Preparing to Sell: Living Areas (Part 3)

You can read: 

Part One here

Part Two here

We've covered the exterior, kitchens, and baths, today we are moving on to living areas in the home. We began by evaluating our decor in our main living areas. I took away many of our personal items like family photos and replaced them with more neutral art. 

I also worked at simplifying the decor. In our living room that meant packing up much of what was in our hutch and replacing it with simple groupings of objects. While I kept some toys in the living area, I pared them down and made sure they could be neatly packed away. Also, before showings I tuck away our large baby equipment, like playmats and bouncy seats.

We also took away extra furniture and stored it for the time being in order to make the walk ways clear and the areas less crowded.

When it came to my work area and the kids' toy area downstairs, we did lots of organizing. We love our Ikea shelving because it keeps the toys neatly tucked away when not in use. Since my work area is downstairs, I didn't feel the need to pack much away, I just made sure that it stays neat and organized.

kiki b omi designs: Moving Sale

In less than two weeks we will be relocating our home! A scary and exciting thought. I will be closing my Etsy store for a few weeks in order to focus on the move. BUT, before I close the store, I wanted to offer you a little gift! How does 25% off all listed items in my shop sound?!! This includes all pre-made items and garage sale items that are currently listed. (Custom orders are excluded.) Simply enter the coupon code MOVE25 at checkout. I will lump your purchases together in one shipment and refund extra shipping charges. And if you are local, I will be happy to work out a delivery for you and will refund all shipping costs. This sale is valid through August 6 after which time my shop will be going on vacation for a few weeks. Thanks!

Preparing to Sell: The Kitchen and Baths (Part 2)

You can read part one here.

We covered the exterior in part one, and now we will move on to the interior. Lets start with the kitchen and baths. 

Since we have an open floor plan, getting our kitchen ready to show was huge. First I hit up the counters. All extra clutter had to go. Only a few items remained on the counters and nothing was left on top of the fridge. 

Remember that clutter distracts from the house and can make even the biggest house seem small and cramped. So, while I usually am the queen of chotchkies, I pared it down where I could. I wiped the doors on all of the cupboards, and tidied up the inside of the cupboards and drawers.

I cleaned off the counters in the baths as well. I made sure that we had our newer towels out along with nice shower curtains and a few small pieces of art. When we have someone coming to look at the house, I put away toothbrushes, potty chairs, and step stools. 

Preparing To Sell: Exterior (Part One)

Read part Two here.

As promised, this week I have prepared a few posts on what we all did in our home as we got ready to sell. I am going to break this into a few parts so that the post doesn't overwhelm you, like the thought of moving can. Is it going to be work? Yes! Is it doable? You bet! We are living proof that you can get your house in tip-top listing shape even with three young children. And I am pretty sure we escaped with our sanity. (Well, I can't really say that as we haven't sold the house at the time of writing. But we did get it ready to sell!)

Part one is going to cover what you need to do with the exterior. As with every part of your home, you will want to asses with a critical eye the look of your property. In our case we decided there were two main areas to work on. The front flower bed and the deck. As I mention in this post, we had wild flowers growing in the front of our house. While I loved the variety and the look, I knew that it wouldn't be for every buyer. We decided to take the wild flowers out and replace them with a few plants and cedar mulch. Neat, tidy, and inviting.

We also decided that the deck needed to be re-stained. While this was a bit of a time consuming project, it really made the deck look fresh and new.

You will also want to make sure that your grass is well watered and trimmed. Clear away any clutter in the yard. Touch up any paint that you have in the exterior as well. The outside of your home is the first thing potential buyers will see, so don't overlook the curb appeal.

House Staging

Ok peeps, I am going to be honest with you. Getting ready to sell a house is no joke. I knew it would be work, but wowza, is it WORK! That being said, all of our hard work is pretty much done and we have a sharp looking house for someone to buy. With every load we hauled to storage, donated, or sold our house became less and less cluttered. And I am doing exactly what I always said I didn't want to do, making our house perfect so that we can sell it. Too bad you need the motivation of the world looking at your home to get it looking how you have always wanted it to look. The real estate photographer came through yesterday and once he left I snapped a few pictures of my own. Here is our house today, the cleanest and neatest it may ever have been! (I mean our house always looks this good!)

I will come back next week to tell you a little bit about what we did in each space to get it ready for selling.

Shortcake: Five Months Old

July 13th marked Shortcake's 5 month birthday. He is still as happy a guy as ever, although he is much less content to just sit in favor of trying to get at things and contort himself into all sorts of odd positions.

This month we tried some cereal for the first time. He followed right in his sisters' footsteps and happily ate it all. He usually eats once a night and will wake once in a while for a pacifier insertion.

A record was set right around his five month mark with a 12 hour stretch of sleep. He is up to 18 pounds and is wearing a size three diaper and more nine month clothes. He is getting better and and better at his eye-hand coordination with toys and his pacifier. So fun to watch him grow and develop.

And Go . . .

Let the virtual rummage begin. All listings are live and ready for you to score great deals in my Etsy shop under the rummage sale section. 

kiki b omi Virtual Rummage Sale

I have been going through every last item in this house in an effort to slim down for the move. This purging includes all of my craft and sewing items. I have donated some, kept some, and some I want to share with you! I am going to try my hand at a Virtual Rummage Sale. I will be including fabric (yardage and scrap grab bags), crafting supplies, and also discontinued kiki b omi products. All items will be listed in my Etsy shop under the Rummage Sale section. The sale will go live at 10 am on Thursday, July 10. I have estimated shipping costs listed, however if your shipping costs are less than what I have listed, I will refund the difference. Also, if you are local and would like to save in shipping costs, we can arrange for a pick-up.

Happy Independence Day!

Ballers

Cream wanted to shoot some hoops when we were visiting my in-laws over Father's Day weekend.

Mr. Cherry took her up on her challenge.

 I can see lots of father/daughter shoot outs in these two's future.

Curb Appeal

After! (Cute little red head not included!)

About a week ago Mr. Cherry accepted a new job in a new state. That means in the next month or so we hope to list our current home and buy a new one in our new location. We are thanking the Lord that the job comes with packing and moving covered. (All of you who have packed and moved a home with small children, I don't know how you did it!) So these weeks find us purging and storing and staging. We started with a little landscape re-do in the front of the house. A few years ago we planted a small wild flower bed by our front steps and while I loved watching the flowers come up, we decided that a neater landscaped bed might be better for sale purposes.

Before

We pulled out all of the flowers that were coming up. (This part was kind of sad since they had just started to bloom.) Then we put in some plants we purchased at Menards. After the plants were in, we added some cedar mulch to the top. We also put up our planters and added in some chairs. (If I have time, I might try to make a pillow for the chair.) I love how it turned out! Lets hope a new home buyer does as well.

Nice and clean!