Selling the Homestead

Two weeks ago, we listed our home for sale and hoped a buyer would come along, recognize what a fabulous house we have and snatch it up with a quick and wondeful offer. While we have had several showings, and a few repeat showings, no offers have made their way to us. While I'm enjoying the de-cluttered and extremely clean look of our house, I'm getting a little tired of acting like we don't live here. Stashing the menu I keep on the fridge everytime there is a showing, running down to the basement to put the laundry basket that has no permanent home underneath the stairs, maniacally reminding my 6, 3, and 2 year olds to NOT use the good towel in the downstairs bathroom but instead to use the dingy yellow one, making sure we only use our green and yellow towels in the full bathroom so that they match the green and yellow walls (OK, I like that last one.) It's not particularly fun living here right now.

The unexpected upside to all of this? I have become an exceptional housekeeper, one that I didn't know existed inside this skin. I clean both bathrooms, every week. I mop the kitchen, including the laundry room, entry way, and upstairs bathroom, every week. I vacuum upstairs every week and downstairs twice a week. I DUST. I clean the front of my appliances and I wash down the cupboard doors. I do laundry, fold it, and put it away - all in the SAME day. I make beds and keep both my dresser and closet clutter free. I don't know how I do it. My husband, who obviously has the cleaning gene that I do not, actually said to me when I asked him to clean up some toys in the basement, "But the showing isn't for three hours!" At which point I grumbled that I would do it myself. It's like aliens have come and taken over my mind. I don't do this much cleaning in a month, let alone a week. I think my husband secretly loves it. He may never openly admit it, but I'm pretty sure I've turned into the housewife he's always wished I was. I kind of like it, too, except for the hiding of the laundry basket.