Thank you all so much for your input and thoughts - each one validates my mixed up feelings. natal and mrsmarv I've been 'planning' a sale for a long time and each summer the time has slipped away, it didn't get done, another year passes. It's time to let go of the surplus but there are a few items that will hang back at least for now. This is feeling like my 2nd go round with a mid life crisis! Isn't one enough, LOL?? There may still be a cottage in my future - who knows? - but it won't be with my young boys, creating a place they'll want to return to someday with their kids. That's not a new loss, though since my youngest is now 21. oakley I've had those "dang - shouldn't have sold that!" regrets before! I've sold things at previous garage sales that would be the perfect little table in *that* corner..... but I hunt and find something else so the regrets don't last long. cyn *technically* I still have room, too, but this is a psychological crowding that needs breathing room. I like the photograph idea, too. I can have a folder on my computer labeled Furniture and Stuff I Have Loved!!! mitchdesi and Jan you hit the nail on the head - I need to let go and make room for whatever is waiting in the wings. *Stuff* has been holding me back. And it's fun to price things well, watch people get something they love and walk away happy. Onward - 8 days and counting!

Where are you located? Here in Florida, there are so many investors out there looking for deals to flip and of course they have to get the house for alot less than what the seller wants so they can do the fix up and flip it or as perhaps in your case - rent it out(since he wants the furniture)and still make a profit. Go to you county's Property Appraisal's website and look at all the houses in your area (your street or subdivision) where the houses are similiar in size to yours. Look at the Just Market Value and see how yours compares. You can also find recent sales in your area to do comparables. Your realtor should have already done this for you but if he/she is being honest with you, the price you are asking should be in line with those that are in your area and are same age, size, tc. If you have insisted on pricing it too high (please don't take offense, DH and I have been there, done that too), then you may not be getting offers that you would if it were priced appropriately. For alot of people there is an emotional tie to their home, especially if it has been "the family" home for a long time. My next door neighbor has refused to let her SIL sell her home (she lives in another city with her DD and SIL. They have lawn care done on it weekly and yet she has not lived in it for over the last 10 years. You may also be having to compete with many foreclosures that are around or even short sales where people are trying to get out from under homes that they can no longer afford to make payments on and will sell if the bank will accept what they can get for it and forgive the difference. If this same guy has visited your home 5 times in 19 months, he is not in a real hurry to relocate and is bidding his time, wanting to haggle with you. If you know where he is from, you can go to that county's Property Appraisal site and put in his name. It will show you a list of all the properties he has owned or owns. Bet you he is an investor/renter/flipper as well as a used car salesman. We are assuming that you have your own realtor and are not trying to sell it on your own. Remember if so, his realtor is not working for you - you definitely need someone to represent your interests. I'd tell the buyer's realtor you will get back to him when and if you are ready to go that low but for now that isn't happening. Then see what happens.

Thanks again snookums! I do wish the kitchen were bigger and could support an island. Unfortunately the distance between sink cabs and fridge cabs is only 96''. I could squeeze in a narrow 24'' island - but I think it would be more in the way than useful - particularly since I am stuck with a diagonal traffic pattern crossing from the front entryway to the family room. One CKD I spoke with suggested a small rolling island - which I could always add later if I decide to. The longest distance in the work triangle is 8' from the refrigerator to the sink. Everything else is within the suggested range of 4'-7'. I appreciate you challenging my decisions - it really helps me determine whether I am on the right track or not! I am far from perfect and the more eyes that look at this, the more likely all the kinks will be caught before they get implemented!

My DH loves BM Antique Jade. It's a shade darker than the Thornton Sage I used throughout my house. I was afraid the Jade would be too dark in foyer (small sidelights) and stairwell/hallway, but he might have been right. Maybe we'll paint everything that color in a few years (spent over $6000 painting interior of the house this past year).