You know, this time last year I wouldn’t have expected to be typing two things…a house update and typing that on a blog!! But, here I am!
Packing…
Oh, I hate packing with a vengeance! Nigel has a bit of drill sergeant in him when it comes to getting this house packed! Of course, he’s doing most of that from a supervisory position as I’m a bit…ok a little…ok tremendously picky about how things are packed. Yesterday, we packed (I did…who am I kidding here) my main closet. Many things were already gone as I’d mentioned here that I used my winter sweaters to cushion fragile things.
How not to pack…
Of course, I was concerned only about the blog. First mistake! I now have clothes, out of a multitude of boxes, that will only work for a blog post (because it’s hot as blazes here). I have exactly four pairs of shorts, no swimsuits (cuz I wasn’t going to go swimming…only that’s now changed), a few sleeveless tops, and some very heavy short sleeved tee shirts! Dresses, winter boots, necklaces? Oh, yes, those are still hanging around. But, actual wear-everyday-life clothes have been packed because I don’t do well under pressure! And, I’m feeling the pressure!
Pressure, what pressure…
Our build is going quite fast. We have reached that phase where the really big noticeable things are done…like actual walls and a roof! Now, it’s all of the behind the scenes, in the walls, under the house things going on. I think sometime in the next week or so, the painters will get inside the house. But, the actual end date? Anyone’s guess! The builder said he’d have us in before September! September? Oh, just typing those words makes my heart speed up! Legally, we can stay until the end of August, but we have to pay rent for the month of August. If we are out in the early days of August, that rent does not have to be refunded. I don’t know…is that usual? We haven’t ever sold a house without having a place to go. I was planning for the end of July as that’s the date we were given way back when. I know supply chain issues and workers on other job sites could delay things.
But, my clothes…
I am just really freaking out a bit because I’ve packed away so many clothes I think I’m going to need (if we’re really not in until the end of August). And, as unbelievable as it sounds, I really don’t want to buy new clothes just because my others are packed away. And, honestly? This is such a first world problem, right? I should be (and I am) grateful I have a home and clothes to pack up. Nigel says we will be so much happier when the move comes up because everything is already packed. I don’t necessarily think he’s right on this one!
Wrap it up, Marsha!
So, what do you think? Are you Team Marsha, and it’s OK to wait for a couple of weeks to pack up the rest? Or, are you Team Nigel, and we should just get everything all packed up and ready to go? So, can we talk? Please leave a comment or two with your horror stories or not horror stories about moving. Let me know which team you’re on! If you do, we can talk and have a conversation!
Last minute update…
Insert all of the bad, sad, angry emojis and gifs here! The builder called and left a voicemail. He’s projecting a completion date of the third week of August…two (bloody blanking words I use on the regular but won’t on the blog yet)…months from now! The good news? We have garage doors, and the garage floor will be poured tomorrow. Nigel suggested I just unpack a box to find clothes. I won’t tell you what I was thinking. Let’s just say it wasn’t nice, and it included lots of those cursey words! I’m just going to get good and bored with the clothes I’ve kept out to wear every day. In case you’re wondering, Nigel’s closet is NOT packed…hmmmm….
Thank you!
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I haven’t moved in ages so I can only imagine what you’re going through. Hang in there, the new house will be so fabulous! And you know what? Who cares about the clothes, you’ll be in survival-unpack-get organized mode. You can make collages of what to wear and not have to worry about actual photographs! Just a thought.
xo,
Kellyann
Thanks, Kellyann! I am really hoping the new house is what I’m thinking in my head. I already know it will need painting as the builder will paint different colors for a whole lot of money! And, I love to paint! I actually have the clothes for the blog left out…it’s the every day wearing clothes I forgot to leave enough out…well, at the time, I thought it was enough!
When my husband and I got engaged we owned a house and the day after my wedding shower we sold it with plans to build and live in a tiny apartment at my parents house in the meantime. Trying to plan a wedding, finish up college, pack and think about what we’d need for the next year or so versus what we could pack and send to storage nearly did me in. I can’t tell you how many duplicates we had when we finally moved into our new home because I got sick of rifling through storage boxes looking for a missing pan or article of clothing or what have you. Building a house was so stressful with so many decisions to make– and we didn’t even have supply chain issues to deal with back in 2001/2002… yet it did take us much longer to build than we had anticipated with delays from wetlands and zoning and the different subcontractors. I don’t envy you this time at all but know that it will be over at some point, it all will work out somehow, and in the end I’m sure you’ll be glad to have gone through all this to get a new home that you love. I tend to be more like Nigel in that I like to get all the work done ASAP but I also am one of those uber organized people with spreadsheets, labels, and I literally had a list of what was going in what box. Best of luck to you!!
Doggone it, Joanne! I should have asked you for advice…not that I knew all of this! But, a spreadsheet is genius! I am a list maker and have ticked the boxes as we go along. Then, I just begin another list! I do have everything very well labeled because I remember the last time we unpacked…so unnerving thinking you were going to find this and found that instead! But, it will be like Christmas when we unpack, I hope!!!
