Yep, one of these things again!

Oh yes, I am having one of these again today.

To get rid of the last few things before my parents move.

Yes, I said a few things but that would be a lie.

This experience has taught me well. NEVER, and I mean NEVER, collect things EVER.

The sale was advertised to start at 9.00am. There was a knock at the door at 6.30am.

I am pretty sure he (the professional garage sale stalker) regretted waking me. He backed away from the door slowly and ran to his car.

I better go and shine the trash so it looks like treasure - and, if anything remotely hilarious happens I will update the post.



Update:

1. The guy who came at 6.30am came back again at 7.30am. Clearly I didn't scare him off for long.....ENOUGH....so I let him have a look (at the garage sale that is) and charged him twice as much as I would have if he had come at 9am. I think he got the message...

2. This time I had his and her garages to assist in brokering world peace. And it made for some very funny comments. There was this one guy who gave specific instructions to his wife that he didn't want her to buy any of the following - bath products, cards, coloured envelopes, cushions, cuddly toys, scented candles, essential oils, James Blunt CDs or anything with Hugh Grant in it etc etc. We laughed so hard tears were streaming down our faces. His wife then spotted an antique gown my mother had had for years and she said it reminded her of her wedding gown. She then announced to us that she had decided that she wanted to be buried in her wedding gown. Her husband then yelled out, "Well I hope you are going to die of a wasting disease because its the only way you are ever going to fit into your wedding dress again. Unless of course you just want me to throw it over the top of you." She later said, "Do you want to buy those gardening tools, love?" he said, "No, definitely not because if I did then you would only make me use them." It went back and forth like this for the time they were here. I think I should have paid both of them for making me laugh so hard.

And best of all, the trash really did turn to treasure for a lot of people......AND WE GOT RID OF MOST OF IT!!

And so the world turns.....once more..

Message from your Mother

Hi there,

I just got your email entitled The Definition of Stupidity.

You are being a bit hard on yourself, aren't you? Stupid is a big call.
Let's see.

So you pushed this rather full shopping trolley (whilst also trying to carry the rather massive Ikea bag with among other things 18 wine glasses in it and your rather large handbag which normally has everything in it but the kitchen sink) 2 kilometres up one of the biggest and busiest streets in Melbourne?

Well yes, I guess when you look at the size of this load and the size of you it is kind of .......
stupfunny.

So, next time you fancy a shopping spree I suggest..... well I know I never ever give you unsolicited advice about your life but this time I sense that you really want need my opinion (ok, I am delusional I confess).

I think if you choose to live in the inner city in your swanky warehouse apartment without a car there are only two words you need to think about the next time the shopping urge strikes you.
ONLINE SHOPPING!
Love you & I hope your bruises heal quickly

Your Mother xx

PS. Yes I know you got the 'shopping gene' from me but I would rather not commit to print which of your parents you may have inherited the 'erring on stupid gene' from.......even though it's probably all too obvious to regular readers of this blog.....

The Dog Days are Over

We've seen a million cute baby videos on YouTube, but this little boy grooving to Florence and the Machine's 'The Dog Days are Over' takes the cake.

If there's ever been any doubt that kids can enjoy music other than The Wiggles, here's proof. It's time to reclaim the car stereo!

Enjoy your Sunday!!!

Going.....going, gone

It sold in 5 days.

I know, who would have thought it Mr Real Estate 4% commission there's no way you can possibly do it?

The styling for sale and marketing? Loved it.

The selling to potential buyers? Very uncomfortable.

After the first and only open home on the weekend there were seven very keen buyers.

And I mean very keen. Some young couples have been looking for the 'right house' for 2 years apparently. They all came back three or four times to view the house. It got to the point that I knew too much about them and they knew too much about the contents of my parents' cupboards.

I had my favourites. I wanted a certain couple to get the house. Unfortunately they had to drop out because the offers were too high.

She cried. He was upset. I got weepy and felt terrible for them.

It might be OK to have emotional buyers but let me tell you it's very uncomfortable for all concerned to have an emotional seller.

It's business, right?

After some tooing and froing, an offer was accepted, a contract is in process and fingers and toes are crossed it all runs smoothly.

So within 30 days my parents will be sunning themselves in faraway northern places.

And their wee home, where 25 years of memories were made, will become just another house in a picturesque cul de sac in suburbia again. Right?

The Cat that swallowed the Canary

They say that the secret of a good blog is regular and consistent posting.

Clearly this blog is heading south.

I can't believe its been a month since I last posted.

I got home from my trip and suddenly..... things became very busy, very quickly.

My parents suddenly decided that they wanted to move States to somewhere warmer and they wanted to do it before Christmas.

So, I have been on this manic exercise to help them do just that and get their home of 25 years ready for market. I think I have spent most of my time trying to convince them, without insulting them, that we needed to throw out things, declutter and then style it to suit a younger market. I think I would rather walk on hot coals then tread that awkward negotiation path again and I pray I remember this experience when I gain a few more years.

We had a huge garage sale and then we just finished interviewing real estate agents last week. After talking to these salespeople and going round and round in circles and still not understanding the whole value adding scenario they were describing, I decided I would sell it myself (apologies to anyone in the industry).

So I have been playing removalist, decorator, negotiator, throwerouter, cleaner, photographer and now real estate salesperson.

I put the For Sale ad up this morning on one real estate site and within 30 minutes I started to get calls. Err, yikes....I had to quickly put on the real estate sales hat.

Hopefully things will now be a little less crazy. Take Friday for example, I went online to order groceries and ended up with 64 green apples. I ordered 8 apples....and got 8 packets of 8 apples.

So, I now have a huge bowl of green apples sitting in the Kitchen of my parent's house as a design feature....for the first open house.

In the mean time, while I get my head on straight, and perfect my sales patter, here is something to give you a smile...




I hope that I'm wearing that same smug expression in the next couple of weeks too if this house gets sold. If not, I will be crawling back to one of those agents.

Oh yeah, and before I forget, if you want an exceptionally well presented 4 bedroom home with an amazing garden and a bountiful bowl of green apples thrown in for good measure, you know who to call......because have I got a deal for you!!!! Yes just for you.