If it’s true that cleanliness is next to Godliness, then selling our house is practically turning us into saints. Not that we weren’t teetering on clean freak status before, but I’ve always considered myself more tidy than clean (i.e. clutter’s a no-no, but the tub can go unscrubbed a little longer than I’d like to admit to my mom). But now that we’ve got strangers touring the place it has kicked us into cleaning hyper drive – which I should note is much needed considering that having a newborn all but halted it for a good while this summer.
Yes, that’s me breaking out the ladder to give a good wash to the outside of our sunroom sliders. Goodbye grime, hello sold house! Okay, maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, but here’s hoping my ladder hopping efforts don’t go unnoticed.
I’ll spare you photos of our other cleaning adventures (polishing all of the stainless steel fixtures, wiping down all of the kitchen cabinets, vacuuming, vacuuming, and more vacuuming…) and instead will subject you to photos of some of the curb appeal-ization that’s been going down ’round here. For example, got mulch?
It took me three separate trips to Lowe’s to get enough of it to spruce up our plant beds (I don’t normally go for the artificial color-boosted mulch, but it was on sale for the same price as the regular stuff and I figured this was one instance where “long lasting color” could do me some good). At least by the end of the day we had a crisper looking yard staring back at us.
Speaking of the yard, I’ve also been in the process of re-growing grass in some spots that the hot weather killed this summer. It’s been going surprisingly well – especially considering that our county is on emergency water restriction due to a long sweltering summer. Now I’m just crossing my fingers that mowing over it as much as I’ve had to (to keep that “maintained yard” look that buyers like) doesn’t harm those wee sprouts too much. Note: we just seeded and waited for rain- no sprinkler or fertilizer usage was required. Thankfully we’ve had our fair share of showers in the past three weeks and we’ve learned that grass really wants to grow in bare dirt. So rain plus grass seed usually equals luck.
And when I’m not mowing, I can usually be found blowing the driveway clear of acorns. We’re in the middle of our annual bombardment, courtesy of the oak trees surrounding our house, so our driveway gets littered with ’em quite quickly. Just check out the collection I’m working on at the driveway’s back corner where everything gets blown. Methinks the squirrels should hoist me over their shoulders and sing “For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow” for this service to them:
As much as keeping the house in ready-for-a-showing shape is exhausting, we have to admit that it is nice to live in an über-tidy house almost 24/7. And we’ve got our fingers crossed that the extra effort will pay off soon when it comes to wooing a buyer. Ok, off to remake the bed…
John, the lawn is looking great! I read your post on natural lawn care a while back and i’ve been obsessed with the idea ever since! I am in the process of tryyyyyyying to convince my husband to ditch his beloved fertilizers and weed killers, but i’m failing miserably. Any tips for appealing to my lawn-product junkie? haha! Thanks
Jenn
Hey Jenn,
Patience is definitely the key. The book that I’ve been referencing drives home the fact that it might take your lawn two or three years to fully kick the drug habit (and of course it calls for more work like weeding by hand as opposed to by chemical). So maybe ask him to try it for a year or so (and offer to pitch in and pull weeds/mow/etc as well to help) and then have an agreement that if he’s not 100% happy then he’ll have your blessing to go back to his old ways. I know us guys aren’t very patient people, but if you can convince him to give it a shot he might just love it in the end. I certainly appreciate the simplicity and the whole hard-work-pays-off thing.
-John
I too am more of a neat freak than a clean freak. It’s a lot easier.
I do think the squirrels love you for it. I picked up some nuts (don’t know exactly what they are) and used them for some decorating. Then I put the rest outside and used them for fall/Halloween decorations. We went away for the weekend and came back to find every last one was gone. I’m sure the squirrels loved it. I pictured a little assembly line of squirrels passing unts down the line until they were gone and now they’re having a feast.
http://ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com/2010/10/15/were-nutty-for-fall/
After a crazy summer, we are getting around to deep cleaning our home. Luckily we keep everything picked up so it looks clean to guests, but I know there are nests of dust bunnies that need to be evicted! Any quick tips to get things extra sparkly?
We are in the process of trying to sell our house FSBO also. And I was wondering if you guys have given any thought to what percentage you would be willing to give a realtor that wanted to show your house to their client as a one-show.
