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Original poster

My house is a pit and I need to move. Help!

30 replies

Thewolvesarerunningagain · 20/01/2023 21:47

I'm hoping to put our house on the market in spring with a view to buying somewhere easier to maintain. Our house is a Victorian semi, 4 double bedrooms, big garden, convenient location. When we bought it I'd had reason to believe that we were going to have some cash to renovate but that fell through. I have 2 DCs, dog, cats etc, a DH who is in poor health, a full time job and zero family to help. I'm done with it. The house is a giant millstone and I spend pretty much my whole weekend getting it back to the state it was in at the end of last weekend. Turning into an utter harridon with the kids about mess has made us unhappy and had no appreciable impact on the house. Routine maintenance isn't getting done and anything more ambitious is a joke. I want to live somewhere that doesn't take all my free time to tend. Given we'd be effectively downsizing this should be doable. The problem is this. Given I can't manage to keep up with the house as things stand, and I really can't expect any actually helpful help from DCs/DH, how can I get and more importantly keep it in a viewable condition? The last house I sold was before DCs and I was able to do a one off deep clean and then just not make a mess. I don't have the time to redo a deep clean every time we get a viewing. Can anyone recommend a solution or am I doomed?

OP posts:
Greensleevevssnotnose · 20/01/2023 21:49

Get a home stager and do one open house and pray it sells.

TeeBee · 20/01/2023 21:49

Do an open day instead. One big clean, boot the family out for the day, let the estate agents book a whole day of viewings.

Frumpymumma · 20/01/2023 21:50

Less clutter helps
Anything rarely or not used get rid

How old are dcs. If over 2 they can help pack toys away at night. Ok so with lot s of guidance but still they learn

Wash load daily.
Each eve whip round 1 room. Pick up any thing that shouldn't be there. Anything into the bin etc

Dont put off a small job that takes a few mins as all them ' few min' jobs become houra at a weekend

Frumpymumma · 20/01/2023 21:51

Sorry im delerious im sure i read how to keep on top of it.
Excuse my mumble above

rangagirl · 20/01/2023 21:54

I don't know if this will be helpful... but you can probably relax a little bit.

If you actually mean mess - as in toys everywhere and the like - and not filth - dog poo everywhere, food crumbs everywhere, etc - then it may not be such a big deal.

Plenty of people do not even bother to clean up their house before a viewing even when they have the money or time to do so in the first place! So have a big spring clean, then get everyone in the family on board with putting in effort to keep things clean. There may still be signs it's lived in mess around, but as long as it's CLEAN, it may not be a problem.

Good luck with the sale. I hope you sell quickly and get a great price... and then a new home which is easier to maintain. :)

WaddleAway · 20/01/2023 21:55

First of all, a massive declutter. Then an open morning rather than ongoing viewings.
How old are the kids?

StrawberryMuffins · 20/01/2023 22:06

Big stuff - the open house is a great idea. Pay for a deep clean.

Little details - we cleared a stashing place in every room. Clear a kitchen cupboard, put an empty box under each bed, find a drawer or basket in the living room. Quick clear up for viewings means stashing clutter in these places or into a washing basket that goes in the cupboard or even the car boot. For early evening viewing, maybe take very young children to soft play and give them dinner there.

DelurkingAJ · 20/01/2023 22:10

We moved about a third of our belongings into the loft/garage along with a fair bit of furniture. We had an open morning and amazingly sold that day (albeit this was 9 months ago). So don’t despair.

Only downside is that we packed away some things I only use very occasionally and then had to open almost every box to find again….

ReallyShouldBeDoingSomethingElse · 20/01/2023 22:20

I'd identify a couple of weekends to do a declutter and be absolutely ruthless in this.

Then tidy as best you can, pay company to deep clean, then have photos taken, Then when your house goes on the market, arrange with the agent that you'll have a day (or weekend) of 'open house' for viewings and that's it.

tappinginto2023 · 20/01/2023 22:41

Are you downsizing?
Then start the de-clutter now before you put the house up for sale in the spring.

Be ruthless, get the whole family involved.

Original poster
Thewolvesarerunningagain · 20/01/2023 22:45

Decluttering it is! Thank you all for your ideas, it's great to get some perspective as well! The house is untidy and a bit scrotty in place we E had the hall repapered and then our eldest emotionally needy cat scratched up a huge section. I could not keep on top of the gardening while I was recovering from some surgery this summer and the decking fell through. I'd been doing the organised mum bootcamp before Christmas trying to get it sorted but while I was doing a deep clean on one room, the rest of the house would slide.

