The moving plans are progressing ahead... we had chosen a real-estate agent (makelaar) to represent us, as we didn't want to deal with the hassles of listing and negotiations and all of that stuff. We had a few interested friends/colleagues/randoms who saw the house previously before the photos and we were also loathe to have to make a decision between people that we had met and knew. So, in the end, an agent was the best choice for us...

So, the photos were over and done with... and that was an intense few days of tidying and cleaning, and then on the day... running things from room to room to make sure that everything looked good on the photos. I have to say, the results of the photos and the listing look pretty okay! Although... it does make me feel more than a little bit sad to see them. I should ask the agent for copies, especially of the walk-through 360 degree views so that I can reminisce later... (actually, I'm writing that email RIGHT NOW!).

(okay... back again, I hope that they can send it to me, I really felt some pangs of sadness just walking through our house on the listing site.... and I'm still living in the house!).

So, back to the blog... This coming week and next week we have public viewings for the house. Which means that I need to be out of the house, and everything needs to be similar to the photos (no clutter and maximum space...) before I leave. Unfortunately, my wife is out of the country at the moment, which means that this week's viewings will a single person job whilst trying to get the kids to school as well. At least I was able to arrange the viewing times to be during school times, so that it is only me that needs to be out of the house.

So, the plan is to slowly get everything cleaned and de-cluttered during the week. The older girl is helping out quite a bit... and the younger one, well, she helps by not making MORE MESS! The garage is now tided up so that things can move temporarily into that space and out of the house for a week or so. So, for at least another week, I'll be living in a house that is both weirdly ours and weirdly not!

It also just crossed my mind that the garage is probably a good stand-in for a shipping container... which is what we are also in the process of handling. The moving of stuff as well... which means that pianos, harpsichords and some furniture... of of course our beloved bakfiets will all need to be moved by ship to the other side of the planet! I organised the viewings for the removalists today, you give them a tour of the house and talk about what is going or not so that they can get a rough idea of what sort of volume you will need. Obviously, I'm not used to thinking of our belongings in terms of cubic metres!

Also, some last minute repairs... some walls that needed a little bit of patching due to old drill holes, and the most pressing... this wooden window frame that was damaged recently due to a stiff wind. Actually, that sort of thing is relatively common in the Netherlands... strong sea winds combined with my wife's desire to open the windows at every opportunity leads to them being blown hard open!

The last time that happened (a few months ago), we ended up with a window that was damaged enough to need repairs. However, it is really tricky to find someone who is available at the moment to repair things... our usual guy was in Poland, and so we tried asking around the commercial places, but they were all busy and booked up for ages. In the end, one of our neighbours recommended someone who lives in the neighbourhood and runs their own family building company. They just dropped by on the weekend to do a quick cash job which was really nice. Plus, they ended up doing a decent job, and were pretty cheap compared to what I was fearing it would cost!

So, tomorrow is a day of more tidying and cleaning... and then gussying up the house with some flowers and stuff like that for the coming days. Plus, I need to find a cafe where I can hole up for a few hours each day!

I can also be found cross-posting at:
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