Hey Alyssa,
It’s pretty standard around here to offer 3% to any buyers agent who brings their client to the house if that person ends up making an offer, so we’re willing to work with buyers agents and offer that 3% commission if they help us sell our house. However we’ve been pleased to find that many house hunters have called us on their own accord and asked to see the house as well, in which case we wouldn’t need to pay any commission (and could even negotiate a lower asking price due to saving that money on a realtor). We’ll keep you posted…
xo,
s
Can we have your acorns? We’re doing a fall art project and need acorns and pine cones. You should have seen us last week out on a walk “stealing” pine cones from from neighbors trees. We didn’t find any acorns though :(
Haha, you’re welcome to come by and fight the squirrels for them!
xo,
s
When my mom sold her house a few years ago she went through the whole “my house has to be spotless all the time because you never know when your next showing will be” phase. Heaven forbid if there was a glass left in the sink or a pair of shoes kicked off by the front door. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, all that neurotic (sp??) cleaning became a habit and her home continues to be spotless. Just makes me want to say UGH. With a 4 month old at home, who has the time to scrub the baseboards with a toothbrush?!?!
I feel for you on the acorns. Our cars get bombared by them in their assigned spots at our condo. Then they get crushed and tracked in. I hate acorns. I can’t blow our spots ecause we have no where to store a blower. UGh.
“Methinks the squirrels should hoist me over their shoulders and sing “For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow” for this service to them.”
This literally made me laugh out loud! Thanks!
Remember when we used to collect acorns when we were little simply because it was the cool thing to do?
…and now we get frustrated by them being all over the place. How things change as you get older. :)
we’re definitely more clean freaks than clutter freaks. we love our clutter. your place is looking super. have you had many viewings yet? is it weird having strangers march through your house appreciatively?
Hey FD,
It’s kind of nerve-racking in that we-hope-they-love it sense, but we have faith that the right people will find our house and it’ll be love at first sight, just like it was for us! Here’s hoping…
xo,
s
We’re having the hardest time trying to get grass to grow in our front yard. We had to tear it up because of MAJOR plumbing issues. Since the yard has a steep slope towards the street, all of our grass seeds seem to just roll down the hill when we water. Any suggestions on how to keep them in place? I know you don’t have this same problem but I figured y’all might know a little somthin about this DIY lawn stuff.
Here’s a few pics at what our terrible lawn looks like
http://bontempsbeignet.blogspot.com/2010/04/hall-bath-nightmare.html
PS: I’ve seen a TON of crafts lately that use acorns. Y’all are sitting on a craft gold mine!
Hey Liz,
Maybe try tossing down some straw to keep it in place? They also sell seed that comes in a roll (it’s kind of worked in with a roll of straw and top soil and stuff to keep it in place and nourish it) so you could grab that and roll it out on the slope and it’ll hopefully stay put. Good luck!
xo,
s
A man and his mulch, it’s a beautiful thing.
Kind of like a dog and his (owner’s) bed, eh?
The dark color of that mulch and the greeness of the lawn are really big things. As people going through the first-time home buyer process right now, I can’t tell you how much of a good first impression that makes when you see a well manicured lawn/landscape.
And when we were younger, we used to gather all the acorns that fell and try to pelt each other with them. Now they’re just a nusance. Like Mike (above) said, how time’s have changed.
I think even if your house wasn’t super tidy and clean it would still sell and sell quick. Come on…it’s the house featured on YHL!
Unfortunately, my living room mantel and built-ins get dusted approximately four times a year: every time I change out the decor for the season! It just never really looks dusty, so it tends to get ignored. So I hear ya with the neater-more-than-cleaner habit!
Acorns = vase filler, and I sure wish I lived nearby so you could save them up for me! :)
Look at all of those acrons! We took a hike yesterday through a state park and my daughter collected a handful of acorns because she’s decided that someone needs to feed the squirrels them.
The mulch looks great!
Was it easy to clean your windows? We spent a good part of yesterday trying to get our backyard sliders into shape and after a roll of paper towels and a bottle of windex they are still a tad streaky. Do you have any tips? (Well besides “don’t wait so long in between cleanings”…ha, ha)
Hey Megan,
I used a microfiber cloth and a bottle of Method glass cleaner. Seemed to do the trick!
-John
Fingers crossed!
Looks great, and that’s a lot of work for one weekend! Looks like you had nice weather though – lucky. We are getting ready for our first snow out here!
