Wednesday 23 June 2010

My Year of Living Tidily

Today, I considered how I was feeling about this house sale business. And what came up surprised me somewhat.

It's actually rather nice to live in a tidy, finished house, and moan as I might (and do) about the constant housework, it doesn't really take that long and the results are gratifying. There now, I've said it! I think I may just have fallen off a donkey on a back road to Damascus. I hope I'm not dusty.


Not everything is finished, if truth be told, but it's achievable now. Margery and I cleaned the two large pan drawers under the cooker hob today, and found that when everything was put back in again (with only two items reaching the charity bag) there was a strikingly large amount of room in there, and cluttered, badly-stacked things no longer fell into the void behind the drawer, to be dragged out with the tongs.

And I found the little home-made rack that lets me put an espresso pot on the hob without risk of it tipping over very annoyingly. That little treasure has been lost for years.



The For Sale sign is irritating - not for itself, but because the two pieces of timber that keep it upright are at odds with its main post, and look scruffy. I feel like painting them black to match. I am getting more in touch with my own place on the autistic spectrum, I can tell.


And that Zephirine Drouhin is so messy with her petals! Tut.


I realised that I don't mind if no one buys my house for ages; I am under no pressure to move, and am happy in my home. If it does sell, I will find another house to be happy in, because happy is what comes with me, not what belongs to any particular house. But if it doesn't sell, then I'm having an interesting time living without clutter and heaps of paper.

I suspect that I shall tire easily of showing people round - just two viewings have shown me that talk of roof and drains is dull, and that remembering not to say "And this is the kitchen!" when it could be nothing else, slightly saps the will to live. Perhaps I need to work on my script. I could hint at a small secret door (yes, there is one, and I may tell you where it is when and if I do move).

Or I could print out nursery-class-style labels and pin them to the doors, with descriptions, perhaps, of what each room is and its hidden mysteries.


After all, the estate agent's blurb describes the upstairs sitting room, really the master bedroom, with far too many odd chairs, two unmatched desks and the computer, as the Drawing Room. Moi, having a Drawing Room! How very Jane Austen....






(If I really were to have a Drawing Room, it wouldn't have a carpet the colour of a damp digestive biscuit, that's for sure. A friend says I'm not to be trusted to buy carpet unsupervised, as, no matter what my intentions, they always turn out to be biscuit-coloured. And she's right.)


I could just send viewers to look for themselves. I could sit in the kitchen with my feet up, drinking tea, and waiting for them to come down and ask me fascinating questions about roof and drains....

15 comments:

the veg artist said...

Regarding the For Sale sign: I was told off for pulling up the sign in front of a house I had just bought. I had been living there for two weeks, had rung the estate agent twice to ask them to take it away, and finally yanked it out myself. Eventually a man from the 'sign' company turned up and threatened to charge me for damaging their sign! They hadn't even come around to put up the 'Sold' part.

SmitoniusAndSonata said...

Selling a house requires unflagging energy and a high boredom threshold , obviously .
You'll need all the espresso you can make !

Pam said...

But that's why your house looks so elegant and House Doctory - the neutral colours. I can't manage this myself. I can quite see that it looks lovely in your house, but neutral carpets look dull (to me) in the shop so I don't buy them.

You've got me tempted, though...

I really love that chair with the bent wood arms - the one with the carrot underneath it. (?)

Maybe, when I'm on holiday, I can come down and pretend to be a buyer...

Bee said...

So many good lines here . . . I can't decide if I like the one about your Damascene conversion or your place on the autistic spectrum best.

Veronica said...

Call it Champagne coloured - much posher.

Peace Thyme said...

Believe me. I have sold eight houses. The very minute that you say, "Crap, nobody has been here for two weeks, I am gonna put my feet up and read a book and not even think about those dishes in the sink or the messy towels in the bath....." .............Yup!

Lynda (Granny K) said...

I love your furniture! Elegant!

Elizabeth Musgrave said...

I think I could do this tidy living lark if only I didn't live with my adorable but hoarding husband. Then I could throw away the things that I keep trying to throw away and he keeps trying to keep. It would be only my empty wine glass mysteriously by the chair in the morning. Mmmm, not sure here.
I like your line about happiness and am sure that means you will be happy wherever you are!

Von said...

Out here the agents do the work..you just disappear for an hour, they sms you when it's over and you go home and put the kettle on.Sometimes it all is done in the open inspection.Done and dusted in a short afternoon while you walk the dog on the beach.Lovely!
Good luck, an ordered house is a joy and such a time saver!

Deborah said...

It looks lovely, Rachel! When I did eventually get another of my houses-for-sale all neatened up, and kept it neat for weeks, I wondered why on earth I couldn't just live like that all the time!? Neatness and tidiness are quite freeing, I found. My mind definitely functions better when it lives in a clean space.

(PS I'd buy you rhouse in a minute!)

Rattling On said...

I love the little trivet. It's exactly what we need here. I don't think a crocheted one would work quite as well, though.

Val said...

I always wonder why it's so difficult to keep a house in such a tidy state, everything repaired and painted, for absolute strangers. I've sold four houses myself to date and vowed each time not to fall into the same trap, but t my husband who was born with the untidy gene and my daughter home from varsity each weekend make short shrift of any resolutions. BTW there's nothing wrong with your taste in chairs, I love the one with the semi-circular arms and the one with the rattan work.

Mac n' Janet said...

Here the agents do all the work, you just disappear when there's a showing. I figure that's how they earn their money. If I wanted to show it I'd list it myself and do a For Sale By Owner.

SusanFrances said...

I agree about the sign post supports....and as for that messy plant!! I have a large pink poppy with the same tendencies. ( Petals like dinner plates)

lovethosecupcakes said...

That's decided it. We need to put the house up for sale. I'm sick of hiding behind the sofa when someone knocks at the door. Excuse me whilst I pop out to buy black bags.

Related Posts with Thumbnails