The End (and a new beginning)

Out with the Old, In with the New: Part 15

We started moving into our new house on the evening of Tuesday, June 8. It was exciting those first few days, being in the new space! That first night, Josh helped me move over the beds and the washer and dryer. The next day (Wed.) I cleaned out the travel trailer, and then we moved the kitchen food in. The next day (Thurs.), I went to Idaho Falls and got some things we needed for the house: stools, shelves, garbage baskets, shower curtains, decorative pillows. The next day (Fri.), Josh helped me move the couches and dining table and chairs in. The next day (Sat.), we moved the dressers and TV's and bookshelves--all the remaining big furniture pieces. The next day (Sunday, June 13), some men came and helped move the piano over.

Sounds like we were mostly moved in by then, right?

Wrong.

From that day on, I was on my own to move the remaining items out of the old house and in to the new home. And it took an entire month to complete that task. I finally got the last box unpacked on July 14.

The excitement that I had felt about moving that first week quickly wore off. During the moving process, every box was sorted, every item was cleaned, every piece was determined whether it would remain or not. It was so time-consuming! I didn't want a quick moving job; I wanted to use this moving opportunity to purge out and get rid of any unwanted items and to fix and repair and clean anything that would go in our brand new, sparkling clean home! The first few days, the boys and I would walk the 100-foot distance separating the old house from the new home. Inside the old house, we filled up boxes with stuff, and we'd each bring a box back to the new house where the boxes would be sorted and emptied. Then we'd return to the old house for the next load and repeat the cycle. We usually got 2-3 loads done a day. But the walking part stopped after the first 3 days, because I discovered I could cram more stuff into my van with each load than the little boys could carry at a time.

On Monday, June 14, I emptied out the first room in the old house: the kitchen! The next day, I emptied out the old bathroom. It had only been one week since we started living in the new home, and by now, I was already bored of the task!! I initially thought that moving would be such a good family project to do over the summer. I quickly learned that it was really only a good project for ME. The boys were not good sorters or cleaners and they didn't have the patience to wait while I cleaned out and sorted each box. So, the next day (Wed. June 16), I hooked up all the TV's and nintendos for them and I worked on everyone's closets all day.

By day 10 of moving, I was officially tired of it. I was sick of it. I wanted to burn down the old house and everything that remained inside it! On Friday, June 18, I got the first bedroom completely emptied. It finally felt like there were more things in the new home than things still in the old house. By June 22, everything was moved OUT of the old house except for the front entrance and coat closet area. Progress felt good.

With each area of the old house that was emptied, my sorting and purging had created a pile of yard sale items. That pile grew and grew until I had a whole room full of stuff to get rid of! I knew I had enough things to have a garage sale all on my own! I've participated in yard sales over the past 3 years, but I always combined my stuff with someone else who was having a sale. It was rewarding for me to see just how much I had purged in the moving process! I felt like the tedious task I'd endured over the past month was really worth it. I had my Garage Sale on Saturday, July 10. By the end of the sale, I had made my goal profit of $300. I took the yard sale leftovers (only about 8 boxes' worth) to D.I. on July 13. And then with my hard-earned money, I picked up two new (used) recliners, two sets of shelves, a kitchen clock, an end table, a DVD player (ours broke), and lamps. I loved being able to get things that I needed for my new house just from getting rid of old things that I didn't want/need anymore.
The first 6 weeks of summer were gone. They'd been LONG and challenging and hard. But they were over, and I felt like we could finally ENJOY our New Home! The home that we'd been looking forward to, financially planning for, paying off our debts for, preparing physically for, and wanting with all our hearts to get. It was really OURS and it was meant to be ENJOYED!!!

So, without further adieu, I present to you:
Our New Home...

The Front:
The Back:
The Floor Plan:


The Entrance/Living Room:

The Dining Room:

The Kitchen:
The Family Room:

Kanyon's Bedroom:

Jonah & Micah's Bedroom:

Ammon's Bedroom:

The Boys' Bathroom:

The Utility Room:

And my favorite, The Master Bedroom:

Which connects to my other favorite, The Master Bathroom, complete with His & Hers Walk-In Closets:

{I'd thought about doing before and after photos, comparing the interior of the old house to the inside of the new home...but since I've already put so many photos on here, I've decided against that. However, I do have a link: last year, I rearranged the house and blogged about it HERE. Also, if you missed some of my "Out with the Old, In with the New" series, and want to read any more about my whole home process from beginning to end, click on the word "Home" under the Labels on my right column.}

I love my new home! I especially love being in my bedroom, showering in my bathroom, having space for the kids to move and play, and space for Josh and I to relax and breathe. I'm glad the journey to getting this house is over, and I'm more than thrilled that we're here now! Sometimes in life, we have to say goodbye to something good in order to make room for something better. This is the beginning of something better for me and my family...