Tuesday, April 17, 2007


The Waiting Game

Yesterday, our first day back home, we got a visit from a moving company agent. He was to give us an estimate on moving our stuff from here to Chattanooga. We could have them pack it all up or we could do the prepacking and get a better deal. Bottom line, the charge would be about $35 per hundred pounds.


So he totalled everything up and handed me the estimate...between seven and eight thousand dollars! Yipes!


Well, needless to say this gave us pause.


Our stuff isn't worth that much money if we bought it new. Dave said, sell it all and start over fresh. I liked that idea, except for the selling part. I seriously don't want the hassle. Mostly because we got what we needed out of most of our furniture.

We have always lived as tho the cops were after us. I'm kidding, but I never really bought any serious furniture, like heirloom stuff. I may have mentioned our love for garage sales, want ads, and free stuff from relatives.

My bed is a nice Scandinavian Design which we got from my sister in law when her marriage ended. Our book cases were all sale stuff from IKEA, easy to replace. Our family room couch and loveseat we got from a want ad years ago and they still look exactly the same, even tho they are white leather. But really I don't want them to come with us.

I put in a call to the girlfriends and emailed others and hope that they will swoop in and remove things that they can pass onto their kids or find room for in their own homes.


So what shall I do in the meantime while the house remains on the market? I am dying to design my new studio...if only in my head.

At first I was modest in my choice of the smallest room, a 10x12 office space adjacent to our new family room. It would be close to the kitchen, and has the internet connection already installed. I figured out recently that all I actually use in my studio is my workstation and my sewing table. I can't bring my either with me, so I assume I will have to get a desk or table that can accomodate the seldom used sewing machine and the desktop computer, plus a new workstation.

Nah.

I started getting grumpy at this scenario. The office should remain the office. It is too small for both my artroom and the computer and all the books I will not leave behind.

Three bedrooms are upstairs and the largest, the fourth is on the main floor. We joked that it is the guest room for a family of ten. It is 15x20. Huge.

All the bedrooms have carpet, and so did that small office room. I know I cannot have a studio with carpet, not with fabrics, threads and paint as my mediums. Hmm.

So first thing, will be the removal of carpeting and the installation of new floors, hopefully hardwood.


And then I am going to claim the big bedroom. I will get base cabinets, as in kitchen cabinets. I will get countertops and an island workstation. I will have shelves and drawers and great lighting.

I will never retire in order to pay for all this.


19 comments:

  1. Try "two men and a truck" we used them, they were much cheaper, however it was a smaller truck - but we were able to follow the truck to the new place instead of waiting for weeks for our stuff to arrive - plus it was only OUR stuff on the truck.

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  2. Anonymous8:57 AM

    What a room! I want one too please. If you do get a work table like the one pictured, then have the counter a bit wider so you will have more room around the sink.

    Is the room really that big? Got to go measure out the numbers you mentioned.

    Ms Mel, if you get such a room then make a TV corner for Dave too, or you will never see him. I know, I wouldn't leave a room like that.

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  3. Craigslist was a fantastic outlet to lessen our move. I didn't care that I got money for the furniture, I just didn't want to pay to take it with us!

    I've done 2 professional moves of late, and I wouldn't do it any other way. I pack my own boxes, they do all the loading and pack my furniture and lamps, etc. I ordered the boxes and packing supplies direct from the manufacturer, delivered to my door.

    We did it for $6K for 8K in weight.

    (If you want referrals, lemme know!)

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  4. Yeah, Craigslist is good, and don't forget Goodwill. They will come to your house and whisk it all away and you will get a tidy tax writeoff. We got rid of almost everything that way when we moved up north. Buying new and different furniture was way fun. Expensive, but fun.

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  5. If you need a family of 7 I have one to move into your big room :).
    Your new home looks fabulous!

    Blessings,
    Grace

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  6. Anonymous11:08 AM

    You could use a U-Haul and then pay someone on the other end to help you unload.

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  7. Two men and a truck will also send someone to unload if you want to do a U-Haul. That's what we did for our son. But I, too, would recommend two men and a truck. They have different packages to choose from.

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  8. You are obviously much more mentally and emotionally healthy than I am. This would be such major trauma and heartache for me. I try to embrace non-attachment but I am a fraud. I can't help it--I love my stuff. All of it.

    Someday they will probably find me in a dank apartment with pathways through the piled up newspapers and magazines a la the Collins brothers.

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  9. Anonymous1:24 PM

    RE: selling your house. You've painted your rooms such beautiful colors - but.... people who buy a house may be a bit overwhelmed with the bold colors and might choose another in more neutral colors they didn't have to repaint. If you watch HGTV, they have shows specifically aimed at selling your home quickly. I know you're anxious to get your house sold so you can move into your new adventure.

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  10. Congrats on finding the perfect dream home! And I do believe that choosing the largest room for your studio is a very smart move! It would otherwise be wasted space in a super large bedroom, but will be used and treasured as the artist retreat. How fun to be able to have a completely fresh start with new furniture too. :-)

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  11. I don't actually have to have the sink, microwave, stove and refrigerator in the studio, just the cabinets and counters and drawers. Dave will be firmly lodged in his three choices of tv rooms. Bedroom, family room main floor or family room downstairs.
    An embarrassment of riches, sigh.

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  12. Anonymous7:27 PM

    Warning! use only a state/interstate licensed company to move you.
    Our youngest dtr. LOST everything she owned in a move from Texas to California, she used an inexpensive local mover to pack and store her items until she had an address to give them. To add injury to insults they made her pay with cashiers checks! The state office of Transportation is a joke we tried to get them to investigate and they refused to even consider.
    So although saving money is my advocation this convinced me!
    My note is not intended to rain on your parade but to share information to consider.

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  13. I wish I was around to claim that white leather couch and love seat!

    But I think you should get another couple of quotes from movers.

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  14. Anonymous10:28 PM

    Use only the big name movers, and buy all the insurance you can. EVERYTHING will be damaged in the move. Almost every single piece will be scratched or dented. Some more than others - but it seems as if nothing escapes. Most glass-top furniture will be broken or cracked. Overstuffed furniture will be torn. It's a shame but it's reality.

    And then there's the practice called "over-inventory" whereby the origination mover identifies each and every piece as being scratched or damaged in some way. It's done so that any damage you identify in TN will already have been identified on the inventory sheets at loading time in Cary - and you signed them in Cary so "no claim" for shipping damages.

    You must watch them load each and every piece, and you must watch them complete the inventory sheets the entire time they're loading. Sorry but it's reality.

    Buy the insurance. SOme people end up getting a whole house full of new furniture every time they move.

    Fun huh?

    It'll be fine once you unpack, open a bottle of wine, and look out from the deck.

    The move is just a formality.

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  15. I don't envy you the actual moving process, but I am loving the telling of your story.

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  16. Anonymous8:19 AM

    In getting rid of your furniture..
    Your area probably has a battered womens shelter. They accept all household items to help women get set up in new apartments, etc.
    Please look into this.

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  17. Great Suggestion Sandy,
    I love this idea.

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  18. My DH thought I was nuts to ask for hardwood, linoleum, anything but carpet in fact for my studio. I got talked out of it, but have one of those plastic office mats for rolling chairs that I try to do most of my painting over. Next house there will definitely be no carpet in the studio.

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  19. You might also try your local foster care agency. Here, once kids turn 18, they're released from the system and set up with household basics and need furnishings, dishes, etc. So you might be able to donate your unwanted furniture and other stuff to them to help set up homes for foster kids leaving the foster nest...

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