Showing Your Home 101....for the OCD

With the house on the market I am having flashbacks to the last time I lived through showings--- six months of showings. Usually our house is pretty neat as each day begins. The kids know how to make their beds and that clothes should be put away out of sight. They have gotten used to leaving a few toys out in their rooms so they did have to change that habit. In general our house needs to begin each day looking as if we don't live here. D is having some difficulty with the concept; he has always left soon after a house went up for sale to begin a new job. Slowly he is catching on to the fact his slippers won't be on the bathroom floor where he left them, his water cup will be whisked into the dishwasher instead of being saved for later, and his wife is a near constant spastic nag. My thought is that any showing could be THE showing. A showing can be called in at any time and if I am out and about running errands I don't want to have to abandon a task to run home and clean up. The clean up/prep for a showing is easier to do if it is only a quick dust mop, turn on the lights, and wipe down the counters. The traffic for home showings has been good. What is annoying but expected is (since there is new construction in our neighborhood) some people are looking at our floor plan and finishes to gather ideas for their own home building effort. Most showings are quick at 15 - 20 minutes. A really good showing is about 30 and gets our hopes up. Last evening's showing lasted an hour and it seems from their realtor feedback the house is outside their price range. So why did they spend an hour looking? Oh well. I think what gets to me about selling a house is that it is completely out of my control. I can't force someone to buy the house....can I? love and hugs, B