Do you ever wish you had a truck (to limit the trips to Lowes, or for getting furniture/lumber)? I have a Subaru Forester and while I like it just fine 90% of the time, when I need to get something big I really wish for a truck.
Hey Sara,
Sure, we occasionally wish for a larger vehicle, but for the most part we love that we have a small fuel efficient car (just one for the two of us) which saves us a bundle on everything from gas to insurance. We do occasionally borrow John’s sister’s Ford Explorer when we need something a bit roomier, but for the most part we’re fine doing a few trips (like the mulch). We’re cheap-os so a little extra work to save money is cool with us.
xo,
s
I’m surprised my husband didn’t mention this since he lifed 8 million bags of it, but we used that same mulch! It was the only one we saw that was a nice dark brown. I don’t even want to admit how many trips it took us to do ours. And it left us with a stinky car…
I always thought you guys were clean freaks, but I’m glad to hear you’re more like us – keeping things neat and uncluttered as opposed to super clean and spotless.
I feel like I’m always loading and unloading dishes, putting away dog toys, and keeping clutter at bay – many times without even thinking about it. The exterior is kept neat and tidy by picking up fallen branches, sweeping walks and – this time of year – leaf management(blowing, raking etc.)
It’s mainly the dog hair and dust bunnies I can’t keep up with.
Those acorns wouldn’t stand a chance in our neighborhood. The squirrels snatch them so fast all we ever see are the discarded tops!
Amanda — great idea! I’m being bombarded as well (acorns hitting the skylight directly over our bed have earned the dubious distinction “death from above.” Seriously, it’s woken us up in the dead of night.) and definitely need something profitable to do with the little buggers.
Love your blog and love the house.
Just a religious tidbit: Sainthood is not a step to being a deity. In Catholicism, any person in heaven is a saint. The church distinguishes between “canonized saints” and the “communion of saints” because canonized saints are individuals whose presence in paradise has been confirmed and the communion of saints means everyone there (catholics, noncatholics, etc.).
I know it can seem confusing to other faiths, but there is enough misinformation about Catholicism out there so I didn’t want to let this one go.
I doubt you’ll publish this, but just wanted to send you an fyi anyway!
Good luck!
Of course we’ll publish it! Thanks for the clarification!
xo,
s
I don’t know what I laughed at more, that video of Burger or your comment about the squirrels hoisting you over their head and chanting “for he’s a jolly good fellow”…. LOL!! I’ve had such a bad weekend with my aunt having a stroke and my boyfriend having a minor heart attack – I really needed a laugh. Thank you… and good job on the house cleaning.
~Cat
Did you guys know you’re on Brooklyn Limestone today? And something to do with Nate Berkus?! If I read Mrs. Limestone’s post properly, it seems you are going to be on the show…wow!
http://www.brooklynlimestone.com/2010/10/our-brush-with-fame.html
Yes! We can’t wait to share more details in a few hours! It pretty much made our year.
xo,
s
The house is looking great, good luck with selling!
FYI–Mrs. Limestone posted a photo of you two backstage at the Nate Berkus show…when do we get to hear about this?!?
Found this fun craft for using up acorns and thought you might enjoy it as well! http://www.dana-made-it.com/2008/07/tutorial-acorn-wreath.html
Home looks great. Any nibbles? Susan
Thanks Susan! We’ve had a few showings and received some more calls recently (John just got off the phone with someone this morning). We’ll definitely keep you posted if and when we get an offer! And then we’ll share everything that we did to accomplish the whole For Sale By Owner thing- fingers crossed…
xo,
s
that must be exhausting! i don’t know about burger, but keeping doggie slime off the windows is a full time job in our house. good luck!
Holy acorns, Batman!
In other news…… Nate Berkus! Sooooooo excited to see/hear about that!
@Megan–I hesitated writing anything b/c I don’t want to be one of those self-promoters, but when I know of a great product that is just what you seem to be looking for, it’s hard not to share!
Norwex is a chemical-free, enviro friendly cleaning brand. One of the microfiber cloths they make is weaved especially for cleaning glass and it leaves my (very dirty) windows streak-free every time. Even kids can do it. And the best part? No windex needed—you just use water and the cloth! The cloth is antibacterial too, so you don’t have to wash it between every use (just rinse and hang).
