Just a quick note here to let you know that, thanks to “unpredictably good weather,” we are being asked to close on the house we’ve been building two and a half months prior to the date we thought we’d be closing. And because the builder contract contains language that requires us to close upon completion, regardless of what dates we were quoted and had negotiated up front (and even had added to the language of the contract with our realtor present), several things are going to have to happen to allow us to be ready by closing day, set for the end of August: we have to get our current house ready to show as a rental, and we have to make sure we have not only the cost at closing in hand (we do), but also an additional not-insignificant chunk of change for requirements to make the new house functional as a living space (window treatments, eg.).
As a result, we face several challenges. First, as some of you know, my wife broke her wrist about a month back and is still in a cast. Second, schools these days, at least here in CO, begin in early-to-mid August, meaning that Satchel will need to be transported daily to and from school and won’t be able to help watch his younger brother after the 12th of next month during the daytime hours.
Because my wife works from home when she isn’t traveling (and she has several trips planned between now and our closing date), I’m going to have to balance watching Tanner, getting things packed up and out of our current space 2.5 months in advance of our prior schedule, securing the contractor work for the new house once we close, and completing cosmetic fixes to our current house — along with its staging — so that we can get the place ready to show as a rental. This involves putting in new carpeting and having the banisters sanded and re-stained, as well as small touch-up paint jobs and a few little dry wall fixes. And all that involves getting everything out of the house before we can move into the new house.
So needless to say, I’m going to be insanely busy, and if I manage to make it through these next 5+ weeks without suffering a coronary and/or a nervous breakdown, I’ll be genuinely surprised.
I’ll continue posting here as time allows, of course. But if I disappear for days at a time, chances are it’s because I’m unable even to make it to the computer, much less put down anything of interest on the site. I don’t anticipate this to become as noticeable to the remaining readers here until sometime during the middle of August. But it turns out that we have a lot of shit to move, and essentially one person, for the time being, to get it packed and moved.
Say your prayers for us.
If, however, we are able to pull this off, I’ll have my own office (my wife and I currently share one; the new house has one for each of us), we’ll have an in-law suite where my wife’s Mom can stay (so she can help watch Tanner), and we’ll have a lot more space to get projects done — and to escape, from time to time, the very open concept we have now, which when you have two children means a single large playroom that stretches from the stove-top to the far wall of the family room, veering off down the hall to the front door and taking an abrupt left just before getting there to spill into the office.
The days of stepping on Lego pieces may soon over. If I can make it through the next two months. A big if, sure. But I’ve become desperate.
Hang in there, boss. The whole Move-into-New-Home affair is one of the most stress inducing things in our lives.
Just make sure to have someone ELSE come stock your fridge with ready-to-eat yummies and adult beverages for the first night you’re there.
It helps.
stock your fridge
heck, at the same time stock pw with a fire under your adjunct posters’ butts to write more stuff of their own.
May you have clear sailing though this. At least there is a good harbor, in sight, to pull into in the end.
Do you have to get out of your current home when you close on the new? If not, this will actually give the leisure (yeah, yeah, I kid) to take the 2 1/2 months to get the window treatments picked out for the new place and to make any fixes at the old place, as well as taking your time getting bids on movers.
No complaints from me, Jeff. Still happen to support and don’t see any reasons to stop on my personal horizon.
happy not happen.
Stupid me/internet.
– Take heart bunky. Just remember that when you’ve passed through the gauntlet you’re about to face and want to breathe a sigh of relief and look forward to a much needed spate of relaxed living that as sure as day follows night a long almost inexhaustible list of house repairs needing immediate attention will mysteriously appear.
Good luck with the move, Jeff. We did (hopefully) our final move two summers ago and it is, as Darleen says, mildy stress-inducing. But it also counts as a Life Event.
Chin up, we’ll keep the chatter going, and see you on the other side.
And if the Zombie Apocalypse is also early, you’re ahead of the game.
—If you have to sacrifice one thing, forget the yummies.
Did you know Bourbon is made of corn? Yum.
Did you know most Vodkas are made with potatoes? Filling.
Etc…
All your nutritional needs in a bottle! —ain’t Western Civilization grand?
—Godspeed, my son.
The days of stepping on Lego pieces may soon over.
Don’t bet on it! There is nothing like the feeling of stepping on a Lego brick, and coming to the realization that the only person in the house who plays with Legos is yourself. Related: Did anybody see the Lego Firewalk that made the rounds a couple of weeks ago? Impressive bit of inspiration, that.
Hang in there, Jeff. I’ve found that when the list of everything I need to get done in the next two months looks a little overwhelming, I just concentrate on what needs to get done in the next couple of days, and that seems more manageable. Also, bourbon.
I’m in my third week of cleaning out old junk from our old house, and was seeing light at the end of the tunnel.
Then I looked in the basement.
If you’ve never seen the wild look in a hobo’s eyes after he’s spent two years subsisting on spider webs and his own two arms and one leg (inexplicably, he hadn’t touched the one chained to the water pipe), you haven’t lived.
And once again, I am glad to make Protein Wisdom my political home.
The “Hey you guys, is Obama a bad President? For serious this time?” on other Conservative sites is a joke.
Many other “Conservative” sites wander off the reservation in the years between elections. Most of them will snap back to a “take another one for the team and vote RINO” this fall.
