Toddler Times
Selling A House With A Toddler
Our living room, ready to be purchased!
We are selling our house.
Right smack-dab in the worst economy since the Great Depression.
Right smack-dab in the dreariest months of the year.
Right smack-dab in the middle of toddlerhood.
I know. We must be crazy.
But it is something we have to do to get me and Harrison out of 2+ hours on the road each day commuting — it’s too much for me and WAY too much for him. Plus, remember how I said that my kid is kind of a monster typical toddler in the car? Yeah.
I struggle to find time each week to clean the house with 40 hours in the office and 15ish hours on the road, but we are making it work and it’s easier to keep it clean since Harrison does not spend the day in our home. At most, we have two hours of CRAZY TODDLER to clean up after. Here’s how we are making it work:
- Get good storage. We put a bookcase in Harry’s bedroom for books, stuffed animals, bins of cars, etc. We also have a toy box and bookcase in the playroom. We use storage ottomans as coffee tables, which hold trucks and stuffed animals.
- Simplify. Harrison really doesn’t have a ton of toys — he has a few favorite trucks and a few big toys (like a kitchen and parking garage), but we keep it simple. If he outgrows a puzzle or toy, it goes immediately into storage. If it breaks beyond repair, we throw it out.
- Get outside! On the weekends when the weather is nice (or heck, even decent), we are outside in our backyard where there is nothing he can mess up. Two hours of solid play in the yard = fantastic nap + no clean-up required.
- Get a routine. My husband gives Harrison a bath while I tidy up his room and the playroom. In the morning, the boys fix coffee and feed the dog while I pull up the shades, make the beds, and make sure everything is in its proper place.
- Have the kid pitch in! It’s the PERFECT age to start teaching clean-up and chores. Usually I have to back-track over him to make sure everything is put away nicely, but he’s really getting the hang of putting things back where they belong.
Happy selling!
(p.s. remember to put fresh flowers on your kitchen table!)
Beth Anne writes words & takes pictures on The Heir to Blair.
You can also find her on the Twitters & Facebook.
Go Back To Toddler Times
4 Comments
Angie commented on Jan 03 12 at 8:49 amBut what do you do about your dog when you have a showing smack in the middle of the day? That was my biggest challenge back when we had our home on the market and we both commute.
Brandy commented on Jan 03 12 at 9:52 amYup. As you know, I am doing the same thing. You hit #3 right on the head. Teach them to pick up. I have to give a lot of credit to daycare here. He even knows a song to sing while he does it. He can’t watch TV until he picks up his toys. We have a bookshelf in our living room with nice baskets to put toys away every evening. It really takes 5 minutes to straighten up before bed. I showcased our storage HERE: http://www.mannlymama.com/2011/12/how-we-get-all-the-junk-in-the-truck/
Another thing we did was ship off big toys(though we don’t have a lot to begin with) and you know what? I don’t want them back. He clearly doesn’t miss them and they were an eye sore. He is happy with his trains and cars….all that can fit in a small backpack!
We are finding it is more work to sell a house with a dog than a toddler. Maybe we are just anal retentive parents :)
Meredith commented on Jan 04 12 at 7:14 pmWe had our house on the market in the fall (for the 3rd time in 2 years …but …) and THANKFULLY it sold w/in 10 days. We decluttered a lot, meaning, put away 75% of our daughter’s toys per the realtor’s instructions, also got rid of all picture frames, decorations, etc. Our house was bare, but it still looked nice.
& then when we went to go look at houses, I actually liked the ones w/ the bare minimum in there as well. I could picture myself in there more.
It also helps to do as many upgrades as you can afford. We bought one that needs seldom updating (if any) – only according to our taste. It was a toss up b/t that and more of a fixer upper, and I can tell you that just a few weeks away from our closing, I feel so much less stress knowing we hardly have to do a thing (including painting the walls!) to make it ours.
Good luck!
Becky commented on Jan 08 12 at 11:27 pmGood for you for teaching him to help now. My dad taught us to clean up our own toys as soon as could pull them out. Unfortantely he forgot to teach the baby of the family how to pick up. 20+ yrs later she still doesn’t pick up the best. lol
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
Mary L Weimer 
Beth Anne Ballance 
Ilana Wiles 
Natalie Holbrook 
Monica Bielanko 
Emily McClements 
Danielle Elwood 
Naomi Odes Aytur 
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.
4