Listed!

Today my home went on the market. How interesting that it somehow feels odd to have a For Sale sign outside my home. I feel like a displaced person. Which is strange since it was my choice to move and I haven't gotten an offer or anything yet even. After all, the house was only listed today.

I have written before about my cat-like qualities, and this is another area in which I and cats have a lot in common. I'm not a fan of change. Not really. I like to rearrange my furniture periodically. Buy some new art and reposition the existing art. Change my hairstyle. Buy new clothes. But big changes, like moving, scare me more than a little.

I suppose it's a control thing too. Whether and when the house sells is not really in my hands. I have done all that I can do to make it attractive. I have replaced almost every element of the house in the past eight years. New hardwood floors on the main floor. New carpet on the other two floors. New interior doors to replace the cheap construction grade ones. New windows to replace the cheap construction grade ones of those too. New paint in most rooms. New air handler. New gate for the fence. New upstairs shower. New kitchen with granite countertops. Lots of improvements. And I must admit most of them were done not only to meet my aesthetic but with sn eye toward what another owner might like. So I have relinquished control now to the realtors. And the home buyers. And it's a little scary.

It's also a little like dating. Your home is a reflection of your tastes. If no one else likes it, does that mean you have bad taste? I'm told that many home buyers can't envision what the home will look like with their own touches. That's why you have to put in new carpet and paint to sell. Which I think is absurd. Maybe it's the architect's daughter in me, but I see the bones of the house - not what the owners have done or not done. If I like their paint choices, all the better. But those things are changeable. Where the walls fall is not. Still, I want prospective home buyers to like my taste. Much as I would like a date to like the way I look.

The last thing that makes this process so weird is that my house has been de-personalized. Gone are the family photos. I've taken down a lot of my artwork. My personal stuff is tucked away in closets and drawers. It's also very neat. I keep a clean house most of the time. But there's usually a certain amount of clutter around. Bills to be paid. Magazines to read. Books in progress. CDs from the car that haven't been put back in the racks yet. Random diet coke bottles that are partially drunk. None of those things are in evidence right now. Counters are bare. Carpets are vacuumed. Shoes are in closets. Books are on their shelves.

I don't know how long I will be living like this. Some homes have been selling in a week in my neighborhood. Which is also scary. Because it means I have to find a place for me and the cats to go next.

Change is strange. Change is good. There's no turning back. I'm listed!