I’ve not actually seen the movie, Dude, Where’s my car, but I do often feel as dumb-founded as the two boys appear in the trailer.
We are nearly three months into the home selling experience. I can’t remember if there have been 4 or 6 or 42 open houses. There have been more than a dozen private showings, although it feels like hundreds. Most all our personal items are tucked out of sight. Some regularly used items were put away in late January, such as my jewelry, one cat tree, most dog toys (which frustrates our puppy to no end) and leashes. So much stuff is out of sight that I am forgetting what I own, until I need it.
When we have an open house, I take my laptop computer, all portable electronic devices, and hide the chargers. All traces of animal food, bedding and toys, and our toiletries are also out of sight. But as we continue to live our lives, some items come in and out.
We are currently packing for a vacation that we have been planning for more than a year, which means that we have slowly been gathering items to take. So where did the temporary rain ponchos from Amazon that we ordered 6 months ago go to? Or my new favorite hoodie? Or the binoculars we got out of storage?
I’ve been wearing the same earrings and my wedding band every day, but for a time I couldn’t remember where I left the bulk of my jewelry.
The sewing kits have disappeared! I know that I gathered most of the diverse sewing items and distributed the items amongst two plastic bins. And I have no idea where I put the button boxes.
We have one bedroom dedicated to artistic and craft endeavors. I packed the bulky stuff and left enough items on shelves to make it clear that it is a creative space. But there is just enough stuff packed that I can’t make anything fun. The hubby packed up his ceramics wheel and his kiln, so he is limited to only a few in-progress wire sculptures to focus on when he isn’t working or cleaning.
Despite the fact that I used to clean houses for a living, or perhaps because of it, I hate to clean. When I was cleaning houses, I also had weekly chiropractic sessions. I have just enough problems with my back that thinking about scrubbing the shower brings on muscle spasms. Yet each week, sometimes three times in a seven day period, we are tidying, dusting, vacuuming and washing mirrors and windows. We had the carpets professionally cleaned before our first open house, yet I have pulled out our carpet cleaner once and will do it again soon. It seems that he more often we clean, the more dirt we find. This is a good sized two-story house; it takes two of us an hour to vacuum both floors.
We regularly lose new and even commonly used items, even when we think, “I’ll put it here because this is such an obvious spot that I won’t forget.” Sure, there are some designated out-of-sight spots for things we use daily like the coffee stuff, the counter top composter and the animal food. But if enough time has gone by after a showing, I likely won’t remember where that file went, or that check, or a sweater, or a pair of shoes.
And I MISS my books! I am starting to plan my fall classes, and most of the books I need for Children’s Literature are in boxes in a storage facility. Did I mention that we are down to six book shelves?? And half of those are in storage with my books. 😢
I will admit that coming home to a clean house is nice. The lack of clutter does have its perks. I remember this feeling from the last time we moved, and the conversations about the fact that we got so used to keeping things neat and tidy, that it will be easier to keep that up in the next house. We forgot how chaotic a house is when we first move in and that it takes months to unpack and find a new place for everything.
My hope is that once we are in contract with a buyer, and it’s time to finish packing, that I will have the presence of mind, and the time, to avoid the panic of throwing disparate items into boxes without proper labels.
Dude, I want my stuff back!
Visceral Musings 