I sell the Norwex product line as an independent consultant, so you can check out my blog if you want. Or norwex.com for the company site. The cloth I was talking about is called the Polishing/Window Cloth. Hope it helps and isn’t too obnoxious that I said something!
saw the window washing and thought i would share a tip for saving some cash & cut down on the chemicals at the same time. club soda in a spray bottle (fizzy or no fiz doesn’t matter) makes an amazing window cleaner and is very kid/pet/plant/nose friendly! and it works to shine up many other surfaces too. i do a lot of homemade cleaners and that one is probably my favorite cuz i hate the smell of window sprays. good luck on the house selling!
Love those recommendations Sarah and Allison! Thanks for sharing!
xo,
s
It IS exhausting keeping the house up and we had such a tough time getting kicked out of the house so often with a little one. Here’s hoping it goes quickly for you!
Where are you moving to? Your house is adorable! I just started reading from a link Marisa from Can I Just Tell You? posted about your gorgeous fall decor.
We’re definitely going to stay here in the Richmond area- love it here!
xo,
s
Sherry, the great midwest should be calling your name – especially with the foreclosures hitting the Michigan area, there’s tons of fixer-uppers out here!
Which brings me to my question – without getting too personal, are you guys looking at things like foreclosures/short sales/bank owned homes, or whatever strikes your fancy?
Hey Brandt,
We’re open to those options, but since we must sell our house to buy another one (thanks to both of us taking a pay cut to blog full time we’re not approved to hold two mortgages) most of those options won’t accept contingency plans (meaning we will have to sell our house before we can make an offer on them, which potentially could leave us homeless for a bit, which isn’t the best scenario). We’ll keep you posted as to how things go for sure!
xo,
s
I know you may have already seen this, but you could make this beautiful wreath with all those lovely acorns. I wish I had acorns around me so that I could make one myself.
http://www.dana-made-it.com/2008/07/tutorial-acorn-wreath.html
What a nice welcome that would be on your front door.
Love it!
xo,
s
Do you guys have any tips for cleaning the space between the window and the screen? Now that the weather is cooling off in Florida, our windows are open a lot more and the grime is grossing me out! THANKS!
All of ours open so we’re able to access both sides of the glass. Hope it helps!
-John
Hey! I think those acorns would look great in a vase (with or without a candle)…especially around Thanksgiving. Maybe you could save some?
It’s possible! We always worry that they could have bugs in them. Maybe freezing them first could help…
xo,
s
All the people who are coming to see your house will really appreciate the efforts you’ve made to spruce things up! When we were looking for a houses I was amazed at how dirty some of the houses were…like stains on carpet, pet hair everywhere, dingy walls, gross dishes in the kitchen sink kinda dirty!
As you said above, I’m sure there is someone out there who will fall in love with your house the way that you did! All it takes is one person!
Oh how I miss the wonders of fall!!! Feel free to mail me your acorns! :)
Freezing those acorns may help. But baking them definitely does the trick! I hope to see them in your thanksgiving decor :) because I sure wish I had them in mine (I’m Canadian, already had our turkey day .. mm yum)
I think the extra effort will pay off! When we were house hunting years ago, we had to choose between several houses and I chose the house that was the cleanest. It showed me that the owners had pride in their house and took good care of it!
Do you have a cleaning system (daily cleaning schedule) or are you just cleaning as you go whatever may need it?
We’re clean as we go people for the most part! You can check out our cleaning category on our Projects page for a ton of details!
xo,
s
I love clean windows. It’s a shame that I’ve only cleaned 3 windows out the 21 windows I have.
Regarding acorns and other gathered from outdoors seeds and nuts–freeze them for a few days before using in craft projects–otherwise you may be surprised by little bugs and other nasties all of the sudden swarming in your house. Not that I have any experience with that
wow, we don’t have acorns, just the caps mainly – we have the biggest population and fattest squirrel population ever! That also means they make holes in the yard because they bury everywhere!
I’ve been dying to make one of my own:
http://www.dana-made-it.com/2008/07/tutorial-acorn-wreath.html
So cute!
xo,
s
I’ve been dying to try that mulch! You’ll have to let us know how it works out for you.
Oh it’s so cool to see pictures of the outside of your house from an angle that we’ve never seen before!
Also, John, I made my bed today & thought of you. I made it because of that post, so thanks. It may or may not get made tomorrow.
::will be searching the internetz for your appearance on the Nate Show!!::
I vote you make an acorn wreath! Your home is looking so great! There’s no way it won’t sell!!