The HGTV Influence

There is a possibility that we might be moving at the end of the summer.  The idea of putting my house on the market in this economy is daunting to say the least.  For some reason, the outside chance that I might be putting a For Sale sign in my front yard in less than 6 months has engendered an almost psychotic need to watch HGTV.

I watch Designed To Sell, The Unsellables, and House Hunters daily.  I even watch For Rent and Income Property.  Each show spends a portion of the time showing just how to make a house look attractive to buyers and renters.

I understand the basics of cleaning, de-cluttering, and staging.  Now, every room I walk through becomes a list of 'do's and don'ts' to me.  I'm not looking at my yard and flower bed planning spring planting because I like it, I'm looking at it from a curb appeal perspective.

At some point in my thinking, I have already surrendered ownership of this house.  I'm already thinking of the next place and what I want to have in that home.  There's a lot of work to be done to make my current house sellable.  I'm making lists and checking them twice.

My parents were not big home improvement people.  They moved into a house in 1971 that had twenty year old wallpaper on the kitchen walls and when they sold that house 31 years later, that wallpaper still hung in all its past glory.  They managed to make money on every house they ever bought and sold.  So I know that I don't HAVE to do a lot of improvements to sell the house.  I'm just becoming conditioned by HGTV shows.

They tell me to neutralize the colors on the walls and surfaces but to give the rooms color and POP by curtains and throw pillows and accessories.  They tell me to de-clutter and de-personalize the spaces by removing family photos and replacing taste specific art with more generic pieces.  Based on what I've observed on TV, I should pack up most of my books and almost all my framed photos. 

I don't really want to do all this.  I just feel driven to do so.  When I do call the realtor about listing this house, I want it to be in great shape.  I want one less worry if I have to move.  So, I obsess about the cabinetry in the bathrooms and if the fixtures should be replaced.  I wonder about staining versus painting the woodwork.  I fret about lighting and countertops.  When will it all end??

I think I should tune into the Food Network and quit worrying about the house.  But I'd probably gain 20 lbs.  Better to do some work on the house, I think.

--Sandee Wagner