If you've been following along on Instagram you'll know that Brandon and I recently purchased a new home and have been preparing it for our big move. The house was definitely move-in ready but we had a few ideas in mind to make it more us. You know... we wanted to inject some of our personalities into the space, so we gave ourselves the rest of the summer to get to work. Well, it's officially September and we are ready to move in! Kinda? Almost? My goodness has the last few months been intense. So much back and forth between the new place, and so much blood, sweat, and tears have gone into it. And yes, I'm serious when I say blood. If you're wondering, yes, my broken foot is finally healing and yes, being off heavy lifting duty has definitely slowed us down.
However, this week we are doing the last push! I am soooo excited to just be there. I even slept there last night and it was so exciting! We've tiled the kitchen, scraped the ceilings, and are finally getting the last coat of paint on the house this week. This is our first official move together. When we moved in together the first time, we really accumulated as we went, so this time around there was packing to be done, painters to be scheduled and decisions to be made.
Here are 5 things I've learned so far:
1. Pack in stages.
Don't try to do it all in one day. It's overwhelming! Schedule your time accordingly. A few hours here to go through the closet, a few hours here to tackle the living room shelves. It makes it so much easier when you know you can take your time. There were a few moments where I just gave up because it was too overwhelming. Taking breaks helps! But don't give yourself too much time, because then you will end up putting it off for too long. Stick to a schedule!
2. Take this time to declutter and purge.
We went through our closets, cupboards, and drawers. We said goodbye to old junky things, partially ripped clothes and the cracked/mismatched dishes. No one needs a set of 3 odd glasses. It was the perfect opportunity to give away a lot of things. Which also feels amazing. Since we are also downsizing it is important for us to get rid of the unnecessary things we have accumulated. Not to mention, it feels nice to have less stuff! As for the closet, I've gone through it twice. The first time around I was holding on to too much. I made myself have another go at it and I became ruthless! If I haven't worn you all summer, BYE.
3. Budget more than you think you'll need.
Are you doing minor renovations? There are so many little, hidden costs that tend to arise. For example, we wanted to change out the kitchen cabinets. Knowing this would be a huge expense, we opted to paint them instead. We still hired someone to do this for us, but little costs were adding up! To cut costs we removed the doors ourselves and put them back on (yes, it helps when you have a handy family to help). We also didn't take into account just how expensive things are, like the painting! Did you know they charge by the square foot?! It really does add up! Giving yourself a little more to get the things done is totally worth it if you can.
4. Take burn out into account.
We thought we could do it all ourselves. Especially the painting. It seems easy enough, right? Nope. Boy was I wrong. It's time consuming, exhausting and can be extremely difficult to get those hard to reach areas like above the stairs and behind the appliances! Recognizing that we could not do everything ourselves was important and necessary. Since B and I are both working full-time jobs and trying to finish the house, we could only be there on weekends and evenings. It becomes another job, which adds another layer of stress, which in turn causes tension. When we realized things were getting tense we hired people where we could just to speed up the process and to remain sain.
5. Remember that not everything has to be perfect.
This is a hard one for me to swallow sometimes. I want it all done, and by the time we move in. We had to come to terms with the fact that some things are not a priority and that some things can be done once we move in. I know most people say, do it before or else you'll never do it. And while I can't say this will be true for us or not, but I've had to put things on hold. The most important thing is that we get into the house. We're focusing on that and the rest will come as it should.
Now that we have officially rented a truck for tomorrow do you have any tips for me?! I'd love to hear how your moves have gone! Smooth? Scary? Anything else I can expect?
-- If you liked The Virgin Suicides you'll be quick to jump to read this one. Let me set the stage for you: Northern California, summertime, the 60's. The book follows, Evie, a young girl who is coming of age and ends up getting mixed up with a cult that lives hidden in the hills on a ranch. Evie comes across this group of girls and is completely enamored, and from there the story gets a little crazy. A little bit of drugs, a little bit of seduction and a little bit of violence. It's definitely a thriller, but I found it quite slow to really take off. I was constantly putting it down at first and trying to force myself to get through the first bit. However, it's no doubt that Emma is a great writer, she is very poetic. The book is dark, a little melancholy and it sure has a thrilling end!
