Continued preparations

In between curling matches, reading and posting blogs, chats with D and Eli (FB Messenger is great for this), and regular housework, I've been busy with more de-cluttering and minor repairs in the house.  I'm finding there is a lot of work to getting the house ready for sale.  I made the mistake of searching for "top tips for selling a house" yesterday.  Phew, there are a lot of ideas out there.

One of the top tips is to clean surfaces.  In the kitchen it's meant to show how much counter space is available.

Here's my kitchen....I tried, I really did but there are just too many things I need out. The coffee pot, kettle, toaster, and breadbox are going nowhere.  Though looking at the photo, I'll make sure the broom is put away in the closet. 

My living room is much better, with the exception of the table beside my chair.  I keep my remotes, address book, telephone, cat brush, pens, etc.  in a container.  It's is really cluttered but the drawer in the side table is full too.  So, I'll have to do something else with it.  

In my de-cluttering I've managed to fill another large box and started a second one with items to donate.  A lot of this came from a second round of going through Christmas and other seasonal decorations.  In addition, I'm taking a tub of assorted items to my daughter at her request.  I cleaned out three tubs but must admit I filled two of them with items that used to sit out on the shelves in the storage room, mostly stuffed animals and Santas.  I did get one empty tub that I'll use for the stuff that I need to hide during showings.  

The paint touch ups are complete.  When Eli was little we had installed a gate at the top of the basement stairs, when it was removed, there were holes that needed to be patched and the walls repainted.  Luckily I had the paint from the bathroom renovations and was able to use that.  I did pick up a small tester of white paint for touching up baseboards and the railing on the steps up to the kitchen. Some time ago, my nephew for some reason known only to him, scratched up the railing with a sharp object.  I'd ignored it until now, but with a bit of wood filler and paint it looks fine.  

One afternoon last week it was warm enough to open up the sun room, so I took the opportunity to clean it thoroughly.  All the toys have been put away, the floor was swept and then vacuumed, and I pulled down some of the curtains and washed them.  I'll continue that process until they've all been cleaned. (Why I haven't done this in the years I've lived here is beyond me).  

Tucked away in the coffee table are a set of towels, teal and white striped, that I'll use to cover the furniture.  The cat's claws have done a number on the existing towels but I won't replace them until necessary.  For showings yes!  One of the curtains was torn by Sheldon, I think he was trying to chase a bird.  It's the second on the left in the picture; I took it down and patched it, then moved it to a corner where it isn't likely to be closed.  I could try to replace them but there are 12 curtains and at an average of $40-50 each I'm not prepared to spend that much money, and it's not likely I could find one that would match the current ones.

Another repair made was the front hall closet door.  The one on the left had split at the top when I was trying to open it one day.  I probably yanked on it too hard.  For the longest time (a year or more) I lived without a closet door.  It certainly ensure I kept the closet tidy. :)

I had been looking on line for replacement doors but was trying to figure out how I'd get them home.  I sure didn't want to pay the $75 delivery charge! As I was getting out of my car the other day, I noticed a couple of panels on top of the shelving unit.  There were a number of pieces of wood left behind by the previous owners.  I checked, and sure enough the panels were the right size.  One of the panels matched, almost to a T the broken one so this weekend I took them all down to basement where I could lay them out on the floor and replaced the broken panel.  My son gave me a hand re-installing it. It's not entirely level but as my dad would have said, "a blind man riding by wouldn't notice the difference." Hooray, another fix with no additional cost!

I did go out the other day and spent a few dollars on towels.  I bought new white tea towels for the kitchen and patterned hand towels for the bathroom.  These will only be used for showings...my ratty old stuff is for everyday.  That plastic tub I mentioned earlier can be used to hide the ratty old stuff while the showing is happening.  I'll just toss it in the car to take with me while the showing is going on.

I'm still about a month away from listing, partly because D and Eli will be here in early May. AND I know the house will need some serious cleaning after they leave.  As well I want to get the garage and yard in tip-top shape and that can't happen until we have some nicer weather.  Sunday was another lovely day with temperatures reaching 15C(70F), but it won't be that warm every day for quite awhile.  My theory is, I'll get as much done in the house as I can now, then will be able to focus my attention on simply keeping it up, and working on the outside.

In the meantime, I've done a little bit of crocheting.  I started an Easter basket for Eli before I left on my cruise and took it with me to work on while I was away.  When I returned home, I realized I didn't like what I'd done so I unraveled it and started again! 

Here's the final product with a few goodies tucked into it (he's only 2 so that's all he's getting).  The basket itself is made using two strands of yarn, all of it scraps I had from other projects.  I knew I didn't have enough blue so used the green and yellow to make the stripes.  The handle is also made with double strands but for additional stability I used three pipe cleaners, side by each, crocheting around them.  I sewed the handle onto the basket, and used the little foam pieces I got at the dollar store to decorate it.  With a bit of paper, and the goodies, I think it turned out pretty well.  

I'll deliver the basket and other items I've gathered up around the house to D and Eli on Wednesday when I drive out to visit.  D wanted me to come for Easter weekend, but I'd rather not deal with the holiday traffic.  Eli has no idea yet, what Easter is or when it is so he'll care less. Though I do know he'll be happy to see me as I will be to see him too.

Have a great week everyone!