Busy, Busy, Busy!

Starting in February, we were getting some hints that we might be getting the BYU job, so we knew we needed to start working on getting the house ready, in case we needed to sell it. Overall, it was in good condition, but there were quite a few things that we felt should be done to increase the chance of getting it sold. We made a list of things that needed to be done, and it ended up being 3 pages long! We were suddenly VERY overwhelmed. We started with the most important things, which also ended up being the most time-consuming and expensive.

Our front door was the first thing we tackled. It never really closed properly. It let a lot of cold air in, and stuck when you tried to open or close it. We knew that this would be a big problem for buyers because that would be their first impression of the house. New exterior doors are surprisingly expensive to buy and have installed. It ended up being over $500 when all was said and done. It had to be done though, and it looks beautiful (and opens ever so smoothly!). The door came unpainted, so we decided to use the paint sprayer and do some of the other doors that needed it at the same time. Jonathon's dad came up, and they rigged up a system to paint the doors. It took several hours to set up and only about 30 minutes to actually paint. They turned out fantastic though, so it was well worth the effort.

The door set-up during the painting process

 The new front door

The next big undertaking was painting the front railing. Over the years, the paint had peeled off, and it started to rust. Jonathon and his dad used a wire brush attachment to sand the railing. Then we started to paint using cans of spray paint. The fumes were ridiculous, and we went through a whole can of spray paint after only 3 rails. We got really frustrated and decided to see if we could get a professional to just come and get it done. I called around to various companies. Some wouldn't do such a small job, and the one that would said it would be much more expensive ($250) than just doing it ourselves. So, we sucked it up and went to Lowe's for supplies. I bought a good painting mask, lots of plastic drop cloths to cover the house and stairs, and 8 cans of spray paint. Then Jonathon and I got to work. It took about an hour and a half, but it got done!

Inspiration Piece: $60 at Michaels

During the staging process, I tried to depersonalize everything like the "experts" recommended. That meant that there were several walls that needed some new decorations. I didn't want to spend a lot of money, so I got on Pinterest and came up with some cheap projects. I LOVE the way they turned out. The first one was a map made of pallet boards. I saw a similar one at Michaels for $60. There is no way I was going to spend that much, so I found a tutorial on Pinterest and did it myself. The pallet was FREE and provided us with weathered, rough wood that I liked even better than the inspiration piece. Jonathon pried the boards off, and we arranged them into a pattern we liked. Then he nailed them together and added some picture hanging hardware on the back. Then Jonathon helped me "tile print" a world map on tracing paper. I taped all the papers together and started to trace them with a pen. I pushed really hard so that I would get marks through the paper and onto the wood. Then I traced the lines with black permanent marker and painted it a deep red. The whole project cost about $5 and a few hours. It is rustic and old-world in style, and one of my favorite things in my house now. 

Jonathon and I also worked together to build some picture frames out of inexpensive molding. We framed some pictures that I took in Central Park. I had them printed at Staples as engineering prints. They cost $3 each and were large (2 feet x 1.5 feet). The project was fast and inexpensive and really added impact to the rooms we put them in.

Living Room

Guest Bedroom

During the next 6 weeks we also mulched the flowerbed, cleaned the garage, washed all the windows, painted the deck, pruned raspberries, bought new couches off KSL, touched up all the wall paint, decluttered the house, organized closets, took stuff to storage, fixed blinds, rearranged furniture, fixed the tile floor in the master bath, recaulked the shower and sinks, replaced lightbulbs and the dining room chandelier, fixed a hole in the wall, bought a new dishwasher, painted the hallway in the basement, staged all the rooms in the house, and DEEP-CLEANED EVERYTHING!

I'm not gonna lie, it was exhausting! We wanted to get the house on the market the last week of March so that it could be shown the entire week we would be gone for Spring Break. I was hoping (PRAYING!) that if we could have it ready, it would sell while we were gone to California, and I would not have to endure the craziness of trying to keep it clean and show it with 3 messy kids. Unfortunately, that put us on a tight timeline to get everything done. During the last week before we left, Jonathon and I stayed up until 11:30 pm every night working. Deep cleaning took much longer than we had anticipated, and we were really cutting it close. By some miracle, we were able to get everything finished before we left. We literally worked every available hour until the minute we left. The house looked great and was ready for the market.