We did it. We’re in. Well, the lounge curtains are up and the dishwasher is plumbed in, that’s the equivalent to moved in, right? It’s been a pretty hectic 30 hours (including 7 hours of broken sleep because Sebastien wasn’t happy in his new room for the first few hours last night.)
Despite it being August, we’ve had the windows wide open, and the heating on full blast. Mainly to get rid of the smell of fresh paint, and to try and force the gloss to be a little less sticky to touch.
The start of the pack up from the old house flew by, the guys had 90% of the house squared away in time for elevenses. Then came torrential rain, thunder, lightening, and a meticulous older guy in charge of the giant game of furniture Tetris in the lorry.
Before we knew it, it was 4.30 pm and the guys were clamouring for reinforcements. 4 extra people arrived, and by 5pm our worldly possessions were on their way to our new home.
Of course, the lorry got slightly lost (blame the SatNav!) on the way, and combined with rush hour traffic on Surrey roads, didn’t make the 8 mile journey until 6.15pm.
The next 47 minutes (including tea/coffee break) were absolute bedlam. A hurried trail of removal men in and out of the house, asking where each box would go. A toddler who was waaaaay past hungry/bored and the poor teenager trying her best to entertain him and (mostly successfully) keep him out from under people’s feet.
I charged myself with being brew bitch, whilst strategically positioned so that no box could be put in the house without my direction. By 7.11pm the movers had gone, and we were left with a house so full of boxes we couldn’t move.
With a little help from the toddler, Michael and I tackled the nursery we hung clothes, built the cot and unpacked toys and books. By 8.30 pm the boy was bathed and smelling of massage lotion, and by 9.20 pm just has hubby returned from a food run, Sebastien was fast asleep.
That was pretty much it for the first day!
I awoke at 7.30am on the second day to the sound of Michael clattering around in the kitchen and seized the opportunity to demand tea in bed. Naturally the toddler decided he would like to join us too, and amongst the million boxes we spent a blissful 15 minutes together drinking tea, and mostly ignoring the mess.
By lunchtime, we were all threaders. The boy was whingeing, the teenager skulking, and hubby stomping round like a bear with a sore head. We had been at it for hours, and yet the house looked messier than before. After a lot of cursing, the first curtain pole went up, and we finally got rid of the last kitchen box, as well as a huge portion of the boxes in the lounge. I sent hubby out on the bike, for the next 2 hours (the drill needed charging anyway!) bleached the kitchen, tidied the linen cupboard, finished a few bits and bobs off in the nursery and managed to hang two pictures in the kitchen.
By 4pm this afternoon, the house hit a level where I’d be quite happy for someone to pop in for a cuppa without feeling the need to apologise for the state of the place (although I will probably apologise anyway!)
Of course. There is still quite a lot to do. Our master bedroom has barely been touched barring making the bed and hanging the clothes, and the bookcase needs filling, but we have to wait for the wall anchors to dry before we can load that, as I daren’t take the risk of it toppling over on anyone. All the pictures need hanging, the teenager still needs her curtains putting up, and I’ll probably rearrange the furniture a few times yet (especially the nursery) but I’m happy to say, the house already feels like home
How long after moving did you feel settled in your home?
Zx
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