Still movin'

The unpacking continues. The weird thing about moving is how quickly stuff multiplies. It's like what, this box here? What's in it? And you find receipts from 2007. I lived in my first apartment for six years and got comfortable. I stuffed things here and there, collected stuff, and just found places for it all without really thinking about the consequences. When I realized I would be moving in 2009, I did a couple of garage sales and a run to the Salvation Army. The garage sales and donations lulled me into a false sense of security; surely the move of 2011 would be a lot less stuff, right? RIGHT? Strangely, no.

At this point, we've collected eight boxes worth of stuff to donate to the Salvation Army (incidently, we donate to the Salvation Army because they are super close to our house, not for any other reason). We've also been deailng with some of the stuff that the sellers left behind like 30 years worth of paint in the garage (seriously, we had to take gallons of the stuff to the recycling center) and a refrigerator, the name brand of which had been discontinued back in the 70s. And for some odd reason, the sellers also left a lot of hangers for us -- like Old Navy and Wal-Mart hangers; into the donate box they go. It also took two weeks of trash pickup to work through the sellers' trash. As a result, we're just now getting through our own recycling and trash pick-up.

Today I'm working through the mess in the office. We get a lot of mail. Let me clarify -- a lot of needless mail. Purchase a house and suddenly everyone wants to sell you something. Don't they know we just bought a house and we're still in shock and don't want to buy anything from anyone? Especially when we're still muddling around in what looks like a box factory explosion? Then there is all the junk mail that you have no intention of doing anything with but have to shred it anyway because it's stuff like credit card applications. I should also mention that we brought a bunch of paper from our other places, so the new paper is just piling on top of the old. What we need, what we *really* need, is a filing cabinet, so we can dump all this stuff in there and fuggadabboutit. Seems to have worked just fine for us in the past.

Argh!

I just discovered our magnets don't stick to the stainless steel refrigerator in the kitchen! ACK! Another mark against stainless steel appliances (we don't care for them and would have chosen non-stainless steel, but the house came with them). Now I have to figure out what to do with all of my pictures and other things we would put on the refrigerator so we wouldn't forget about them. It seems odd that the OEMs of these appliances didn't seem to realize that most of us like to decorate our refrigators! Whoever heard of a pristine refrigerator? (Model homes don't count!). *le sigh* I hate that I won't be able to use my magnets anymore, magnets I've had for years, that have followed me from place to place. GE, are you listening????

Moving...bleech

The move is continuing through this Memorial Day weekend. We got delayed today due to the sudden realization we had run out of storage space. So off to IKEA we went, where we procured a very nice wardrobe closet (and only one widget missing from the kit!). It took 2 1/2 hours for J to build (I supervised; I'm very good at that) and so that took a chunk out of the day. Should also note that we still haven't emptied our apartment; we think we have maybe two hours of work left there for tomorrow.

We had originally planned to put the wardrobe in the closet-less guest room, but then changed direction. As a result, the dresser in the master bedroom is now hanging out in the dining room while waiting to be moved into the guest room. We also have started becoming ruthless with stuff, starting donation boxes and trash; if it's in good enough condition to donate, we will, but some clothes and linens are just so... gross that we tossed them immediately.

We think we're making progress because we have lots of empty boxes, yet the chaos around us seems to grow every day. I'm not sure if it's because we still have the apartment so stuff from there was arriving every day, making it harder to move through the stuff already in the house, or we're just incredibly disorganized, or we have lots and lots of crap. All of these things could be true. Hopefully tomorrow we'll rid ourselves of the apartment -- well, actually we have to since our lease expires on the 31st -- and really get a handle on tackling the mess that is our house. Still, home sweet home. It's nice to be here.

Moving...

So I have moved again. Moving is no fun, as we all know. In fact, it's amazing -- AMAZING -- just how much stuff one gathers when one stays in place. Part of me thinks it's a great idea to move every year just to keep from accumulating stuff, but then the other part of me remembers what a pain in the butt it was to deal with AT&T to get phone & internet set up at the new place and I'm thinking, "Okay, maybe we'll stay put for a while." Right now I'm a bit intimidated by the number of boxes still left to unpack (we started moving on Wednesday with professional movers for the heavy stuff). We're slowly working our way through it, 'slowly' being the operative word here. At least this computer is now back up and functioning. Hooray!

LotD

Interesting opinion piece: Five Reasons to Stop Worrying About Home Prices. On the flip side, Is Housing Still a Good Investment?

LotD

Should you buy or rent? -- good question given the current state of the economy and the "deals" that might exist out there.

LotD

10 Bank Breaking Money Myths -- interesting article. I've heard of a lot of these lately, especially those about home ownership versus renting and the ability to deduct mortgage. It's only been recently through my own home-search that I've realized that those were myths in fact, and that renting is by far the better option for me. Also, the carrying a balance to maintain credit score? Amazing how many times I've heard that one as well. The only thing carrying a balance does for you is rack up the interest so that you're financing that Starbucks latte for years and years.

LotD

Interesting post on renting versus buying: Why We Rent. I came across the link at The Simple Dollar which is a "frugal" blog I check in with now and then. The NY Times also has another buy versus rent story today:
As Home Prices Drop Low Enough, a Committed Renter Decides to Buy. I just find it interesting that after years of advocating home ownership as the Bestest Investment Ever, people are actually saying, "Hey, wait a minute..." I shall feel vindicated when I write my landlord a check on June 1.

House part II

I've seen more than 50 houses now and my choices still haven't clarified themselves, but I'm getting closer to narrowing in what I like.

* First, is it worth buying new construction in a new neighborhood that's surrounding by shady surroundings? I drove through there last night and was happy to see a public library right across the street from the new subdivision and I was reassured by the presence of a gigantic FBI building and two churches. But other than that, the street's main residences are crumbling apartment complexes. I looked up the rent on them and they're $400/unit. There are no nearby convenience stores that don't have bars on the window. I realize that if I buy in this neighborhood, which has everything I want except location, I will pretty much hang out in my house because there is nowhere -- not even a McDonald's -- to eat or go that looks remotely safe.

* Second, is it worth buying a fixer upper in an older, established neighborhood that is becoming gentrified? Lots of new construction, lots of renovations and remodeling in this neighborhood and a new Starbucks in process of being built. In this case, I'd be buying a hobby not a house, and it could turn into a money pit. But at the same time, I'd be in a house that will appreciate probably at a better and faster rate than the new construction.

I have pretty much ruled out townhomes, and anything that looks too contemporary. I like Victorian architecture, but barring that, I don't want anything that looks too dated on the outside or that appeals to very specific tastes, such as metal exteriors.

Home shopping

Things I've considered in the past 10 days:

* Number of bedrooms -- 2 to 4 and in one occasion, 5. What the heck am I going to do with more than 2 bedrooms? But here in Sweat Sock City, more is often cheaper.

* Verticality -- How high do I want to live? In Sweat Sock City, developers like to build up, not out. Yesterday I visited a 4-story house. I'm in good shape, but good grief. By the time I got to the fourth story, I was done for.

* Yard -- How much land do I want? At one point, I wanted a lot of land, and another point, I was all about paving it over with cement. Who needs greenery?

* Granite! -- And other such options. Tile in the kitchen? Laminate backsplashes (ugh!), hardwood floors, Berber carpet, spindle railings, art niches; these are the things I've been thinking about. Only a couple are a must have for me.

* Proximity to things I like -- This is a big thing. For a while, I was reluctant to look outside of my current neighborhood, which is young and professional and up coming and hip and all those things. I found the house I like just a few miles outside of where I wanted to buy a house and for quite a bit less.

I'll keep you posted on progress.