But the good news is, yesterday we wrapped up the majority of the packing. The pictures of the house were taken for the real estate company. Today my dad came down to help scrape and sand window sills and the front door. I was able to finish a cake and get the bathroom ready to caulk. Tomorrow Justin and Jackson will move the first of (hopefully, only) two van loads into long-term storage at his grandmother's house. Things are coming together.
It has been extremely busy and stressful for us, or at least me. I hate moving. I hated it all eight times we did it growing up (and that's not including all the various house to house moves within each town). I bought this house because I never wanted to move ever again. Problem is, buying a house in a place you don't want to stay or raise a family is a fairly stupid idea. I've already sworn that the next house we buy will be the house I die in.
I'm trying to so hard to be calm and patient, but I know how stressful having a house on the market is. So I'm basically failing completely at staying anything remotely close to calm and/or patient. I'm a stressed out and full of anxiety. I don't really want to even think about what it's like to sell a house with two little ones running around while I'm trying to get it ready for each showing.
I tried to take pictures of the before and after of each room to share - but in the process my camera's flash stopped working and 95% of the work I did was after dark while the kids were sleeping. Below are a few before pics of the kitchen and dining rooms...after that I forgot about pictures and just worked like crazy. Once the agent posts the listing online, I will share her pictures. The house looks very "show ready" now. It's rather impressive. We've taken three van loads to the thrift store and one to the dump (plus extra trash can trash). Three of our five attic spaces are now empty - and after next weekend they will all be empty. The closets are organized, simplified, and cleaned. There are no piles of junk laying around our house. The amount of stuff we were able to easily part with makes me think long and hard about why we had it all to begin with. I'm all for entering a minimalist lifestyle. However, I look around my home and realize that it is still far from bare or empty. We still have an entire home full of lovely things. And somehow we have to fit it all into a 780 square foot, ugly, dumpy, but gloriously cheap apartment. I have a feeling there will be at least two more rounds of purging in our future.
So if there's another long break between blogs it is mostly due to finding myself lost in further downsizing. I'm hoping to keep up with regular posts, but that will depend on how things go. After this move, I think I could professionally blog about living with less than less. It's funny how you think your life is so basic and simple, then things change and you start to realize just how much you really had to begin with! If we had to leave Blacksburg after a year to live in a third world country, I'm sure we would once again question the amount of stuff we had versus how much we could take with us. I guess perspective really is everything!
Speaking of perspective, right now I need to keep in perspective that while this move can be stressful, I am still blessed with a sweet, loving, and precious family. Despite this move I still need to be a mama and wife that is here, in the present, taking advantage of each and every precious day that we have together. Please keep me/us in your thoughts and prayers on that one.
Kitchen as it usually appears.
Full cabinets and cluttered fridge.
My overflowing baking area. It may be full and cluttered, but damn I've used this space TONS.
Laundry/utility space.
Dining room - decorated for Easter.
Other side of dining room. Our nature table was in the corner on the box, but I had already moved it upstairs when this picture was taken.
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