Ten Random Thoughts About Selling My House

1. It has been about 2 weeks since I put my house on the market. I am no longer startled by the sight of the For Sale sign in my front yard when driving home each night.

2. Within days of listing my house, I started receiving mail from real estate attorneys and moving companies. They must have some sort of auto-notify thing set up on the MLS.

3. Keeping things spotless every day is a pain. I am not a neat person. I used to think that maybe this process would teach us good habits that would continue in the new place. Maybe we would become neat freaks! Now I think the process will just make me messier when I can finally relax and not worry about strangers walking around my house.

4. Many of my favorite books are packed up in boxes in the garage, in our attempt to declutter before putting the house on the market. The good news is, it'll seem like getting a whole bunch of new books once we finally move and unpack. The bad news is, I miss my books!

5. Lots of people have stopped and picked up flyers from the little box out front. The people driving by in cars are more likely to be really potential buyers. The people on foot probably already live in the neighborhood. At any rate, it is really hard not to stare out the window at the people picking up the flyers!

6. Mother's Day is not a busy day in the real estate world. Dratted mothers! Distracting from the sale of my house!

7. I was never terribly concerned when other people's dogs pooped in my front yard. Now that I must keep it clean, I find it annoying! Pick up after your dogs, people! I pick up after mine!

8. It is rather creepy to think about total strangers walking around my house and making comments. I wish I could listen in on what they're saying! Perhaps I should enlist the neighbor kids to hang around the yard and spy on the potential buyers as they are leaving.

9. We are supposed to have our first open house this Sunday. I hope the weather is good, because we need to gather up the dogs and make ourselves scarce for the afternoon. We might go hiking in Starved Rock.

10. It has only been two weeks. I realize these things take time. That realization has not transformed me into a patient person. Sigh.