Movin' movin' movin'

Trying to conceive of getting my house ready for sale while there are still three toddlers running around is complicated. I will not make my life 10 times harder on a daily basis for the sake of 1 or 2 open houses a week which may or may not bring customers rather than 'lookie-loos' from the neighborhood. I am aware that I have to de-clutter, which will be nice regardless for all of us. It is amazing how you can live in a place and not notice how much crap you've accumulated that doesn't need to be there.

After getting in the habit of dumping stuff on the front hall bench you forget that it all belongs elsewhere. It's surprising also to find that most of it is garbage or could be gotten rid of. And God bless the inventor of 'totes' or the big old tupperware tubs you can store things in because I am going to need a lot of them. But to find old coats from the nanny that quit suddenly 3 months ago on it? Makes you wonder why they weren't burnt in the bonfire exorcism I performed after she left.

But there are many things that just can't get put away. The changing table, for example, has to have lotions and creams and medications and wipes and sanitizer and so on. Do I put it all in tubs and stuff them under the table just before open houses? Exactly how many boxes of crap am I going to have to relocate to the basement every time we have an open house? I suppose I'm lucky I live in a city where they only show houses by open house rather than lockboxes that mean people could look at my house any old day. But I suspect I am going to be doing a lot of carrying up and down stairs (kinda the point of moving was avoiding that?) And a lot of driving the kids up to Petaluma for the day to get them out of the house.

The other trick is how to not lose money. We have not lived here long enough, or rather in the right economy to sell for more than we bought it for. We have lived here long enough to create permanent damage and wear and tear on the place. Meanwhile we have installed miles of baby proof gates in all doorways and stair entrances. I know that makes for an attractive house showing. I'll have to be careful that the house doesn't smell like poop, sleepy children, diaper pails of urine soaked diapers or recently cooked broccoli. I need to find me one of those candles that smells like freshly baked cookies. No really.

I am getting excited about a new house though, because so far almost every one I've seen online has a much nicer mommy bathroom. Mommy likes this. A bathtub that would fit all of my appendages? Heaven. A house with enough rooms to have a scrapbooking room for me? Delightful! This one has a laundry room bigger than my current kitchen. Sad, I know, but that excites me like nothing else. Laundry being done in the hallway? Bites.

So, I will return some day to topics other than this, but for now I'm trying to wrap my brain around all the stuff I have to do in the next month just in case I find my dream house tomorrow. Anyone know a good organizer?