Ultimate spring cleaning

Have you ever stood in the middle of a messy room and thought to yourself,
“It might be easier to just move?” Yeah, me too.

So guess what? That’s what we’re doing.

Okay, okay….this has been in the works for months now. Quite literally, months. I began researching the local real estate market in earnest about a year ago and we’ve been in the process of looking for the PERFECT HOME since then. One thing I’ve absolutely learned  is there is not ONE perfect home for anyone. There are pros and cons to each and every home and the secret is to find the one that best fits you and your family. There will always be compromises when it comes to finding that one perfect special home meant just for you (and your family, of course). As I walked through every house for sale that we visited, I found things I loved and things I didn’t. There were always trade-offs.

Last November, we found a house we liked and put an offer on it. I won’t bore you with the details but suffice it to say that after weeks of red tape (it was listed as a short sale) and through no fault of our own, the offer fell through. We heard from the bank on New Year’s Eve. “Thank you very much, Mr. Banker-with-an-agenda.” (No bitterness here…..) Talk about a let down. We were certainly crushed, but we resolved to go back to the drawing board and press on. We spent many late night hours pouring over MLS listings and websites like Zillow and Realtor.com. Since I had so many items on my “wish list” I became pretty good at weeding out those listings which I knew wouldn’t fit the bill. But in the end, it has all been worth it. One Friday night in early January we found a listing that piqued our interest. I actually called the listing agent right then and made an appointment to see it.

The house was not in a location we ever dreamed we’d choose. The neighborhood is nice but a little “eclectic.” The front of the house, while charming, isn’t something I would have ever thought I would live in. In fact, if you drove by this house on the street, you’d probably pass it by without notice. But from the moment we walked in the front door, there was…..something. The house was warm, welcoming, peaceful. It is really hard for me to describe. And then we walked out the back door into the back yard. Although quite small, it was tranquil. There were birds. Breezes. And a huge tree which not only shades the house but swaggers over an unassuming canal. It felt like walking into a serenity garden. And I just knew. We knew. It could feel like home.  

Of course it certainly has been an ordeal to work through the nuts and bolts of submitting an offer, including all the financial wranglings, and making plans. We’ve moved 12 times in the past 23 years. This time, we’re moving ourselves. No military or company sponsored moves, no siree. (Why did I ever complain about the packers and movers in the past? They weren’t all that bad.)  

Did I mention we are moving ourselves? What on earth were we thinking?

Oh yes, I remember. We were thinking about putting down roots. Staying in place for more than months or a couple of years at a time. We were thinking it would be so nice to take a house and make it our home. Perfect for us.

So for the past week or so, I have been packing and sorting, washing, and packing some more. And while I admit I’ve been grumbling about all the hard work of moving ourselves, it has given me a chance to really do some cleaning. Spring cleaning. The ultimate spring cleaning, actually.

So if blog posts are sparse for the next couple of weeks, I hope you’ll understand. I’ll do my best to post updates as they happen. Stay tuned!