In the Thick of It

So much has happened in the last few weeks! In my last post I was talking floor plans and bathrooms, but all that has changed. In a normal house sale, I believe there is very little communication between buyer and seller. This is most definitely not a normal house sale. 

The owners are of advanced age and recently started having health problems. They abruptly moved into a community that provides health care and other assistance, leaving behind the beautiful home they built over the last 50+ years. 

Their adult children are doing their best to prep the house for sale, but are busy managing their own lives. Last weekend we had the opportunity to meet one of the daughters. She was amazing. She told us all about the house, her parents, and what it was like to grow up in such a huge house filled with family, friends, and taxidermy.

Prior to the meeting, the owners knew we had a keen interest in keeping as much of the house intact as possible. At the end of our conversation, we agreed to take on clean out in exchange for the items we were interested in (and then some). 

The thought of this overwhelmed me at first. See Exhibit A.

Exhibit A — most rooms have clutter like this. And there are lots of rooms.

After a bit of time, I started to think of it as the world's biggest sorting job. I'm one of those weird people that likes to sort and organize. Plus, the place is like a time capsule! The family is allowing us in ahead of closing, which is great and gives me hope that the place will be ready for us to move in at the end of August. 

I have so much interesting history to share in my next post. In the meantime, enjoy some before and afters!

The furniture stays for now, until we decide on what to keep after closing. The zebra leg lamp is staying, obviously.

What you can't see here is the enormous pile of old papers behind me. I love this room.