Emerging from the chaos

Having moved house as well as office recently means that I’ve spent quite a lot of time and energy just trying to emerge from the chaos of it all. Fortunately things are beginning to settle down at both locations. The boxes are slowly being unpacked (still quite a lot left though!) and it’s now reached the stage where there is space to move around and I can generally find most things that I need and so start being a bit more productive again. I think it may be some time before things have completely returned to some kind of normality!

End of an era

The decorating in the flat is finally finished and we have officially moved out. I felt a bit sad looking around the flat for the last time – it was my home for over five years (the longest I have lived anywhere as an adult) and the first place where Michael and I have lived in together. There are so many good memories – getting ready for my wedding there, Michael carrying me over the threshold on our return from honeymoon, lots of great evenings spent with friends. Now we just need to build up some lovely memories for our new house.

Office move

Working in the office recently has been challenging – half the equipment having been moved down to our birth centre and we were trying to manage without desks and cupboards and things (working on a computer perched on a cardboard box does not make for a very comfortable work environment). Today was the big move day – all the computers being moved down along with most of the boxes – spent the afternoon setting up all the computers again which should have been straightforward but took about three times longer than anticipated and still have some minor problems which need to be resolved.

Clearing out the junk

Clearing out the loft at the flat is proving to be a much bigger task than anticipated. We thought it was just our junk up there and a couple of boxes belonging to our landlord but there’s a whole load of stuff that has clearly been there for at least a couple of decades – old letters, photos, suitcases (unfortunately none of them were stuffed with banknotes – would have been nice if they were!) and the kind of clothes that taste clearly forgot (definitely from the 1980s/early 1990s). The amount of stuff going on the next tip run has suddenly increased.

In the house

We have finally moved in to the new house! I hadn’t been here for a couple of days (too busy packing) – what a transformation when I arrived yesterday! Suddenly it looked like a home again instead of a bit of building site – it’s amazing how much difference having the carpets down and some items of furniture in has made. My wonderful brother Adrian, nephews Jamie, Jason and Craig (plus girlfriend Charlie) and friend James all came over to help load and unload the van and lug furniture and boxes about – not quite sure how we would have managed without them.

Last day in the flat

I have spent my last night in my little flat. It looks so different with nearly everything packed and ready to go, and the walls all bare. I’m looking forward to finally being in our new house but do feel a little sad to be leaving the flat. I’ve been here for five years which is longer than anywhere other than the house I grew up in and it was the first place that I felt was “my” home. I’ve been here longer than I thought I would be though – I only expected to be here a couple of years.

Set for The Big Move

The carpets have now arrived, our bed has finally been delivered (on the fifth attempt!) and most of the cables have been laid so we are all set for The Big Move. There will still be a few things to do once we are in (probably will wait until after we have painted the flat and handed the keys back) and a couple of rooms are probably going to be used mostly to store boxes until we start putting up bookcases and getting new furniture in. It is all quite exciting – tomorrow we will be living in our new home!

Too much stuff, so little time

Last time I moved, I shocked Michael with how much stuff I had managed to fit into a small bedroom. I seem to be very good at fitting a lot of stuff into a fairly small space, and despite having had a bit of clear-out and taken a few bags to the charity shop, there is still a lot of stuff in the flat needing to be packed. I thought I had done a lot, but now realise quite how much I still have left to do. I’m hoping there are enough boxes to be able to pack it all!

Under pressure

With moving date set, various items of furniture to be delivered next week plus carpets to be fitted, the pressure is now really on to get everything in the house to the point where we can live in it, even if there will almost certainly be a few things that will still need to be done. Sitting surrounded by the chaos of it all, it is not always easy to stay optimistic and there are moments when I find myself wondering if we really will get to a point where we are not constantly surrounded by boxes and dust sheets!

More on moving

Moving seems to be the general theme for my life at the moment. Not only am I finally moving house, but we are also moving our office at work. So it feels like I am constantly packing and surrounded by boxes and general upheaval. For someone who gets stressed very quickly at being surrounded by mess, staying calm under such circumstances is not the easiest thing! The next few weeks look like they will continue to be hectic – just waiting for everything to be done and dusted so I can finally have some time to relax and wind down again!

Feeling the pressure

On the plus side, we’ve now finally settled on a date for The Big Move. So the pressure is really on now to get all the decorating finished (painting is pretty much all done, just got to finish the cabling and get the floorboards back down so the carpets can be laid) plus finish all of the packing back at the flat. Once we move, we have a flat to decorate before giving the keys back. We’ve started painting the doors – which means the flat is currently freezing because none of the rooms currently have the doors actually on them.

Progress

The last few days have been quite productive on the moving house/home improvements front. A few more boxes are packed, carpets have been ordered, several doors have been painted along with the woodwork in the downstairs bathroom, half of the garage and most of the study. The laminate flooring for the upstairs bathroom has arrived (just waiting for the floor to dry out after neglecting to pay attention to a dripping pipe) and many metres of cable have been laid ready for various computing/music/networking/TV functions – Michael has explained what it’s all for but I’m not sure I’m any the wiser.

Our new home

Completion all went through with no problems; I picked up the keys this afternoon and headed over to look over our new home and do some measuring. Seeing it empty made quite a bit of difference – I’ve suddenly realised that redecorating is not a bad idea – the green doorframes and skirting boards didn’t make too much impression on me when the house was full of furniture but now that it’s empty, I think they’ll have to go! The one room that doesn’t need anything doing to it is the kitchen which looks perfect, just a bit on the small side.

Packing now in progress

I’ve started packing in anticipation of our move (we’re keeping our flat until the end of September so we can decorate if needed and can move everything in a more leisurely fashion). On the plus side, it means I’m finally starting to clear out all the junk that has been accumulating over the last five years but despite having spent most of today packing/sorting out, it still looks like I’ve barely done anything. I’m beginning to realise quite how much stuff we’ve managed to cram into a small flat and the thought of moving it all is a bit daunting!

Exchanging contracts

Back in April we finally found what seemed to be the perfect house for us and put in an offer. It has taken a while (these things always do!) but we have finally now exchanged contracts and should be completing on Tuesday. It’s a lovely little three-bedroom house with a study and a garage in a village about 5 miles away from where we’re living now. The location seems great – it’s about 5 minutes walk from the village shops and pubs, opposite the village hall and infant school and about 100m from the junior school (thinking ahead a little here!)