I have received a few emails asking questions to which I shall
attempt to answer
One question I was asked about a month ago was. “I want to
sell my house; how do I know it looks presentable enough to show viewers
around?””
We can only do our best same as those who can see. Firstly, to
get them into our house, make sure the front garden isn’t cluttered. Try to
have your garden looking tidy. Ask someone sighted previous what your house
looks like from the front for example the facia boards and if there are any
wires hanging like your TV aerial? Make sure your windowsills are not cluttered
so they look tidy from the outside or if you have nets or blinds, again ask if
they are still nice and white or at least clean? If you don’t have anyone to
tell you this helpful information, then take it for granted that your window
dressings are not clean and have them either dry cleaned or do them yourself.
We know what our house smells like, so
possibly a plug-in oil burner that you can buy from places like Amazon. You
never need a candle with them you just buy the oil and plug the porcelain dish
into your socket. I never add water, only the oil and make sure it’s a nice
smell.
Vacuum dust and make sure your kitchen isn’t cluttered. Your
toilet seats are closed and possibly you don’t have towels on show in your
bathrooms. Lift up any bath mats and you could ask your estate agent to show
the people around. Haha. I didn’t and I can write a book on the stories I could
tell you about me showing people around my house… from a man who I closed the door
on, thinking it wouldn’t close because there was a door mat in the way, and
knowing me, I didn’t stop. I kept pushing it closed…. Until the poor guy spoke…
sounding as if in a lot of pain… to a man who just sat down in my Sons bedroom
and preceded to play my BW’s guitar! And it didn’t stop there, he started to
sing, asking me to join in….
Oh, well, he bought our house…
Don’t leave anything laying around like money or jewellery. Check
your radiators to make sure you don’t have any forgotten underwear left out to
dry. Any dead plants get rid of them. Make sure your beds are all made nicely. Tidy
away all shoes.
So, basically, it’s
the same for us than what it is for those who can see. With a few adjustments
like checking things we don’t touch every day like radiators and thinking about
things outside we don’t come across on a daily basis.
A lot of people I know who can’t see well or see at all are
afraid of gardening. They don’t like it, but these could be the same people if
could see, still wouldn’t like gardening. They keep a simple garden. Sometimes buying
artificial grass and just putting some pots out with plants/flowers that come
every year and have a few outdoor ornaments/statues to take away the plainness of
the basic garden. Then there are others who plant vegetables and every kind of
flower you can imagine. I know of a lot of people who are blind who love
gardening and they are so good at it… I’m kind of in the middle of those two. We
pay someone to keep our garden tidy but they only come every few months so it’s
up to us to try to keep it nice… I have loads of statues and pots. If I were to
start a garden from the start, then I would have a very basic garden. No shrubs
or hedging just a nice fence or wall with perhaps a couple of trees. Nothing that
needed cutting back or shaping.
I tried to put loads of those lovely solar power lights, but
the trouble is two things. One, when they need new batteries, how do I know? Some
are not able to change the battery so you throw them away when they stop
working, again, how do I know when they have stopped working? And, two, in the
winds, the tops blow off and they tilt so, finding the tops/shades and keeping
them looking nice and straight? Bit of a problem. So, again, if I were to have
lights possibly less and make them electric and solid so they wouldn’t move.
Some people like water features, if you can’t see, they
sound lovely, tranquil, right? But again, unless you want to get your hands dirty
or you have a gardener to keep your pond and features clean, it’s not easy.
I guess plan. If your sight is poor but may get worse, think
about when it could deteriorate and how you will cope with what you have.
© Fiona Cummings
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