The anxiety of selling my home

The anxiety of selling my home has been overwhelming and even heartwrenching at times. Digging up plants I have brought back from the brink of death off the markdown racks of Lowe’s has brought a tear or two to my eye more than once today. My husband is trying to understand but he does not love plants the way I do. Then there is all the work we have done to make this house a home…

Every morning I go through the process of checklists, contractors, money issues, and an overwhelming fear ‘what else needs to be fixed, replaced, or packed up’. Seriously, I am so worried, stressed, and fearful of what a buyer will think- of my red foyer, my kitchen that took 7 years to finish, or tile choices in the master bathroom.

There are other things that consume my thoughts when I read over my to do list:

• should we replace the carpet?
• should we put in granite or just go with a nice laminate countertop to save thousands?
• should we dig up the ponds and fill in the holes?
• should we give the buyers an allowance for heat pump or just replace it?
• what if we can’t find a new home before this one sells?
• what if we can’t get the needed repairs done within our budget?
• do we hire a realtor?
• do we get a storage unit so we can store our personal belongings so we can stage the house?

  

There are so many things whirling in my head as I write this and stare out the window at the flowers blooming and the birds chirping right outside. I will miss my 8 years of turning this barren ugly yard into a beautiful garden oasis filled with song birds and buzzing bees. I am going to miss the fountain at my kitchen window and the pond at the back of the yard which has been a gathering place for the Red Shouldered Hawks, my fur babies, birds, and even wild critters in the night. I am holding back so much emotion from my husband who is tired of fixing and replacing the previous owners ‘mishaps’. Yes we bought a fixer upper and we have regretted it ever since.

This has been our home 8 years in July 2016. We started with 25 loads to the dump and lots of blood, sweat, and tears buying a home we decided NOT to get a home inspection on. This was a huge mistake and one that we regret. If you take anything away from this post, always pay the money to have someone inspect the biggest purchase you will ever make in your life!

I do not have before pictures but I have shared a few of the ‘now’. I have to get outside today and start digging up my gardens. Why? Because the next homeowner is not going to want beds of Black eyed Susans, Daylilies, and Autumn Joy Sedum. The average suburbanite wants a green lawn (check) and freshly landscaped (oh how I hate that word) and mulched beds with perfectly trimmed compact hollies and maybe a row of colorful annuals to edge the sidewalk. This is the hardest part of the whole process for me- creating a landscape of green when my life has been filled with shades of the rainbow.

Well, I may not be able to write again for another week since we are on a timeline. My hubby and I still do not know where to move and I am scared to death of what the future brings for me, my son who is graduating in a couple weeks, my 2 dogs, 3 cats, and all my Iris’ (and other perennnials) that I am potting up and taking to my new home- which I pray to be in the country, near a small town, within an hour of a major city, in Virginia (I love the Charlottesville area) and where I can own and operate my own country and garden store to pass on my love of gardening and all things beautiful.

Thanks for stopping by. I am going outside now to work in my garden and take my mind off the roofing contractor that never called back and the $1,000 budget overrage for the new windows and the fact my husband has had to take off a week of work to help me sort through bids, calls, and lists of things that need to be done. Have a great day everyone and talk to you soon.

Creating. Inspiring. Gardening without the rules!

2016 copyrighted material C Renee Fuller @The Garden Frog Boutique