Chickafinty ~ A Life in the Laundry

Help please

Could someone please tell me how to get that photograph into the middle of the page please...half my family is missing and I've been battling with code for ages and it still won't work!
Arghhhh!

This is us

Please meet...
Mr Bear, Mizbear, Chickabid and the FintyBaby.

Interviews

We're engaged in the delightful business of interviewing agents for selling our house. The really funny thing is that some agents are so focussed on the commission that they're going to receive, that they fail to realise that they're at a job interview.

My view is that this is our most valuable asset. If selling a house just involved sticking an ad in the paper then anyone could do it. We want someone with experience in selling property to do it on our behalf ergo we're interviewing them. We want the best. Not the cheapest, not the most impressive, just the best.

Yesterday is a good example of how it shouldn't be done. I had an agent come from an extremely reputable company, not just here in Oz but overseas as well. Her first question was "What do you think the house is worth". That one question told me everything I needed to know about how she would conduct the inspection. Had I given her a sum, she would have given me a figure in that general area, just to get the job. She wandered through the house and whipped out a camera to take photographs (without asking permision I might add). She must have picked up on my body language 'cos she didn't actually take any pictures. After a cursory glance around the house she just stood in the family room and gave me her price range, a business card, some quite negative feedback about the loo, and left.

No plan for marketing the house, no information about advertising, no indication of the commission charged, no opportunity to ask any questions, no possible timeframe, no indication of how fast properties are moving in this area, nothing.

It was most disappointing as I had lots of questions to ask.

The fellow who came today was the exact opposite. He asked me to show him the house, giving me the opportunity to tell him about features that he couldn't immediately see, but that would add value to the home such as the new carpet, the airconditioner, cupboard space in the kitchen, the built ins and so on. After a thorough inspection of the house he sat down and laid out a possible price range, explained the negotiation process, a marketing proposal, gave a precis of the market, a possible time frame for sale and the very last thing he mentioned was the commission he would get. All of this without me having to ask a single question. I was very impressed with this agent which actually makes life very difficult. Last time, S. sold our home and we were very happy with the way in which this was accomplished. None of the other agents that I interviewed even came close. This time C. is as much a contender as S. and we're going to have to make a big decision about whom to choose.

Homework Week 9

What time of day do you do most of your housework? Is that by choice or by necessity?

I usually start sometime on Sunday afternoon/evening and go right through to the following Sunday morning.
I tend to get more cleaning done in the morning than the afternoon and I find that Flylady's 15 minute room rescue really helps in during "WitchingHour" as it helps me stay focussed.

I'm hoping to get enough Flylady routines in place that I can do a quick pick up in every room every day and just leave the cleaning part to the Weekly Home Blessing.

That's the theory anyway.

Wired

I did a demonstration tonight and it was really good...lots of enthusiasm (and orders lol), but I came home feeling pumped even though I'm exhausted. Can't sleep, but not awake enough to do anything in particular. Besides, everyine else is asleep and I don't want to risk waking Chickabid and the Ladybaby up.

Oh, and we don't have any chocolate.

Chocolate makes everything feel better, even pre-midnight blogging.

Grovel, grovel

Here's where I have to apologise to Ruthie and Krista for not realising I hadn't added them to my blog roll.
You're added now, ladies, and I'm really sorry that it's taken so long (grovel).

Update on this week...

Everything in pink has been done. Not very much is pink. :-(

*Monday
all the regular Monday chores, like washing, folding and ironing plus:
- go to Lee's and pick up the diary I left there on Saturday
- drop six bags of clothes off to a local charity
- complete at least 3 scrapbook pages ready for a demonstration on Wednesday night
- completely clean kitchen,bathroom, laundry and toilet ready for Thursday
- ring the ironing lady
- telephone all my customers from the last demonstration with a delivery date and the amount they owe
- cook a roast for dinner

*Tuesday
- completely clean the lounge and family rooms
- clean the study
- clean Chickabid's room
- vacuum and dust all rooms
- dismantle the bed (see Friday)
- yet more ironing
- complete a few more scrapbook pages
- complete a set up for Mr Bear
- deliver leaflets advertising craft classes to the local schools

*Wednesday
- prepare for a demonstration
- doctor's appointments for both Chickabid an the Ladybaby...Chickabid needs an asthma follow up + a referral to a specialist for his ears; Ladybaby needs her 12 month immunisation and a prescription for her chickenpox immunisation
- mop all hard floors
- vacuum all carpets (again)
- dust down walls
- remove Picassos from the walls
- sweep the screened room
- mow lawn
- demonstration at 7.30

*Thursday
- go over whole house for a final tidy
- compile orders from demonstration and email off order form
- visit Lee
- team of real estate agents arrive to inspect house
- first lot of real estate agents arrive for job interview
- haircut for Chickabid at 5pm
- CK Team Meeting at 7.30
- clean out pantry
- menus for next four weeks

*Friday
- second lot of agents arrive for job interviews
- carpet cleaners at midday
- agent interview at 7.30

How do you eat an elephant?

One little bite at a time.

How do you move house?

One tiny item at a time.

I so need to remember this because this whole moving thing is starting to get a little daunting. Quite apart from the fact that I don't cope emotionally with moving house, the actual physical part is really difficult. I'm finding that this time I can't look at the big picture because that's too overwhelming. I'm breaking it down into litte chunks...
-interviewing agents
- packing
- relocating
- reconnecting

and then those little chunks are being broken down into tiny tasks and I'm delaing with one tiny task at a time.

Mission #1 Monday

Your mission should you choose to accept it is to undertake a 27 Fling Boogie in the master bedroom.
Now that sounds slightly risque I know, but it actually translates to
"take a plastic garbage bag and as quickly as possible fill it with 27 items that need to be thrown away".

The aim is declutter, declutter, declutter.

Did you know...

I am also Peony Brown from Bree?
Who are you?

Thanks to Irina for this one.