I'm sitting here at 9:22pm local and don't have nearly as much done in my first day of prepping my house for sale ....but I still could, as I said 'plant' the For Sale sign in the front yard by 5pm Sunday. I did get a lot done even with my late start after my Internet addiction rearing it's ugly head ... as I spent the morning drinking coffee, reading blogs, facebook groups and looking at RV sites ... before I knew it, it was past 12:30pm and I am WAAAAAYYYYY behind my planned schedule.
I had a major rally.
Mowed, trimmed the yard, cleared my gutters again ... which I was planning to do on Sunday but when I checked the weather forecast it looked like possible rain on Sunday. In Indiana they say if you don't like the weather just wait, because it will change within hours and now it shows that Sunday should be a clear and warm day. Still the yard work is finished and that is another reason I want to live on wheels with no mowing, weed eating etc.
So, I moved my plans and reversed the days for my list. While cleaning out some closets (more clothes to goodwill) and some nooks and other spaces that are not cleaned on a normal basis ... I found my first problem that MAY prevent the sign being planted in the yard tomorrow.....drum roll "homeowners" ......and that first problem is????
1. The floor that the water heater sits on is damp ... not wet ... damp!!
So I track through my organized files and see the receipt that shows the water heater was replaced recently IT SEEMS but after subtracting 2013 - the year of replacement = more years than I remembered and I need a new water heater.
I shut the door hoping the issue goes away and I move to the next item on my list ... cleaning the walls. This is where my 2nd problem raised it's ugly head ... drum roll "homeowners" ... and that second problem is???
2. Each of my rooms has their own heater switch for baseboard heating and in my bedroom for some reason TODAY....TODAY....WHY TODAY ??? The baseboard heat kicks on FOR NO REASON!!!! while I am mowing outside, so when I enter the house I feel it's about 100 degrees inside the bedroom and that heat is spreading like a forest fire through my house. It is hot, it's really hot. The hounds are panting, drooling, water dishes are empty and they want outside....they are smart even with their sagging eye lids and long ears ... they still know when things are not good.
So I turn off the circuit breaker to the baseboard heater and wall switch. Of course since my house was built in 1975, I doubt that same wall switch can be found and I will find out Monday when I call the local Plumbing and Electrical shop downtown on the square. They know this house better than I do. I have been here 16 years but they tell me they installed the original equipment in 1975. So there may be a chance for a switch replacement.
The Amish built this house in 1975 ... it is strong as a Clydesdale horse, not a sound during high wind storms but I swear they day they were running the wiring in this house .. they had to be drinking at lunch and were drunk because nothing makes sense when finding which circuit breaker goes to which rooms and outlets. This is not a new revelation, I realized the confusion years ago but it's a reminder the times you are trying to match the right circuit breaker with that room/outlet.
So, that's my OFFICIAL first day of prepping my house for sale.
I am glad I didn't start early in the morning and then figure all of this out, then the day would be a waste ... (laughing) ... after all, I got all my blogs read, RV facebook groups, RV sites that sell sell sell and a few emails....plus some great coffee.
So the question is ... do I go ahead and 'plant' the For Sale sign in the yard tomorrow as scheduled? Remember I am doing this different than most. After I shampoo the carpet tomorrow, this place is nice enough to show ... as long as they don't ask to see the water heater .... LOL.
After all my plan has always been, even last fall, was to advertise for selling while I lived here and also did regular maintenance or improvements as if I would stay here ... except the floors. I will let the buyer decide what they want to put in....as per the advice of a friend that is a real estate agent.
So that is my fun for today. I hope and feel optimistic I will get an earlier start tomorrow morning on my carpet shampooing and clearing my tables, desks of all my books and magazines that I don't read.
Here is one of the main reasons I decided to 'plant the For Sale sign in the yard before everything is perfect .... I am the type of person where it will never be perfect enough in my mind. There will always be something that needs cleaned, changed or improved on before I would put the sign out front ... understand???
So I know it's good enough to sell as is, I've been told that by friends ... so the sign is going out.
I can use issue #2 as a prime example ... IF they cannot find the same replacement for that one wall thermostat switch due to the age .... MOST LIKELY, I will replace all the other wall thermostat switches so they all match. That is just the way "I'm wired" so to speak.
Suggestions are welcomed from all ... except that "anonymous" commenter today on a different post. :)