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new house cure
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How do you cure a whole house at all once? I've just moved and everything is still in boxes... I feel like it could be a full-time job for the next few months just to get everything settled. Trying to fit it all in after work and on weekends is already exhausting and disheartening... I feel like I haven't really gotten anywhere and I'm starting to make bad choices out of desperation.
I've been meaning to post more in-progress photos but I couldn't find the charger for my camera battery until a couple of days ago!
How do you keep from getting overhwelmed? How do you stay motivated when there's so much to be done? and how do you stop making bad choices when you feel like you are in a hurry?
Posted at 3:59PM, 14 October 2008 PDT
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I'm with you on this one. We closed on our house the end of August but were living 40 minutes from where our house is. All of our extra time (for the first three weeks) was spent fixing up the basement apartment -- basically doing a full remodel -- so we could have it ready for a renter. While having the renter is great, it added three weeks (and a bunch of money) onto our plan as we ended up doing brand new carpet and a brand new bathroom. It helps that my Dad and Uncle helped us with the labor, but with all of this we also ended up re-plumbing the entire downstairs and rewiring most of it as well.
Which led to us painting the upstairs (our part) as time permitted because I hated the earth tones the house came in. After painting four rooms (one 4 times - one 3 - the other 2) we then had to paint trim, as the previous owner didn't do that either.
After that was finished, we had friends (contractors, again lucky) build us a fence, but we still owe more for that.
We finally are putting away boxes. My pictures up here make me look like a slob and I'm with you -- where do I start? I've already gotten rid of a LARGE amount of stuff when we moved from the apartment to here. We're currently trying to get the final coat of paint on bookshelves we purchased, and cut out the beadboard for the back so we can get all of our LPs put away.
It seems to just be a process. I'm taking that from the book as a guideline more than a hard and fast set of rules. Remember, what can you get rid of? Do clean and maintain everything. Remember that buying a bunch of extra things won't make you any more organized. Focus on one area at a time. It all seems to be coming together, but it's the middle of October and I'm still in the "process"
Posted 44 months ago.
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O, I know. I just moved too and I'm also trying to mesh my stuff with my roommates. I say try to pick one room that you really need to feel homey and finish that. Paint, furniture, lighting, curtains, art. I prioritized getting curtains and art up in the living room over figuring out which furniture to keep in the bedroom and it really helped to have a space that felt finished as a retreat from the chaos. Then you can do the rest of the home more systematically if needed--all the furniture, then all the lighting, then all the curtains...etc.
Posted 44 months ago.
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My advice is to unpack as much as you can. Set things up temporarily in the rooms you would want them to be in, and then that way at least everything is unpacked and visible.
Then you're able to go room by room slowly and declutter, purge, and rearrange your belongings. It is much easier to deal with things when you get the mess of boxes, wrapping, and all the clutter that goes with moving away and out of your space.
I've done it the last couple of times that my boyfriend and I have moved and we're usually unpacked and settled in a weekend. It takes a lot of work, but at least you can say it's done and you have all the best parts of the cure to look forward to once you're done!
Don't attack it all at once!
Unpack first, then cure. And remember, that outbox is going to be your best friend. I always purge so much when I move. Keep an open mind and don't let the pressure of 8 weeks get to you. If it takes longer, then it takes longer! Afterall, you just moved!
Posted 44 months ago.
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thanks everyone...! it helps to know I am not the only one! One major problem I should have pointed out is that I actually live in a studio apartment... it's so easy to get overwhelmed because I can literally see *all* of my stuff all at once. It's hard to parse out projects by rooms... I'm going more corner by corner right now.
Some of my main issues involve really needing to get some handyman-type stuff done and not being a real handyman myself, and of course also being a renter... my desire to build shelves and paint and wallpaper are all up against my budget and the fact that my landlord might not want me to do all this stuff.
That said, my wallpaper came today! And it's even more beautiful than the pictures!
Posted 44 months ago.
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I'm with you on the total house at once cure. As the contractor packs up I'm faced with moving into my home once more and its intimidating. The temptation is to just put everything back, but I really want to sort, toss, purchase mindfully and have a better house than we start with.
As for handyman services, try Craigslist. I've found willing carpenters, trash haulers, and much more for a song. And then there are always my guy friends who do things for the cost of a homemade dinner.
Posted 44 months ago.
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Can I borrow some of your guy friends? (just kidding) After going through my enormous to-do list, and breaking it down into "broken needs fixing" and "will make things better, but not broken" The good news it that there are relatively few things in Acorn Cottage that are actually broken. Sadly some of those will be staying broken, since I don't yet have the financial resources to fix them. I'm wondering about working on the things I can improve, like paint and curtains, and decluttering rather than stressing about the things I can't yet fix.
I'm also feeling a bit encouraged that I'm not the only one with a disorderly home. Though I've lived here for over two years, you'd think I'd have unpacked more by now.
Posted 44 months ago.
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