Look how spiffy our house is looking these days:
With less than 5 days until the big move, we’ve learned that packing is no joke. But we’ve got our eye on the prize (our exciting new digs) so we’re trying to keep our spirits up, stay hydrated, and play some good music for dancing as we go (the dancing is for Clara- gotta keep the baby entertained or packing progress can screech to a halt). Oh and we got many of our “secondhand boxes” as we’re lovingly calling them by trolling craigslist and freecycle (and even driving to a local reader’s house when she offered some up to us on Facebook). But admittedly we did have to grab a few from Walmart when we ran out of pre-used ones. Oh well, at least they’re made from 100% recycled material and we can craigslist/freecycle them when we’re done so they’ll live on like Leo’s memory in Titanic. Sidenote: anyone else still have a grade school crush on Leo?
Our to-do list is pretty nuts, but so far we’ve managed to cross these things off:
- remove every single item from the wall and patch/paint every nail hole in the house (this was actually about 500 times easier than I expected- just remove all the nails at once, spackle everything at once, and then paint room by room. It’s a lot faster than doing those three things in each room before moving onto the next one since you’d be opening and closing the spackle and cleaning the putty knife about a million times).
- transfer all of our utilities so they start over at the new place on move-in day
- pack the entire bathroom (except for travel sized shampoo & conditioner, our toothbrushes, and the shower curtain)
- pack all of our frames, mirrors, books, ceramic animals, and 80% of the breakables (still need to do our dishware – yikes!)
- pack all of the clothes we won’t be using in the next 7 days (we created a little “vacation stash” of everything from clothes to baby supplies and toiletries that we’ll appreciate having on hand instead of needing to unpack a million boxes to find those necessities).
As for what’s still on the list, here’s what we’ve got on the agenda:
- pack the rest of the kitchen along with about 20% of the other rooms that still need to be done
- rake the yard so the new owners don’t think they’re moving into a giant leaf pile
- oversee the completion of a few random inspection items (some flue work is being done by a pro tomorrow)
- get our oil measured for closing (new buyers pay for the oil that’s left in the tank, isn’t that a nice fair way to do it?)
- wave goodbye to our tan slipcovered Pottery Barn sofa in the den (someone from craigslist is supposed to be picking it up at 4)
- clean the oven and the fridge (can’t really do this until right before we go)
- vacuum/sweep/scrub the house spotless before locking the door with a tear in my eye
Assuming all goes well, the new owners are supposed to be closing on our house on Monday morning and once those funds come through we can close on our new place on Monday afternoon. So for a few odd hours in the middle of the day we actually won’t be homeowners at all. Weird, right? This necessitates an airtight moving plan, which doesn’t exactly sound easy but we’re sure we’ll somehow get ‘er done. We’re planning to move all of our stuff into a giant U-Haul by Sunday night and are paying to keep the truck overnight so it’ll essentially become a huge storage locker on wheels until we can unpack it on Monday afternoon at the new house (where our alarm system will be getting installed at the same time). Should be interesting total chaos, especially since we’re used to a few trips back and forth when it comes to a big move like this. Thankfully we have John’s awesome family helping with the loading and unloading. Did you think we’d hire movers? Come on, we’re total cheap-os. Besides, we love a good DIY adventure. Here’s hoping it has a happy ending and none of my ceramic animal friends have to die for the cause…
Claire @ Claire K Creations says
You guys are very considerate to your new home owners. I hope they appreciate it! I can’t imagine you leaving your gorgeous house in any manner other than perfect though.
I can’t wait to see the new house. Happy moving!
jbhat says
The pictures sort of looked like your house was ransacked by a compusively neat burglar.
jbhat
wanderluster says
I don’t know why, but I feel a bit melancholy looking at these pics. I’ve been reading your blog almost since the beginning and know most every corner of your house. I remember the first video house tour. The yearly wedding recaps. Clara. I’m right there with you, excited to see what you do with the new place, but kinda sad to leave this one behind. Its been a good first house. On to the next adventure!
Harinee says
I think you’re great people and are very correct in what you are doing. I can’t believe people are questioning your decision to be civil to the new owners.
Wish you luck with a smooth closing & loads of happiness in the new house-You deserve that and much more!
simplyblythe says
you two/four are amazing!
Harinee says
Speaking of nail holes, could you please do a proper “how-to” on hanging a mid-sized picture or work of art? I can never understand if a nail is strong enough or is a screw is required.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Harinee,
There’s really no hard and fast rule, so when we hang a framed picture, usually a nail is sufficient if the frame isn’t too chunky. If it’s a heavier frame or mirror we always use a plastic anchor and a screw just to be safe. As an example, we hung the green mirror in Clara’s room and the large frame with the P that used to hang over our console table in the living room with an anchor and a screw, while all the frames on Clara’s asymmetrical frame wall were hung with a nail (since they were smaller and lighter). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Natalia says
I have to admit I’m a bit sad looking at those pics of your wonderful home. I have loved following all your decorating and remodeling projects but I’m SO looking forward to what you guys will do in this new place. You guys deserve an award just for being willing to move 2 weeks before Christmas!
Harinee says
Thanks for replying so quickly!
Audrey says
Where is Burger hiding in these pictures? I looked for his cute little head (or bottom haha) to be poking out somewhere!
YoungHouseLove says
I know! It’s usually like where’s waldo and you can find him… but he must have been sleeping in our bed!
xo,
s
Angela says
Did you have an alarm system at the house you’re leaving? What company did you use? I’ve been thinking that I want to have one installed. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Angela,
Our alarm company actually recommended that we not share their name on the blog a while back (just so we wouldn’t worry if there was an “inside job” after doling out those deets) so for our protection we don’t reveal that info. We just asked friends and family for recommendations, called a lot of places for estimates, and went with the one that felt like the best thing for our family. Hope it helps! So sorry to be so cryptic about it!
xo,
s
Amanda says
You have a lot of fragile stuff; must be all those ceramic animals. ;) Hehe.
I’m very excited to see your new place! Can’t wait — good luck (times a million) on the move!
I’m curious, where on earth were you keeping the lime green headboard since transforming your guest room to office/playroom/guest room?
YoungHouseLove says
Under the sofa in the den! John’s idea. He’s the brains of this operation.
xo,
s
Harinee says
I just realised you won’t have a bedframe in the new house! Where do plan to sleep till you get a new one? Or are the previous owners leaving any furniture for you?
YoungHouseLove says
On a mattress on the floor of course! It’ll take us back to nights spent here before we got all of our furniture…
xo,
s
Daniel says
What a beautiful home you are leaving behind guys. I surely hope that wherever you go, your decorating skills would be intact. Oh well, as the saying goes, “off to a better place”. Thanks! =)
Jackie says
Um…I definitely still have a crush on Leo. I have since 7th grade. Hehe!
Can’t wait to see the new place!
Anna-Katrin says
Did you have any checklist/plan of attack for the weeks preceding your move? We’ve sold our home and have 7 weeks until the big move, and I’m already freaking out about getting us packed up with 2 little ones around. (Okay, not having a new place yet might be part of the freak out, but anyway…) Any tips?
YoungHouseLove says
We had a list of the order that we wanted to do some things in (ex: we didn’t want to pack the kitchen until the very end since we would use most things, etc) so that helped to keep us organized. We didn’t really start doing anything major until about 2 weeks out though (just because we didn’t want to pack and then unpack lots of things that we later realized we needed). Just take it one room or area at a time and remember it’ll all be over soon enough! Good luck!
xo,
s