Listing

Confession: I have never bought a house.  I own my house, yes.  But I didn't really buy it.  Neither did Nate.  I mean, technically yes, we bought the house.  But we didn't hunt for it, choose it lovingly over others in a price range, cross our fingers and hope the seller would accept our offer.  None of that happened.  Nate's friend owned it, didn't want it, and offered to sell it to Nate.  That was it.  So I graduated college, moved in with my boyfriend, and haven't left since.

So what this basically means is that I haven't really ever cared about the house I own.  Which means I haven't really cared to fix things in it... until now.  Funny how listing your house makes you want need to fix things.

Nate and I have been consumed the last two weeks by housework.  Nate has been repainting trim and doors, re-caulking windows, patching concrete, packing books and shipping outgrown baby clothes to his parents' house for the time being.  I decided to play electrician.

I didn't take a before picture.  Maybe I should have, but it was just so hideous... Just imagine the largest, ugliest four-bulb fluorescent light fixture.  The kind you'd see in a warehouse.  But put it in my otherwise lovely kitchen.  Then break the ballast to unsure it won't actually turn on beyond the faintest flicker of light.  THAT was the previous light fixture in my kitchen.  And for the record, it hasn't turned on in FIVE YEARS.  For five years, I have lazily used the accent light in the corner, the bulb over the sink, and the lights in the stove hood to cook dinners by.  We decide to move - BOOM.  New light.  Installed by yours truly.  Let there be light!

I mean, seriously.  How cool!  I did that!  And I didn't electrocute myself or burn the house down or anything.

Speaking of burning the house down.  Three years ago, my mother-in-law's space heater caught fire while plugged into our family room.  The appliance caught fire, not the socket, so I wasn't overly motivated to fix it.  But I don't think charred electrical outlet really sells a place.  DONE.  I fixed that, too.  (I also repainted the smokey paint!)

I didn't take a picture, because it really wasn't necessary, but eight years ago I replaced a bulb under the dome of the upstairs light fixture, and then couldn't reattach the dome.  The dome sat under out bathroom counter for EIGHT YEARS.  I got a new part Saturday morning, and fixed that too.  I am on a roll, people!  I do want to replace the bathroom fan, but it's lower priority at this point.

The realtor is coming back Thursday evening to photograph the house.  All efforts have been shifted into CLEAN ALL THE THINGS (and hide everything else).  We took all of the children's toys (save one dollhouse, some dress-up clothes and a few trucks) to Grandma's house.  But who needs toys when there are boxes to play in?  I think the kids will be just fine.


Need an electrician?  I'm thinking of moonlighting on the side.