Let me tell you, I knew that once we made up our minds to move, the momentum would pick up, but this is ridiculous! In the last two days, I have completed more tasks around my house than I have in the last two years. Why the hurry? Oh my gosh, we had the first realtor over yesterday and she brought us very good news. Scratch that, great news! After thoroughly reviewing ‘comps’ in the area, she determined that our home has nearly tripled in value since we bought it 7 years ago. Yes! You heard me right! I thought she was pulling my leg at first but she was dead serious. Of course, there’s a part of me that doubts anyone would pay such ‘crazy’ money for our home but you never know. Still, I am beyond excited because if we do net what she indicated, we should have no problem purchasing our next home with cash. Could someone pinch me? I think I’m dreaming!
I never imagined this would happen in my lifetime, to be able to own a home ‘free and clear’. It feels like I’ve won the lottery! But there’s much to do before that can happen, first we have to actually sell our current home. And I probably shouldn’t ‘count my chickens before they hatch’ because that usually leads to disappointment. Anyway, I would really love it if our home was completely done and that we could post a ‘for sale’ sign out front tomorrow, but that simply isn’t the case. Excuse my French, but there is a sh*t ton of work to be done! In an everyday life scenario, I wouldn’t be too troubled about it. I figure, “There’s always tomorrow.” However, I don’t have the luxury of putting off any more projects (for another day) if I want to get my house on the market and move before the flakes begin to fall. No, I have precisely until Thursday of this week to get the bulk of it done. Why Thursday? Thursday is when the realtor is going to have a photographer stop by and take pictures of our home (for the listing).
Ack! I thought my insomnia was bad before but now it’s worse than ever! Who can sleep when there is so much to do in so little time? I sure can’t! When I try to close my eyes, all I can think about is all the stuff that needs to get done. On top of ‘depersonalizing’ our home, we need to repair, strip, and paint the perimeter fence and cinder block wall, fill in the depressions in the front yard (where trees were previously) with concrete and then top with gravel, pressure wash what’s left of the pond in order to remove the turquoise paint (which stands out like a sore thumb), prep all of the areas that need paint in the master bedroom (which means hammering any nails or staples that are sticking out, filling all of the holes with putty and then sanding them smooth afterward, vacuuming the dust, and then taping above, below, and on either side of each piece of door trim and/or baseboard), and once all the prep is done, actually get out a brush or a roller and paint!
Sigh. If only I just had the trim and baseboard (and pony wall) in the master bedroom to paint! Alas, I also need to do the same in the laundry room, part of the living room, the art studio, and in various places throughout the house that I overlooked (there’s a lot). I also need to paint the closet in the bathroom and most of the doors in the house. Hmmm, what else is there? Oh, there’s plenty more (including cleaning the entire house from top to bottom), but I think you get the point. I just hope we can get it all done in time. If we don’t, we’ll have to reschedule the photographer. It’s not a deal breaker, but it will certainly postpone our move (which may or may not be a good thing). All of this work has been a pain in the neck (and back) but it has also been incredibly fulfilling! We’ve knocked out so many projects!! There have been countless things we said we’d get to ‘later’ and ‘later’ never came. Well, it has now! It just showed up on the front porch and is ringing the doorbell!!
Oh! I just thought of something you might get a chuckle out of. Since we’re moving fairly soon, in my infinite wisdom, I thought ‘procuring’ some moving boxes would be a good idea, so I got on my favorite website (Craigslist) and placed an ‘in search of’ ad. Within a day, I received a text from a guy who said he had ‘tons of them’. I was so stoked that I was able to get my hands on some ‘free’ moving boxes, I didn’t even ask the guy any questions, I just hopped in the car and drove over (with my husband). Oh. My. Goodness. I just have to ask, what is it about Craigslist? I have noticed that there is a significant disparity in how people determine what is either new, like new, excellent, good, fair, or poor. What I wasn’t aware of, however, was how many other things can get ‘lost in translation’. What do I mean by that? Hmmm. I guess the best way to put it is that my concept of a ‘moving box’ and other people’s isn’t necessarily the same, and I learned that the hard way yesterday.
After obtaining the address of the guy who had ‘tons of moving boxes’, my husband and I headed over in our truck. The first thing we came across was a ‘moving sale’ sign when we pulled up to the house. Littered over the entire driveway were random odds and ends. The ‘gentlemen’ who had the boxes available was seated on the right-hand side of the driveway, and when we walked over and introduced ourselves, he promptly stood up and guided us inside his house (of horrors). My jaw dropped and nearly hit the floor when I walked through the front door! I have never seen such filth! I don’t know what the heck happened but the walls were destroyed and every square inch of flooring was gone. That part wasn’t so bad, it was what was there in lieu of flooring. Are you ready? Dog poop and pee! Yes, it was throughout the entire home, from the kitchen to the livingroom and everywhere in between. It was like walking through a mine field.
And there amongst the ‘piles’ were stacks of boxes. They were boxes, alright, but they were certainly not moving boxes. There were ‘tons of them’, to be sure, but they were in no way, shape, or form ‘moving boxes’. Most of them were on the small-ish side (some were barely large enough to get a bottle of shampoo into) and it was obvious they were all leftovers from online orders he’d placed or food he’d purchased. I think there were even some cereal boxes in amongst them. And, not surprisingly, every single box was disgustingly dirty. “I’d really like you to take them all,” he suggested, as he pointed towards the stack. “Not today,” I thought to myself, as I tried to come up with a polite excuse as to why they wouldn’t work for my purposes. I really think the guy was trying to dupe me into taking his garbage. Bleck! After my husband and I exchanged awkward glances, I told the guy that we were in need of boxes that were much larger, and we hightailed it out of there.
Boy, did I feel like an idiot after that! What a waste of time!! I don’t know why I didn’t think to ask a couple of questions before I hopped into the car. It probably would have been wise to request a photo before making the trip. Oh, well. Lesson learned. I can assure you I’ll do my research next time. Fortunately, our little ‘misadventure’ didn’t eat up too much of our day, so we were able to make a sizable dent in our ‘projects list’ once we returned home. Between yesterday and today, the amount of things we’ve accomplished and projects we’ve completed is significant. It’s a good thing the adjustment to my medication helped get my blood pressure in check because I wouldn’t have been able to do an eighth of the things I’ve managed to do over the last few days. There is still so much to do but I am happy to say we’re much closer to the ‘finish line’. Just a few more laps around the track and we should be there. Anyway, I’d better wrap this up. I still need to do the dishes, get a shower, eat my snack, and read up on all of the ‘latest news’ before I climb into bed (and attempt to sleep).
Have a fantastic week! Can you believe we’re already halfway through June??!! Where has the time gone?
My entire family is insane. 