So declutter, deep clean, open house, pack litter monsters off with DH on the day. Will an estate agent be on board with this do you think? Post open day I'd struggle to get it re-presentable with less than a couple of day's notice as my work is long hours. I guess this seems like a very entitled problem to have and it probably is. I'm just so run ragged with it and embarrassed about the state of the place. I want a house I can invite friends to without feeling like I have to apologise all the time!

OP posts:
DitzyBluebells · 20/01/2023 23:32

Come to the Fledgeling thread in housekeeping forum, you need FlyLady, the whole house gets a going over each week and as it gets cleaner and less cluttered you start doing the deep cleaning jobs. The system teaches you routines that fit into your everyday life so the chores get done without becoming this big thing for you to fit in

Believeitornot · 20/01/2023 23:35

You can declutter and put stuff in storage. We did that when selling our house with dcs. Putting stuff in storage helped massively.

we had an open day where we found a seller quickly then it was easy to tidy for follow up visits.

EezyOozy · 20/01/2023 23:35

We went on holiday , leaving the place clean and tidy , and gave the EA the keys. We only went away for 5 nights and the place was sold before we got back.

Whatevergetsyouthroughthenight · 20/01/2023 23:38

Can you afford a cleaner until it sells?

Blueeyedgirl21 · 20/01/2023 23:40

How old are your kids. If over about 7 they can be helping . So what if ‘turning into a Harridon’ makes them unhappy. You’ll be stuck with teens who basically think you are their maid.

kids can tidy their rooms and their toys. Make beds. Help you put pots and laundry away at the least. Can you scrape together £150 to get someone in to deep clean. DH take kids to a play center and get it done?

StrawberryMuffins · 20/01/2023 23:45

Probably stating the obvious but pricing it to sell will make a huge difference to how long you are dealing with viewings.

I think who does the viewings is regional. Estate agent handling them all and owner staying away is mainstream in our area (down south). You don't sound entitled at all, it sounds very difficult and you're being very sensible. Personally I wouldn't worry too much about DIY. Finish any obviously started projects eg a half tiled floor, but don't start anything new.

Blueeyedgirl21 · 20/01/2023 23:46

@EezyOozy I like your style. Nicely done. Life goals some may say

DinosaurOfFire · 20/01/2023 23:47

DitzyBluebells · 20/01/2023 23:32

Come to the Fledgeling thread in housekeeping forum, you need FlyLady, the whole house gets a going over each week and as it gets cleaner and less cluttered you start doing the deep cleaning jobs. The system teaches you routines that fit into your everyday life so the chores get done without becoming this big thing for you to fit in

I agree with DitzyBluebells, Flylady is the answer here. She also does crisis cleaning checklists. I also like A Slob Comes Clean, her methods are effective too, I use a sort of hybrid between the two. She also has crisis type cleaning lists on her blog, and a podcast that is motivating to listen to while sorting things!

NoSquirrels · 20/01/2023 23:56

How old are the DC? Not bribable age (late primary and above)? If they are bribable get them onside for decluttering and might DH help with listing things like toys on FB? Give them the cash they make.

Do you have a ruthless friend or relative who’d help one weekend? Send DH and DC to stay elsewhere (family? cheap hotel weekend trip to mates?) and do a whole weekend of work.

Also, don’t stress too much. Priced right, and in good-enough repair (maybe get someone to remove the decking?) it will sell.

blondein · 21/01/2023 10:51

If you're local to me I'd do it for you (I'm OCD, legitimately. This would be enjoyable for me)

If not, boxes are your friend. Fill them with the crap and stash them outside if you have to

KangarooKenny · 21/01/2023 11:21

You can get the agent to show people round so that you don’t have to be embarrassed.
And a massive declutter. How about ordering a skip for a weekend so you have to do it ?

SuffolkUnicorn · 21/01/2023 11:25

Same 😂

SuffolkUnicorn · 21/01/2023 11:26

Love cleaning if you’re in Suffolk I’ll hep

Randobelia · 21/01/2023 11:29

Look at A slob comes clean, something like 14 days to open your house to guests, would be really helpful i think. Remember, visible areas first, don't get side tracked by sorting out the spare room wardrobe. She breaks everything down into manageable steps and is very easy to understand.

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