Moving. The bane of every military family. But it is a little different when you are moving into your very first home rather than just off to another base. Or is it?
Turns out that moving into a new home can be just as tricky as allowing the military movers pack up your house. While you’re not as likely to pack a full garbage can that was hidden in the “do not pack” room, there is a host of different things that pop up that make you start to think living in a tent with minimal belongings wouldn’t be so bad.
My husband and I closed on our house this spring, but since the sellers were another military family and they were waiting to transition out of the service we let them rent until the husband hit his EAOS. Knowing we had two whole months to get organized and ready to move made me think it was going to be a breeze. Change our address. Transfer the electric and cable. Pick out paint colors. Oh how naive I was!
Did you know you have to call the city to set up water? And not just one department. Oh now that would be too easy. Here you have to have one company set up water that goes into the house and another company sets up the water that leaves the house. I didn’t know that! Between living on bases or in apartments my whole adult life I never had to set up water before. I would have been one unhappy wife if we got through with moving day and I couldn’t take a shower!
Oh and the paint…who the heck decided there needs to be 102 different shades of gray!? I have easily spent over an hour standing in front of the paint samples at the hardware store trying to decide if a gray was too green/blue/purple for what we are aiming for.
And then comes the task of covering the interesting paint choices the previous family made. I know we all have our own sense of style but based on the hours I spend watching HGTV it seems to be common sense that before selling a house one paints more neutral colors so that all buyers can see themselves in the house. Lucky for me I could see past the eggplant bathroom and the holy moly who picked that shade of blue in our spare room so I did fall in love with the house. But now I have to tone down the unique colors so that we don’t scare our guests off when the sunlight hits the wall in the morning.
Speaking of windows, how it is that between all of the moves I have done and all of the curtains I have collected there are still not enough blinds, curtain rods and blackout shades to cover the windows in the new place? I was sure I could start my own curtain company before this move. Now I’m starting to think that shutters would be a great decorating choice. Yes, inside.
On top of the utilities and the facelift we are going to perform on the house we are doing are darndest to minimize the amount of stuff we move into the new place that does not really need to make another move. Like the uniforms my mother-in-law has been getting for us to send her so she can make a blanket out of them. Or the five bags of clothes that neither of us wear.
I am convinced based on the bags of clothes we donated that there have to be people living in my house that I have not met yet. There is no way that two of us have collected so much clothing. Especially when I’m lucky to get my husband out of the three shirts he likes!
Oh and why do two people who use travel mugs whether we are on the road or not have 50 cups in the cabinet!? Am I preparing for the next alien invasion a la “Signs”? Water glasses all over the house was useful in that movie but not so much when it comes time to pack. Then again…with all the stress of the move I might just need to use those glasses for wine as I pack.
Subscribe to Millspouse: This Week