Vincent De Paul today. What a huge weight lifted off our shoulders to have most of the clutter cleared for good - to move out to Seattle with a huge weight (literally!) off us. Although I'm still a recovering packrat, I foresee us continuing to list items on Craig's List throughout our move from Cincinnati. Then, as we settle into Seattle life, purging the rest of our unnecessary items using the same web site!

Thank you to all our friends who were able to make it out yesterday evening - it was great to see you all! Thank you for taking (and buying!!) some of our stuff! We hope that you're able to use it, and when it's no longer of use to you, you pass it on as well!

Final word on Craig's List: beware of the shady characters, like the a-hole who bought my husbands' camera, and scammers wanting to send non-cash payments. Other than that, we were both home during all the appointments and met a lot of nice people who, like us, wanted to get things at a good price, and keep stuff out of our landfills!

Thanks Craig's List!

So, we've been working at going through every item in our home - which has accumulated quickly in 6 short years - and are rounding the final corner!

We have appointments set for tomorrow for people to come look at our stuff and for our friends to come take what's left over - what a relief!

We can see the light at the end of the tunnel and our goal of getting our house ready to go and on the market by the end of March is a reality! There is still a lot of work to do, and I'm way behind in scrapbooking, but we are making it work!!

Once we get the house on the market, we'll just sit back and wait for the offers to start rolling in!

"I am attaching a file with fave scripture verses that encourage in any situation.  Break open and read in stress emergency!!"

Thanks to Joan for sending me this inspiration as we delve into this new chapter of our lives!!

How God gets us through . . .

Joshua 1:9

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

2 Samuel 22:31-34

"As for God, his way is perfect;
  the word of the LORD is flawless.
He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

32 For who is God besides the LORD?
  And who is the Rock except our God?

33 It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.

34 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.

1 Chronicles 16:11

Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

11 Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.

Psalm 9:10 Those who know your name will trust in you,
  for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Psalm 62:2 He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Psalm 63:1-2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.

3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.

5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

6 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.

7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

Psalm 73:23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.

Psalm 103:17 But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his

righteousness with their children's children-

Psalm 121 I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;

4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
   he will watch over your life;

8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

Psalm 139: 1-18

1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.

5 You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?   Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,"

12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day,
   for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
  your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.   All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.
  When I awake, I am still with you.

Psalm 145:15-19

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.

16 You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.

18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.

Isaiah 12:2

2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.
    The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation."

Isaiah 40: 10-12

See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him.
     See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.

11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms
   and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
  or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
  Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?

Isaiah 40: 29-31

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
  they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 43:1-2

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
       and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.

Isaiah 51:15

15 For I am the LORD your God, who churns up the sea so that its waves roar—
      the LORD Almighty is his name.

Zephaniah 3:17

17 The LORD your God is with you,
    he is mighty to save.
    He will take great delight in you,
    he will quiet you with his love,
     he will rejoice over you with singing."

Matthew 28:20 And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Philippians 4:13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:8-9

8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

2 Timothy 1:6-7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

Look at me . . .

. . . I'm becoming a techie (not really, but my husband is showing me how to be!) sort-of . . .

. . . I'm starting to use Google Reader to read my blog posts and Windows Live Writer to write them. My husband uses it for his blogging and blog reading, so I'm starting to use it too!

 

Jeff will be doing some coding to get my blog list on my blog page, but I barely have time to blog now! I'll have to acclimate myself to all this uber-techno stuff!

Who'd have thought, me, a poshie? I'm a little more rough and tumble than that, but hey - it's a prestigious award (ok, where's my leg lamp?!?) . . .

 

 

If you are in the Greater Cincinnati area and would like to help yourself to some good items sold at good prices, please visit our Craig's List listings at:

http://www.MovingSale2008.com

We have many household items, desks, furniture, and children's items. Everything must go!! Shop early and often and help us make our trip out west a little lighter load - not to mention offset our costs!

Email through Craig's List if you're interested in an item and we'll set up an appointment to have you out.

Thanks!

Purging has been such a cleansing activity.

Purging of excess in my home, not throwing up, has been liberating. We are moving cross-country and have accumulated a lot in our 5+ year marriage.  Having to downsize has been no easy task, but it really is helping us focus on keeping what's important and getting rid of the excess.

Oh, and Craig's List is proving to be a great place to get rid of a lot of the excess! We don't want our unwanted items to end up in a landfill, so promoting reuse through selling or giving away on Craig's List is working well so far!

Updates to follow . . .