"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it."

greenbee

Well I've sown the lettuce, watered the new turf, and chopped up a whole lot of veg which is now cooking in the oven with chorizo, chicken and chickpeas in one batch and cannellini beans and sausages in the other. 

Today has definitely been slower going, but the important stuff is done, and other things can be done slowly and methodically through the week. Even my office... 

Baileys_Babe

You have achieved so much in a very short space of time. Pleased to hear you are batch cooking some meals, your future self will thank you. 
Please look after yourself and have plenty of rest breaks.

greenbee

So... done list is looking VERY long. House is looking very tidy... Although most of this afternoon has been spend on the sofa reading. Batch cooking has now been frozen - apart from the stuff I couldn't shoe-horn in which I will eat over the next few days. The rest of the list is starting to look manageable. The one thing I MUST get done tonight is the ironing. And clearing the dining table shouldn't take long as there are only a few things left on it. 

• Clean bathroom - MONDAY MORNING - MAY USE BATH SUNDAY
• ADDED - sort out landing rug (needs cutting in a couple of places to fit)

• Clean bedroom window frames
• Wash/steam bathroom floors
• Clear dining room table - almost done
• ADDED - Clean hearth with stone cleaner
• ADDED - wash hoover filters
• ADDED - Ironing

• Sow sweet peas (have loo roll inners saved) and leave in greenhouse (loo roll inners are there... so it's partly done!)
• Finish cutting up old log store and putting bits away
• Lay slab for greenhouse waterbutt

• Spread bark chip/put away
• Put away spare compost
• Topsoil in dips

• Tidy office - identify paperwork to do, file the rest, get rid of junk and clear floor enough to hoover/wash. Dust the rest. Fix window catch. 

• Do calculations for pension 

DONE Saturday

• Strip bed
• Empty ash from stove
• Hoover sitting room & hall (job for downstairs robot)
• Make list
• Clean ensuite
• Dust all bedrooms
• Put away loo paper delivery
• ADDED - empty ash
• Refill coal scuttle
• Refill coal hod in garage
• Refill log baskets in garage 
• ADDED - refilled kindling, and garage kindling basket
• ADDED - open windows to air the house
• Put kitchen herbs outside to die (they have green/whitefly probably from organic veg deliveries)
• Collect concrete slabs from next door for inside/outside greenhouse
• ADDED - call my mum
• ADDED - charge gadgets
• Wash down kitchen window sill & windows
• Descale/clean coffee machine, kettle, WM, DW
• ADDED - coffee machine cleaning capsule
• Clear and clean kitchen surfaces
• Wipe down kitchen unit doors
• Hoover dining room/kitchen/utility floors (job for downstairs robot)
• Light stove
• Soak whites
• Wash kitchen/utility/loo floors
  
• Wash dining room/sitting room/hall floors

DONE Sunday

• Hoover bedrooms (job for upstairs robot) - not sure it's necessary
• ADDED - engagement card, survey & present ready for post
• ADDED - remove limescale from loo/bathroom taps
• Clean loos
• Clean utility sink & surfaces
• ADDED - wash & dry whites
• Dust sitting room/hall/dining room/downstairs loo
• ADDED - sow lettuce 
• ADDED - batch cooking & freezing

greenbee

I'm halfway through the ironing. It's boring. But won't fit in the airing cupboard unironed. 

greenbee

Ironing got done. Iron and ironing board put away this morning. 

Fire kept going overnight again, but by the time I'd riddled it and removed the ash it had cooled down considerably so it's had a boost. Ash can needs emptying and coal refilling - there's still plenty of the latter left, so I need to keep using it despite the hassle. 

Bath has been cleaned, and I'm reluctantly realising that I need to stop dealing with online stuff in bed and get up. My bedroom needs tidying, I need to shower and then clean the shower. Glass shower screens and chrome are over rated. But once that's done I can shut myself in my office and alternate trying to write my job description with tidying and dealing with the paperwork I've been ignoring for weeks... 

As it's raining, not much outside stuff will get done today. It's annoying, because the agent is coming at 11 and I'd hoped that the garden would be looking as if it was a selling point!

greenbee

Agent’s visit went well. Confident they can sell at the top of my price range. Nothing needs doing other than tidying a couple of things up that are currently lying on the grass (bags of bark mulch, topsoil remains of log store). So I’m out of excuses and need to bite the bullet and sign the contract. As my boss has just cancelled a meeting tomorrow I could even drop it into the office tomorrow morning. 

Called the search agent and spoke to one of his team, so am expecting a call sometime soon. 

And I’ve just realised how expensive moving is…

redofromstart

Its the little things as well as the big obvious ones of fees and stamp duty - killing time somewhere with a coffee while viewings happen, eating more expensively because you don't want to add to the freezer, 'dressing' the house for top money - flowers or plants that you might not normally buy.  

Hope it goes as quickly and painlessly as possible, and that the right property is available at the right time.

greenbee

I'm not spending ANYTHING on dressing the house. Thankfully I have enough plants to not need to buy flowers. I just need to keep the house tidy. I have far too much stuff in the freezer, so my issue is likely to be emptying it on time... but yes, I will have to find something to do during viewings.

However, they know I work from home, so I'm using that as an excuse not to give them keys (technically I should lock the office if they're here and I'm not), and give them very clear timeslots. I'm already cross that I got a call at 5.02 (which is during my working day) about setting up viewings when the last correspondence was yes to photos/EPC and no to viewings until I've worked out my availability. I'm going to have to tell them to email me, as I can't have the phone ringing all day while I'm working. 

I'd forgotten how much I hate selling houses.

Paperwork from the search agent is here, so I need to review that too. 

Karmacat

Best of luck, greenbee, you've worked so hard on this house, and for the sale, you deserve that top whack.

greenbee

Quiet weekend as I'm low on energy. But I've done some small bits of tidying up (the log store is now in bits small enough to put away), my bedding has been changed, although not washed (if there are no viewings tomorrow I may well do it then so it's ironed and put away).

I'm about to do some mowing, but I'm not sure how far I'll get - there's not much petrol left, and I'm not wasting diesel going to get some as I have just under half a tank and need to get to Daventry on Wednesday and then Norfolk on Thursday. I'm also saving my own energy for the trip! As I'm going back to my mum's, I'm going to start taking stuff back - small valuables that I don't want in the house while people are viewing, plus anything I know I won't need for the rest of the summer (wind netting and weed suppressant for the garden). 

I also have ID checks and various other bits of paperwork to do today after I've done the outside stuff. And I'm hoping to see my next door neighbours to let them know what's going on. I also need to think about presents to take for the friends and family I'm visiting. Ideally from existing stock... 

Guess I should go and see whether the mower will start and how far I get!