to wish someone would hurry up and buy our fecking house already!

[Lilmisssunshine7]

Another viewing coming up today (which I know is a good thing - just having a moan) which means another day spent trying to clean and tidy with my toddler 'helping'! I wish it was acceptable to just let people come and view with toys strewn everywhere, clumps of dog fluff prettily decorating the carpet and mini mountains of dirty clothes in the bathroom. Sadly not though.
What is an acceptable level of mess? My mum says I should stop stressing and as long as it's relatively clean, just let 'em come.
But I keep hearing Kirsty and Phil in my head telling me to de-clutter.
I should probably get off my bum and do something.....bah!

I think it does need to be tidy and clean ,sorry .

It'll sell sooner the nicer it looks. Now off you go!

Our house only sold once we moved out

I feel your pain as we're in the same situation, except I have 3 children under 4yrs and its driving me crazy trying the keep the house 'pristine' constantly - I have the fear that the agents will ring up for last minute viewings (which they have done a couple of times!!)

I know that I would judge a house we were viewing if it was a tip, so I should follow the same rule in my head.
Oh god grasshopper, you poor thing. I hate the last minute ones the most, but never want to turn them down even though they send me into a mini meltdown.
I am five months pregnant at the minute, so might pad the bump out a wee bit prior to the viewing so they think 'ah, she prob couldn't get down to clean the bath - we will let her off.' ;-)
I seriously think that our house would stand a better chance of selling if it was empty too offler - I think we just have too much stuff for a teeny tiny 'charming and compact' house.

Honestly don't worry about it too much.

I'm viewing houses at the minute and as long as I can get in the rooms then signs of family life are fine.
There's a big difference between a grubby kitchen / bathroom with your dirty pants hanging around / dishes in the sink and children's toys.

Keep the rooms bright with the windows cracked so it feels fresh and have some smelly sticks* discretely in rooms so there an overall pleasant smell.

*the kind you stick in a glass pot of insence / oil as alternative to candles

it needs to be clean and tidy so it looks spacious and desirable

It's a pain I know - I did it last year with 3 kids and w job (single parent)

I wouldn't like to buy a dirty house - I would think a house that wasn't clean for a viewing wasn't well maintained or cared for and it would reduce any offer I was willing to make

also don't use air freshener - I always suspect that it's masking damp - ditto open windows - always makes me suspicious

also declutter NOW - sort out every room, take stuff to the tip, store things you don't need every day - makes it much much easier to keep clean x

Oh and reasons we haven't offered on any house yet:
Too much work
Garden too small
Needs updating and owner has it on too high
Bedrooms too small
Ugly looking house on a busy road (we were hoping the garden & back of the house would make us love the front)
Extension falling off the back

Some of those who high gloss beauties some were stuck in the 80s / 90s and tired but if not for those issues we may have offered on them. Not because the carpets weren't freshly vacuumed or they toys out

When we sold our house, I had 2 small children and a newborn. I just couldn't cope with tidying up all the time so packed about 50% of our belongings in boxes and put them in the garage. No one could set foot inside the garage because it was so full, but it didn't really matter as everyone can imagine what a garage looks like inside and the house was subsequently clutter free and spacious looking. It is so much easier to tidy 10 toys away instead of 50. We also removed some excess furniture and pictures on the wall of our children to de-personalise the house.

When we were looking at houses to buy, I absolutely rejected houses that looked cluttered with kid's toys and clothes and shoes everywhere. I reasoned that if the house is too small/ not enough storage for the owners, how will my family fit in it?

We viewed one house with mildew all over the bathtub and that didn't bother me one bit because I knew a couple of squirts of mildew remover and it would be gone. Likewise, viewed a house with many, many, many pets and I saw past that because the animals weren't staying and knew I would repaint/ carpet anyway.

Thanks for the feedback.
House has been on the market almost a year now (hence my mardyness about viewings) so I just wish the right buyer would come through our door!

I have got all windows and stable door thrown open to let lots of lovely air and light in, and have managed to make it all reasonably presentable while the little hurricane was napping.

We prob do need to declutter again though - had a good sort out when it first went on the market, but it's amazing how much crap has crept back in over the last year. Fingers crossed today is the one!!

The rental I was in was on the market for 4 months and then got bought. I tidied a bit before viewings but as it wasn't my house and I had nothing invested, I didn't go ALL out.

Of course the floors were clear and vacuumed and the washing up was done but there was also the general evidence of a family. It did not stop the sale....look at other reasons why it's not selling. People can see past a few dishes you know.

Sympathies, I sold our last house whilst pregnant - we moved when I was 6 months pregnant and had an 18 month old, not fun having to run round in a flap cleaning and tidying. We shifted most of our stuff to FIL's whilst trying to sell, and it did make the house feel much more spacious and also made it easier to clean. Really enjoyed living in a more minimalist house, but DH wasn't keen on my suggestion to ditch the stuff we'd been living happily without for months Good luck with today's viewing