The real-estate boom seems to be continuing judging by all the for sale/sold signs around the region.
If you’ve ever sold a house, you were likely taken through the exercise of making the property most attractive to a potential buyer.
Real-estate sites recommend many of the same strategies and basically it's all about first impressions.
1. Curbside appeal — clean up the exterior of the house. Get rid of outdoor clutter like recycling buckets, mow the lawn, trim the hedges.
2. Declutter the interior. Get rid of excess furniture (especially oversized stuff), give the walls a fresh coat of paint, make repairs that need to be done.
3. De-personalize your home. People are supposed to be able to envision themselves in the space not be distracted by your personal photographs, books or other collections.
4. Spruce things up. Put a neutral coat of paint on the walls. Clean the appliances. Deep clean the carpets.
There are also those little tricks to make it psychologically pleasing.
* Make a batch of cookies so the memories of grandma’s house wafts through the air. Maybe a nice air freshener.
* Low music.
* Soft lighting.
* Curtains open to make the space seem bright and open.
Here was my thinking on all of this, though.
If I did all of those improvements on my own home then I wouldn’t even want to sell.
That got me thinking about why we don’t do these improvements, repairs or changes for ourselves? Maybe it's partially the idea we need to save for a rainy day.
I am going to bet we all think about making changes a lot, but talk ourselves out of it for a myriad of reasons. I know I have decided either it will be too much work, or too expensive or I don’t know a good repairperson.
Being home so much more in the past couple of years has had us making lists of things that need to be fixed or cleaned. So, why don’t we?
I’ve watched enough Dr. Phil over my time to know it may be because we don’t deserve it.
Everything basically comes back to self-esteem, doesn’t it? I would make all those improvements for someone else, but not just for myself.
It brought me back to childhood days when there was a room in the house expressly for company. I think a lot of people had that. Call it the parlour, the formal dining room, the guest bathroom — it was the room that those who lived there rarely got to enjoy. It had to be kept pristine for people who actually mattered.
I don’t think that was meant as a slight against the family. It was more likely moms just wanted one decent room that remained absent crumbs and fingerprints. Completely understandable. Still, does it maybe send the message that we are not all worthy?
I do it all the time. I have good towels, good dishes, fresh sheets — all unused and awaiting fancy company.
If visitors are showing up, I buy better food. I buy off the reduced produce section or the day old bread shelf for myself but would never serve that to others.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with offering our best to our friends to show we value them, but shouldn’t we be valuing ourselves, too?
I have brand new clothes I haven’t worn since COVID started because I haven’t been anywhere nice to wear them. It's been a couple of years, so they are likely out of date or don’t fit by now. So, I saved them for what and for whom?
I am trying to do better at celebrating a regular day in special ways. The world has changed. People we loved died. Company stopped coming.
Time to clean up our own corner of the world. Wear the swanky outfit. Order in some delicious food. Serve it on the good china.
Save it for a rainy day? I have news for us all — it's pouring.