And, that would have been a very stressful year…getting married, graduating, moving, and building all at once!!! Is this the home you currently live in? If so, you did a fabulous job!
I am surprised you are packing this early, especially your clothes! I think I would have waited till a month from a move out date to even start and ended with the clothes as I feel they are easiest to box. Good luck!
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
Oh, believe me, I kept saying we should wait until at least the end of June or first week of July. Nigel, on the other hand, kept insisting it would be better in the long run! And, I think clothes are the hardest because you have to plan what to keep out and just how long it will be packed and how to pack it so it won’t look awful when you unpack it (I don’t even want to think about that)! I think packing up the kitchen is the easiest…but it will be the last!
I think this is a perfectly good reason to go shopping if you ask me, haha!!
XOOX
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Well, I might have bought a few things today! I must have sounded pretty frantic yesterday. My daughter called me today and offered some of her Lilly Pulitzer should I need it!!!
Wowzie this is a major over haul. I lost my mom in October of 2020 and had to sell the house and move and it was quite the ride I must say, not for the faint of heart. But it was a great excuse to shop for things for the new apartment and there is a Home Goods a five minute walk from my apartment. I have already spent a pretty penny in there.
Allie of
http://www.allienyc.com
First, my condolences on the loss of your mom. Mine passed in 2004, and I still miss her. I hope you have many memories to comfort you.
Oh, moving…you were right in the thick of Covid then, too, weren’t you? Yikes! I hope you are all settled in now…with your goodies from Home Goods. We will be moving a little closer to one but not so close as to be dangerous!
Thanks so much for coming by!
I’m probably closer to your end of things with packing things up closer to the time to go. Especially since you don’t have a firm moving date yet! It was wonderful when we had to move a few years ago and Matt’s company paid for us to be packed and moved. They packed everything a few days before and loaded it all up. I just needed to have a suitcase with essentials we needed in the interim. Good luck with it all! Your house is. really coming along!
That would be a dream move, Laura!! I keep thinking the move to this house surely wasn’t this difficult seven years ago! But, we had thought we were downsizing then so we’d gotten rid of so much. And, then we moved into a bigger house than we had before (our original plan fell through so we ended up in this house), and we filled it right up! Although I hated doing the packing, now that most of it is done, I’m feeling a little less stressed!
Thanks for coming by!
The thought of moving makes me shudder, I haven’t done it since 2005. I moved around quite a lot in the period 1992 to 2004. Packing is the worst thing, plus the amount of stuff that we all accumulate and are suddenly frantic to get rid of. When I moved to Germany for 18 months, in 1999, that was the best move because my company paid for a company to do all the packing (which was done beautifully) and to transport my stuff from here to Munich. As long as you have enough clothes to last you for a few weeks you should be fine. From a blog POV I’m always happiest when all my clothes are at my disposal, in case the monthly challenge requires something that is up in the attic (where I won’t go). But I don’t have enough storage space, so I have to choose a moment when the hubster is in a good mood, to get him to go up and find the right box.
We lived in our last house from 1989 until 2015 so moving was a shock. I didn’t think I’d be doing it again so soon, but it’s time to have everything on one level. And, you’re so right…the packing is the worst! I remember packing up things I needed so I thought I’d do a better job this time. I think my problem has been my supervisor! If he would just go away and let me do it, things would happen in a much more orderly way. My daughter’s husband was in the Navy so she never had to move them either until the last one when they moved in with us for a few months and then into their current home.
I do think I may have to forego some monthly challenges as I don’t know what they will be. Time will tell, I guess!
The building part is all quite exciting. It’s beginning to resemble a home! But the packing woes….? Just Ugh. As you know, it’s been less than a year since I did that. Timing is so hard to judge under the best of circumstances, and worse when the end date keeps changing. There are things that you need up until moving day, and others not so much. If it were me, I’d go clothes shopping rather than unpack.
Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
I have to admit I did do a bit of shopping…just some sleeveless tops and shorts. It really is beginning to look like a house. We’re just at that point where all of the big noticeable things are done. But, at least it’s only a couple of miles and not cross country like you!
Wow, things are coming along. Probably not quite fast enough, though, huh? I vote for you to buy a few new tops to wear with whatever pieces you have unpacked. If you don’t have jeans or a pair of denim/chambray shorts available, maybe pick up a new pair? You will use them and won’t have to feel badly about buying them. Grab a swimsuit, too. They are on sale now. And then make do with that. Maybe an easy dress that can be dressed up or down…with a jacket, kimono, necklace.
Love the idea of a laundry room in the closet. Oh yes!! I lug our clothes up and down the stairs. First world problem. And I wish I had an area for folding the clothes. I have to take them to the bedroom to fold. At least I am not washing them on rocks along a river bank, right?
I did buy a few new tops and pair of white shorts. I’m just going to let things roll…That should have been my word of the year! I do hope the laundry room/master closet works well. I’m a little worried about space because once those appliances are in there, there’s not quite as much space.