I guess that shouldn’t be “RINO,” since the GOP is currently dominated by statists. However, you all get what I was trying to convey.
I appreciate the support, folks! I spent a four hours today and managed to get about 5 bookshelves packed away.
I’m going to stroke out.
” we have to get our current house ready to show as a rental,”
not really. i’ve shown properties to future tenants while the property was occupied by current tenants. if you just have nickle/dime repairs, i’d post it for rent on craiglist and start showing it as time permits.
Jeff,
You may be able to but a few days by being very picky on the walk-through. Make sure your realtor is there (along with as many educated eyes you can bring over).
Might we call them, Crank, ‘Sunshine Conservatives’ and RINOs – that covers them all, methinks.
added: i showed a recently purchased property to a current tenant because she has two almost school age kids in a mediocre school district. this new property is in a better school dist. she agreed to rent it before i gutted it and did the rehab(that’s what i’m doing now. they don’t make them like they did in 1890. yes they used alot of coal back then)!
It’s really just the carpet, nr. We had two dogs and a 2-year-old (now 10) and a current 2-year-0ld who’ve lived on it. It needs ripping out and the house, which has great cathedral ceilings and lots of light, will show much better.
And we do want to get it shown soon, because of the school situation.
I think we’re going through Housing Helpers, who will do all the vetting and credit checking, etc.
damn hoochie cumslut horizon
> will show much better.<
true but you aren't "selling" it. check craigslist for similar rentals in your area for price take some nice pictures and post. see what the response is. i don't know the market is there but if not bad you could have it rented in a couple of weeks.
Speaking as someone who has moved everything I owned more than 50 times (yes, 50… why are you looking at me that way?) since the Ford Administration, I can offer a few tips for packing.
Don’t worry about sorting. Just start with (say) the north wall in (say) the master bedroom, pick an end, and start putting things in boxes. When you have a full box, label it “Master BR North-1”, and start with the next box. When you reach the end of the wall, stop with that box, and start a new one for the east wall.
You will end up with about 20% more boxes than you would otherwise, but you have shifted the sorting mess to when you get to where you are going (when you will have time to do it), and when you are trying to remember where something is, you only need to remember where it was.
Trust me, it makes things a lot easier.
oh also this: if you are the one showing the place; schedule allowing for “no shows”. that’s annoying especially if you have stuff to do so have sumthing to do there.
ymmv on my advice. just my experience in renting residential.
good luck
if I disappear for days at a time
Well… byeh.
/Powers Boothe as Curly Bill Brocius.
One month ago, I loaded nearly everything we owned in the world into one 28-foot-long semi trailer, in a space of 2 days. On the third day, I loaded up a 20-foot u-haul truck with the remainder (including mattresses and such things as didn’t pack well into the trailer) and set out on the journey from Orlando to somewhere in southern Indiana. Where I will continue to work for my current employer, telecommuting.
How THAT will work out: leap of faith.
The uhaul drive was not the move; that was to move the stuff we aren’t storing, and reach an agreement with the owner of the house we are buying. That house is smaller than our former residence (sold at end of June), but sits on five acres adjacent to my Dad’s farm.
Next Friday is when we pack up two dogs, a cat, the kids and a great heap of clothing, books and my office materials into a uhaul trailer and start driving. We close on Monday, then we get to tear out the kitchen and replace it with something modern. And then my chore list starts to grow. And while that is happening, I have to figure out some ways to keep myself working and selling more work to my employer who will be nearly 1000 miles away. And at the end of August, my oldest goes off to college while I try to keep our bankers and the bursar lubricatef with cash.
Which is not to try for one-upsmanship so much as to say: I feel your pain, brother.
The days of stepping on Lego pieces may soon over.
I sincerely hope not. Those days are gone all too soon.
The days of stepping on Lego pieces may soon over.
My youngest is 5 and I fear that those days will sadly be behind me all too soon. Enjoy the foot pain while you can.
The last time my wife and I moved (we wanted kids and our starter home was just too small), we were still sweeping and carrying out the last couple of carloads while the new owner was waiting out in the driveway. She was very nice about it, but it was nerve wracking. And this after 1-1/2 months of replacing carpet, rebuilding window frames, repainting, etcetera, plus all of the effing packing after it got too dark for me to work outside anymore. It was 6+ weeks of actual hell, but it all worked out. I had no idea how I’d get through it at the time and I’m still amazed that I did so successfully. My guess is that one day you’ll look back on this time, gulp down a stiff drink and cry like a baby. Hey, moving sucks. I don’t know how to sugar coat it. But it will be behind you soon enough. Hang in there.
If all the Lego pieces my brother and I had when we were little were still all together in one box rather than variously embedded in God knows how many bare feet, the set would still be worthless because we opened the box.
I hate moving.
NO ONE CAN ESCAPE THE LEGO MENACE!
… and good luck.
I haven’t posted in a long time, but had to come out of the shadows to wish you good luck. We moved 3 months ago into a house that is a “project”, to say the least. We also moved about a year sooner than we were planning to, but fortunately it was less than a mile away.
Lifting with your legs, not your back, is good advice. Having a refrigerator stocked with adult beverages on each end throughout the process is great advice.
Glad to see you commenting again, Scott.
Thanks, Kevin. Between working full time, being in school almost full time, and taking care of family stuff I don’t get to spend much time online. Sure miss the PW gang!