The Cunninghams

S.T.A.G.I.N.G.

Home staging is the act of preparing a private residence for sale in the real estate marketplace. The goal of staging is to make a home appealing to the highest number of potential buyers, thereby selling a property more swiftly and for more money. Staging techniques focus on improving a property's appeal by transforming it into a welcoming, attractive product that anyone might want.
....Thank you Wikipedia...

Well, I'll start by saying I am sooooooooo beyond exhaustion. I think more exhausted than having a newborn baby!!!!! ha!

We were hoping to get our house on the market at the end of this week - and we're almost there...but still have a few things to do. Here's what's on our To Do list...
1. Finish painting front porch (wood areas that were chipped from winter!)
2. Paint basement floor and back step area with spackled paint. Hopefully just touch up what is already there.
3. Finish cleaning out 'Trav's Room in the basement.' We need to move a few work tables he had in there for computers OUT and move some clothes in, etc. to make it look more like a guest bedroom/office as well as move a dresser in.
4. Take items to donate! YAY! Here's to hoping it benefits our tax return next year. We have LOTS!!!! Several years worth of items that I originally saved for a yard sale but haven't had time to have one and now we want it out!
5. Buy a few odds and ends...throw pillows for futon we borrowed from friend Brooke, etc.
6. Finish organizing basement and GARAGE (don't wanna even go there!)
7. Set up "work out room" in garage room.
8. Buy new water heater. Ours is conveniently leaking now.
9. Buy mulch for backyard and flowers for front porch...hope it gets and STAYS nice soon!
10. put on new toilet seat
11. Fix cabinet door that needs new screws
12. Finish preapproval process with the lady at the bank!
....I think that is it!...there could be a few more things though. LOL

Here's what we've done so far. Cleaned out all closets, rooms, cabinets, drawers, SERIOUSLY just about every.single.one. (I'm glad I started that a few months ago), moved treadmill out of house and into garage, Travis went to pick up futon, I washed the cover to it, painted front porch, cleaned off front porch (swept, vacuumed, etc.), cleaned up back yard (Trav filled about 5 heavy duty garbage bags full of leaves, debris, etc.), dusted just about every area I could think of, vacuumed up cobwebs including in basement, wiped down washer and dryer, cleaned out utility sink in basement, redecorated several areas around the house including rearranging a few items, took down a shelf, filled holes, painted the holes, touched up paint in several other areas including medicine cabinet in bathroom, ledge to banister upstairs, misc. areas of the walls/ceiling, back door, thoroughly cleaned basement, stairs to basement, swept/shopvacced the basement (more to do there, too!), cleaned the toilet in the basement, filled LOTS of tubs with items for storage, took all Xmas/Fall stuff to garage, went through all of Ava's clothes to get too small things put away, and get out all of the 24 month/2T items I've bought at garage sales, LAUNDRY, day to day items such as dishes, vacuuming, cleaning kitchen floor, etc. TRYING to keep up anyway, PURGED A LOT!!! Up/down/outside/up/down/outside...that has been the routine!

I think I could probably go on but you get the drift. We took Ava to the sitter 2 days, and my mom was here for about a day and a half to help with her while we worked and we took one day off to take Ava to the Shedd Aquarium. Our goal is now April 1. I think we can do it! Wish us luck with the whole process!

Apparently we don't take the STAGING idea too lightly!??