40 bags in 40 days

Has anyone else heard about 40 Bags in 40 Days?

It's a great challenge that I stumbled upon over @ White House Black Shutters!  It originally started out as a challenge to de-crapify your home by Ann-Marie and it ran from March 5th to April 19th as part of Lent.

I was late to the game, but thought that it would be a great way to challenge myself while packing for our move to a smaller home later this summer. 

I have been MIA for a few weeks now, but that was to take care of my home to get it sold.  Now that it has sold (and in record time I might add!!)  I need to clear out CRAP because this "new to us" home is about

1000 square feet smaller than our current home.

The first purge took place while I staged our home for sale and we have had one epic yard sale already.

I have challenged myself to clean out at least one drawer or closet or bookshelf everyday and get rid of what we truly don't need.  If I can do this, I should be well prepared and have only what we need to move to the new house!!

This pile of stuff is set for the next yard sale that should be in the next week or two.

On top of all this I have already brought 6 garbage bags full of clothing and shoes to the local thrift store.  And all that didn't sell in the first yard sale went there as well.

We've cleaned out the attic of the garage, the shed, and under the stairs.  Still to go are a second purge of the closets, and the laundry room storage.  McG needs to go through all his stuff in the garage as well.

It amazes me how much stuff we actually have that is just stored away, in case we might need it. 

 Well - NO MORE!!  

If you need inspiration or can't figure out where to start, Ann-Marie provides you with a printable that can help.  REMEMBER - the key is to get started!!

Did you participate in the challenge this year??? 

 I'd love to hear about your success in clearing our your stuff!!

WE SOLD OUR HOUSE!!!

As most of you know, we have been on the hunt for a new home for sometime now.

 On our wish list was a one floor ranch with no basement or stairs.  

Very different from our current home which is a raised ranch with almost 2800 sq ft of living space.

McG and I are not "OLD" per se, but we do know that in the coming years,

 we will be working our way toward retirement. 

 We know first hand how difficult stairs can be,

 because I had so much trouble manoeuvring them after my stem cell transplant.

We wanted to be prepared for the future, 

but at the same time have a home that would be suitable for many years to come.

 We found it just down the street from where we live now.

  McG's sister and her husband currently own the home.

  We have admired it for years, knowing that it was exactly what we were looking for.

We approached them after looking at houses for over a year now, 

letting them know that we would be interested in purchasing it, 

if they ever decided to sell. 

 To our surprise they contacted us a few weeks later to let us know

 that they were ready to make a move to condo and would be willing to work out a deal.

That was amazing news - we worked out a price and what we wanted included in the deal and they began their search for a condo.  

 Fast forward a month or so and they found one and last week we put our house on the market hoping that it wouldn't take too long to sell.

Our home went on the MLS on Wednesday evening - Thursday night we had two showings and a call stating that one of the families wanted to make an offer the next evening.  

We also had another showing on Friday night and those people wanted to put in an offer as well. 

 So, we had a bit of a bidding war.

Both offers were presented.

  However, one of the couples was very eager to get the house and were willing to offer MORE than our original asking price.

  They didn't need to sell a house and had been pre-approved for the mortgage. 

 The only condition they had was that it pass inspection. 

 We've been busy with a yard sale this past weekend and fixing up a few minor items we felt they might concerned about.  

While we wait for the inspection I thought you might like to see the MLS photos that were taken of our current house.

They turned out beautifully and really made the difference in how quickly our home sold.

We will be busy packing as our closing date is August 29th.

  I will definitely miss my yard at this home.  

It is beautiful, but it is also quite a bit of work. 

 I will definitely be doing some gardens at our new home,

 but not to the extent that this one has.

(All photos taken by Windsor Home Tour Inc.)

The kids are bittersweet about the move because this is the house they grew up in and 

where all their memories took place.

McG and I are excited about what the future brings.

This house was all about the kids, but as they are now grown

(our daughter is 24 and our son is 20), it is now time to think about us and our needs

for the future.

We have lots of plans for this new to us home. 

 Plans that will change it and make it ours.  

I hope you stick around and see what we have up our sleeves!!

Cheryl

Some last minute fixes...

Yesterday I gave you a tour of our home, ready for the real estate pictures to be taken.

Since then I have talked my son, who is 19 and knows pretty much everything,

 or so he tells me, into letting me put a comforter on his bed - at least until after the house is sold.

I didn't want his "skull blanket" to be what people saw of our house online. 

 Yes I deal with it on a daily basis, because let's face it,

 he's 19 and should have some say in how his room is decorated.

He chose the wall color and tile when he decided that he no longer wanted to

 "live" upstairs with the rest of us.  And for the most part I have given him that control. 

 But his choice of bedding would not have made the best reflection on our house.

So we went from this...

To this...

I didn't go out and buy something.

  This comforter set was actually in the yard sale pile after cleaning out the closets last week.

  It's one that McG and I had in our room previously.

  It's still in great shape and all it needed was a fluffing and some fabric freshener.

Now his room looks "sale" ready!

The sign was put on the lawn this morning and our house should be officially on the MLS by tomorrow. 

 It's really happening and I can't decide if I'm happy or scared to death...

Anyone else have those feelings when you decided to sell your home??

  I would love to hear how you got over them!!

Cheryl

Some Exciting News...and a FULL House Tour!

As you all know, we have been looking to downsize for sometime now.  I had hinted in previous posts that we thought we had found a "contender".  Well - we did!  It took some time to work out all the details but we have worked out a deal on condition that we sell our current home!  The new house is just up the street from us and is in fact currently owned by McG's sister and her husband.

The real estate photographer is coming this afternoon to take pictures of our home and yard to put on the MLS listing.  So since the house is clean and tidy I thought we could do a full house tour, including some rooms that I have not previously shown you!

Grab a coffee or a cold drink - there are lots of photos...and enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed the tour.  Keep your fingers crossed that the sale happens quickly!

Cheryl