Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The Moving Adventure Part 1

Yesterday we closed on both of our houses. We signed the papers to sell our house at noon, and signed the papers to purchase our new house at 4pm. Since we're moving an hour away, the closings were in different towns. Earlier in the morning, our buyers had their final walk-through in our home. To say it was a busy day would be downplaying it!

But it all worked out, and I'm thrilled to have everything finalized. My husband and I bought 15 gallons of paint and a hand-held steamer to remove wallpaper before heading to the new house to check it out. The house needs updating. We're used to house projects, and we're excited to fix it up in our style. Some of the work we'll hire out, and some we'll do ourselves.

I thought we were just dropping off paint. I didn't exactly expect my husband to start chipping away at  the ceramic tile surrounding the fireplace three minutes after we arrived, but maybe I should have? Ha! While he popped tiles and ripped up carpet for an hour, I took my sweet time inspecting everything.

And I realized--boy, do we have our work cut out for us.

Between a desperate need of a power wash, the multiple bees nests in every eave, a dilapidated deck crying for stain, a peeling, leaning mailbox, and let's not forget the weeds peeking up through the cracks in the concrete driveway--the outdoors alone will keep me busy for quite a while.

Indoors, we're facing several rooms of wallpaper, dirty windows, an out-of-date kitchen, carpet that needs to disappear pronto, and light fixtures that have seen better days.

Yes, it will be a lot of work, but I know it will be worth it. The neighborhood is great, the layout just right, and the town is super cute. We can't wait to get started!

For all of you interested in packing methods, I'm sharing my suggestions, so stop by Melissa Tagg's blog today. I'm honored to be her guest--thanks, Melissa, for having me!

Is your house a work-in-progress? What's your next decorating project?

Have a fantastic Wednesday!

24 comments:

  1. Congratulations! I grew up my whole life in fixer-uppers, and swore that when I was an adult I was going to buy a FINISHED house. Somehow, though, every house Carl and I have lived in has needed considerable work to bring it up to where we want it - and we only rent! I've started to accept that even if we buy a perfectly finished house someday, I'll still find myself puttering around here and there, working on little projects to make it more "us." Oh well!

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  2. Post some before and after photos! That would be fun to see. We tried the remodeling thing and figured out we're lousy at it. :) I work for a homebuilder, and now we live in a new house. It makes life a lot easier for two unhandy people.

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  3. Enjoy it while you still can, Jill. When you get older and become plagued with joint problems and repetitive motion becomes a four-letter word, you will find home projects less exciting, to say the least. Fortunately, I don't have that much left to do in my house. Gave up the vegetable garden this year.

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  4. My porch is being rebuilt because it was becoming rotten, but when the contractor tore it up, he discovered some serious short cuts the home builder made that need to be dealt with. In other words $$$$$. :(

    We're planning to move in the next few years and know we'll need to renovate whatever house we move to. We're not doing it though. More than likely we're hire our current contractor. Let's just say the porch is our test drive of him.

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  5. That does sound like a lot of work. I'm glad you love the neighborhood so much. Makes it worth it.

    I think we're done with remodeling projects in the house. We're concentrating on the outside. We homestead on six acres and we're slowly landscaping the outdoors with animal pens, gardens and interesting places to stop, sit, and enjoy the outdoors.

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  6. I love hearing what you are doing and how well you organized the closings!! Good for you! You will love doing this-- I know we do. I am busy packing right now and dreaming about my house.

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  7. I love do-it-yourself projects! If you need help with painting, give me a call. I'd be more than happy to come down.

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  8. I keep saying I'm going to refinish my bedroom furniture...we'll see. :)

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  9. Last year we bought a fixer-upper, too. It wasn't as bad as our last house which needed a major overhaul (it was 115 years old) - but this one sat empty for six years and it was just falling apart. Our new house is neslted on the banks of the Mississippi river and it has a three tiered backyard going down to the water. My husband is a landscape designer, so you can image what a treat (and chore!) the backyard is.

    As I speak it's raining in Minnesota, so my hubby is unexpectedly home for the day working on our girls' bedroom! Good luck with your own projects, Jill!

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  10. Yay for your new house! When we moved into ours, we didn't want to have to do a lot, mostly because we lacked the funds to do so. But I recently decorated my bedroom. It was really fun, even though I'm not that great at decorating. I'd love to redo my kitchen (I want granite countertops and stainless steel appliances), but that won't happen for awhile, I think. All of our extra money right now is going to paying off law school debt! Ha!

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  11. Congratulations--finalized! Whew.

    Absolutely our house is a WIP. Four years later and we're still trying to tackle the biggies.
    ~ Wendy

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  12. I would love to see pics too! My husband and I are not fixer-uppers so I wouldn't even know how to start doing what you are, but it sounds fun!! My house is in the process of breaking down. lol We built it seven years ago so I think it's about ready for a new paint job on the inside (3 boys, you know, lol) and maybe a steam cleaning. Congrats!!!

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  13. Sounds like y'all are good at this stuff! Good luck with the work ahead and congrats on the new house!

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  14. Yay! Congrats! I'm happy you're ready for this next new adventure. My house has been a work in progress since we moved in eight years ago. But we're finally getting it together. Next project...hopefully the kids' bedroom?

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  15. Woohoo on a new house! I hope you'll keep us updated on your progress. I can live vicariously. :D

    I'm working on getting bids for new carpet and furnishings for our church nursery. Hopefully by the end of the summer, we'll have a refreshed and updated place for our littlest congregants to congregate. :D

    At our own home, we're working on a landscaping project, putting in a patio, flower beds, retaining walls, pathways, etc. It's going to take us all summer, though we've got a fairly good start on it already. :)

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  16. Yay, I'm so happy to have you at my blog today, Jill!

    Congrats on the move!!

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  17. Oh my goodness!! I love hearing about all your home decor issues!! (Maria, I've always fantasized about homesteading--kudos to you!!))
    (Brandy, you are too sweet! We hired painters to tackle the first floor, and we're doing a few bedrooms ourselves.)

    I WILL post before/after photos as soon as I get organized. There used to be a show on HGTV called Before and After. I loved it! I wish they still had it on!

    Thanks so much for stopping by!!

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  18. Wishing you a swift and safe move! You already sound like your new house is "home" to you. Best wishes!

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  19. I'll be moving in about a month, and then hopefully buying a new house. I see many projects in my future!

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  20. Congrats, Jill! I know this has been a journey for you and I'm glad to see you passed through one door and into this new phase.

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  21. Congratulations on your moving. We went through some fix-up things when we bought our home. We had some other things we did later on. Then we just stopped for several years. Last month we had to do some projects. We had to have the work hired out, due to my husband's health. I see things that need to be done but we can't do them ourselves.

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  22. Thanks, again, everyone! (Ralene, good luck!! Quiet Spirit, I'm sorry things are difficult for you right now. Praying for you.)

    Will keep you posted!

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  23. Good luck with everything! I sometimes wish I was handy, because standing back and seeing all the work is such a huge pay off!

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  24. Jill, we bought a foreclosure last year that had been empty for a year to three years, depending on which neighbor you listen to. It was really in great shape, once we convinced the ants we lived here and they had to go ... :) Wanted to give you a money-saving tip on the deck. Ours was so slick and mildewy/mossy, we thought it might have to go. We hired someone to fix the footings and tighten so railings, then powerwashed the snot out of it. Here's my tip: we bought the ReStore product from Home Depot and painted the deck. It's a stain that basically turns worn-out wood into composite and has a lifetime warranty. Check into it! Saved us tons and we LOVE the way it turned out. We used the sanded kind on the "floor" and regular pain on the railings.

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