Friday, March 6, 2020

38 and packing.

You guys, when I say that things have been chaotic, I'm not kidding. Matt and I are trying to get everything done and not stress out about life. Here are some things on the plate:

⭐I turn 38 on Tuesday. Normally I'm super excited, with a birthday wish list and specific cake demands but this year I'm so out of whack and my concept of time is seemingly getting worse. Unfortunate, because that's a skill you use a lot. As of right now there are no plans and that's OK.

⭐We are still moving. We have a lot of things to do (and buy) this weekend so that Matt can just move along with his tasks. He's making a bedroom for us in the basement there and so far he has two walls insulated and drywall up. He has the other two walls to do and then the process of taping, mudding, sanding, etc. He hates it but.. its gotta get done. The goal is to have that room basically done by the time we get back.

Yes, I realize that's a lofty goals but that's what goals are for!

In the meantime, we have been making loads every day of stuff and I've been unpacking as I go as much as I can.
We've had the kids there (mostly on the weekends) as we work so Matt brought over a TV and antennae so we can at least give them local channels. Shout out to PBS for having a non-stop cartoon channel now! 
Also shout out to Olivia and Jackson who have been so GREAT about all of this and incredibly helpful at keeping Penelope and Lucy out of the way. Mostly. 
I splurged last week on clearance dishes at Walmart and for a whole $18 I walked out with two boxes. It's really great because the dishes we currently have are pretty heavy and hard for Pep & Lu to carry, resulting in a bunch being broken. It was time for new ones so I'm really glad I just happened to get there during a last clearance sale, getting the last box of each color. 
Penelope and Lucy currently have a huge closet with so much storage, I've always been jealous of it. Unfortunately that means it can also be chock full of crap, and that's exactly what happened here. 
It took me THREE DAYS to clear everything out of here, sort it into piles: give to a friend, donate, garbage, keep. The best part of downsizing (a lot) is that its forcing me to really get rid of stuff and while my anxiety is overwhelmed right now, I know its for the best. 
So confession time. I've only moved as an adult three other times, this will be my fourth. Each time I've discovered I have an issue with towels. Both kitchen and bath towels. I cannot bring them place to place.

(Yes, I know this is dumb. No, I don't know why.)

I inadvertently bought new kitchen towels and washcloths the other day and as I was folding them it dawned on me that I did it again. Add it to the list of compulsive behaviors, I guess but it's annoying. It isn't so bad this time because the ones we currently have are ripped and some are so thin you can see through them, so the only ones legitimately worth keeping are the industrial ones I use for cleaning. It's just another strange habit.

Oh, and I have been saving cash for TWO YEARS so that we could buy new furniture. What we have is worn down and Matt said he refuses to sew it together one more time (ladies, get you a man who can sew furniture together). The furniture we have is BIG and HEAVY, but it also will not fit into our new space. I think we can get it in there (it would be a squeeze, that's for sure), but you couldn't have anything else in there. We decided to take the little bit we had saved already (just under $500) and find something smaller. A lot smaller. 
With my super shopping skills I managed to get us a small couch for what I thought was $300. I was so proud of myself and I paid the extra $100 for them to deliver it. 
So imagine my surprise when I was informed that in my online purchase I also bought a love seat/chair and a half thing. (It's maybe the smallest love seat I have ever been on.) The price I paid was accurate, it turns out this was a bargain clearance buy. So $400 total for a super small couch and this love seat/chair thing. The rest of the furniture fund will go into savings. Our current furniture will go to Matt's sister and brother, which will be good because now we don't have to figure out what to do with it.
While waiting for that stuff to come I sorted kid books. I wish I had taken a before photo of what our collection looked like because it was easily five times this. I could have filled this several times and still needed more room. Olivia and Jackson have novels of their own but they will keep those in their room, this is just for Penelope and Lucy. Don't judge- we read a LOT of books here.

We clearly downsized and I donated books to school, do little libraries all over town, and gave some to friends.

Monday I'll have a post about the upcoming trip Olivia and I are going on, we leave next Saturday! I'm excited and incredibly nervous because I'm still not feeling awesome. I have to spend some time this weekend packing I think. Olivia has her first dance competition of the season this weekend.

It's just a lot, all of the time.

4 comments:

Beth (Coffee Until Cocktails) said...

Moving is definitely a lot to deal with, so I can totally understand not being super excited for your birthday. I hope the move continues to move along though!

Anonymous said...

I hate moving so I don't envy you at all. How exciting that your birthday is coming up. I hope that you're able to enjoy it among all the chaos.

Shooting Stars Mag said...

No judgement here- I love that you have lots of books for Pep and Lucy! I'm glad the move is going well, even if it is stressful and anxiety inducing. Sounds like Jackson and Olivia have been a huge help, which is fantastic. I hope you are feeling okay for your trip with Olivia!! And Happy Early Birthday. I totally have things I need to mail to you, so that will be happening soon. LOL Seriously - what's some things you'd LOVE, or would just be super helpful? Message me on FB or email me or something!

-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net

Shann Eva said...

Man. I absolutely hate moving. I actually got out of our last move because I was on bed rest in the hospital with the twins. That couch and bonus piece was an awesome buy! And I love that your husband can sew furniture!