Everything Comes to an End

For over a year now, my wife and I have been trying to sell our house. Honestly, we don’t really want to move. We like our house, love our neighborhood, and have made some wonderful friends. We decided to try to sell our house because my youngest son has some special needs and his school has struggled to meet these needs. We have worked closely with the school, and although things have improved during the past two years, it is still a struggle for the school. This is why we decided it was time to “jump” the state line and join the Johnson County crowd.

For over a year, my wife and I struggled to keep the house clean and tidy. We de-cluttered the house. We packed up probably 90% of the kids’ toys, took the family pictures off the walls, painted, touched up, anything and everything required to attract a buyer. Let me just say, it is difficult to live in a house that is for sale, especially with three kids. It was a constant struggle keeping the house clean and “show ready” and it was frustrating when the showings failed to materialize.

For over a year, we waited. We hoped. We prayed. But to no avail. With only 40 showings to show for our troubles and no offers (not even a low-ball offer), my wife and I started to re-evaluate our decision. Stuck in a buyer’s market, with over 30 houses for sale within a 6 block radius of our house, we decided it was time to take the house off the market. It was a difficult decision because the school is still struggling to meet my son’s needs, but we decided that our work clearly isn’t done.

Now that we have made our decision, and our house is no longer for sale, I am faced with an even greater challenge: where do we put all the stuff we have had packed away for over a year. I have gotten used to having a clean, clutter-free house and now that the children are reacquainting themselves with forgotten toys and possessions, the house is no longer clutter-free and I am at a loss on where to put all the stuff. I know we had places for everything before we put the house up for sale, but I don’t seem to remember where those places were.

Now that the house is no longer for sale, I think it is time for a garage sale.