I finally got around to switching my home and car insurance to another company (from State Farm, who had almost doubled my rates the last couple of years, to Allstate.). I spent about 30 minutes on the phone and it cut my annual bill for two cars and one house by $398.60 a year. That feels good. I'm also paying less, but getting more auto coverage.

I'm not a big insurance company hopper, but clearly it does pay to reevaluate every couple of years.

I also cancelled my homeowners insurance with State Farm (on the house I just sold), and will be receiving a refund. I will also be cancelling the car insurance, and will be getting another refund for that. I suppose that money will go either to the kids' 529s or to pay down the car loan.

****************************

We're in the middle of getting estimates for gutters and insulation for the new house. So far, they have come in a bit above what I expected to pay. I budgeted a max of $2000 for each of the three projects we need to have done here.

--Tree removal of a dying and deadly tree is $1900. It involves a crane. Of course.

--First insulation quote came in at $2800. We have R5, and want to add another R38 to meet the Dept of Energy recommendations for our area.

Here's the rub. If we have an energy audit from our local gas company, we will get a rebate for putting in the insulation. it can be significant-- from 20 to 70 percent. That's great. But I just called and they are all booked up for this year and won't be able to get to us until some time in 2012. Is it worth waiting up to another year to get the discount? I'm not sure.

-- the first gutter estimate came back at $1900. But for another $1200 with a leaf guard system. After some research, I'm skeptical of the leaf system, as it can potentially cause problems in winter with ice dams and snow. Looks like we will have to just clean the leaves out.

Still, I am waiting for more estimates. So hopefully we can get a good deal.

Now that the other house is sold, I feel like it's time to try to get a handle on expenses again-- clipping coupons, shopping around for better deals on insurance (almost done), etc. I know I've been paying too much for groceries and just about everything else since February, due to lack of time and energy.

To kick off the season of clipping coupons and buying on sale, I stocked up on all natural hot dogs. They were BOGO, plus I had coupons, so I saved some there. I also bought 3 bags of cat food. It was on sale for about $3 off a bag, plus I had coupons for $1 off. Laundry detergent was also on sale, no coupon, so I bought 3.

I also returned about $40 in items I didn't use or need to Lowe's (bought too much for project) and one sheet to Target, still in package. I needed a fitted but accidentally bought a flat. For me, returning things is a big deal, because I never used to do it. I hate hassles, and I always felt like it was a hassle to return stuff, but now having my money back is worth it.

So, hopefully the dust will settle financially these next couple of weeks and I can figure out how our new-- with mortgage-- budget is going to work. I haven't really been able to save anything while maintaining two houses, so hopefully the outlook will improve and I can get back on track.

The check for the sale of our house cleared. Yay! I am going to set up the transfers for Tuesday morning, so I can start tackling those goals. Yay!

Update: So, I set up a transfer to my mortgage account (at the same bank). Weird. They only let you pay up to $99,999.99 at a time. So, I had to set up two transfers on two different dates to send the $118,000 I had budgeted. I wonder why they do that?

I also got a freelance check for $160 yesterday, so I sent $100 to each kid's 529.

So, I deposited the check for our house sale yesterday at about 4:30. Of course, on the receipt, it said it would post today, but no. I do understand, though, as there will probably be a bigger lag because it's a bigger check. I just hope it doesn't take too long. I'm anxious to pay down the mortgage, and it's a holiday weekend, so waiting is going to drive me up the wall!

Anyway. The check was for about $128,700.

My plan thus far is to send $2,500 to savings, to replace the money I spent fixing the place up so we could sell it.

$118,000 to the current mortgage balance, to get us under $100,000 and on track for our 5-year mortgage pay-off plan.

The rest will be budgeted for a handful of projects on the new house. Since most of the work here is done, these are really the only big-money projects we have to do. Everything else is little stuff.

So, $1665 to have a gigantic dying tree with multiple split trunks removed. It's 50 plus years old and ready to fall on the house any second. Requires a crane, hence the price tag.

about $2,000 each (hopefully less, but the estimates are not in yet) for insulation in the attic and new gutters.

We may also have a handful of small plumbing and electrical projects done, depending on how much is left. Or, I might just send even more to paying down the mortgage.

Now if only the check would clear so I could get to work....

We officially sold the house today. Check is now in the bank. It sure was a lot of work and a lot of stress, but now we can move on with our lives-- and own only one house!!!!

Closing on the house is set for 1 p.m. Thursday. Here's hoping the last tradesman shows up tomorrow, therefore sealing the deal.

Selling the house, with all the fixing up, staging, and then negotiations, and second round of repairs has been exhausting. It's amazing what you can get done in a week and a half when you're contractually obligated! (And how much more it costs you to do it on someone else's timeline... Boo.

Anyway, I do feel blessed that we will be able to sell our home. The market really is that terrible, according to all the appraisers, title people, and realtors I talk to. I was thinking though that it seems totally random to me why some houses sell so quickly and others-- that are just as nice-- languish on the market. I guess part of it is elbow grease, but most of it is luck. All the "Designed to Sell" we did wouldn't have mattered if no one came to see it, or the right person hadn't come along so quickly. It really is just waiting for the person to come along who sees potential in your house.

I am also aware that deals can fall apart at any second, so I think I am disappointing hubby with my reaction to all of this. He keeps expecting me to be overjoyed, but I'm not. Just kind of stressed out at the never ending to do list, and too cautious not to take anything for granted.

We've been so focused on buying, fixing and selling houses since March that we hadn't realized how much our little man is growing up. He's fast approaching 3 and a half, and all of this dawned on me because he's actually too big for his toddler bed. Feet touching the end and always hitting his head.

So, in the midst of all the craziness, I added shopping for a twin mattress and frame to my to-do list. I think I have the frame taken care of. I love those little tikes race car beds, but of course, they are so expensive. I'm not paying $250 or more for one!

I ended up getting one anyone-- on craiglist, for $75 (cheaper than the new frames I was looking at). We pick it up on Sunday, so hopefully the seller won't flake out. I'm pretty confident buying it online because Little Tikes stuff is virtually indestructible.

Now, to find a mattress. I didn't realize mattress shopping was so complicated and expensive. Even a twin mattress with no box spring is pretty spendy. I guess we'll have to go hit the discount places and hope we can find something durable, comfy, and boy-sturdy.

Can any of you recommend a mattress for a boy? He'll probably be in it until at least 4th grade. Help!

Oh, and we are supposed to close on the house on the 30th. Some work got done yesterday. More will hopefully be finished before then. I'm sure there will be many money related posts after we sell and the check is in the bank.

Well, it's happening. We are scheduled to close on the old house on Thursday. That feels nice.

But, this week is totally stressful and I'm stretched to the max. The buyer agreed to our more reasonable list of repairs (no, I'm not adding outlets for you!). But he wants us to do the work before closing, rather than taking the cash to hire who he likes. And, he wanted to move the closing back from July 8 to June 30--. Maybe as a newbie homeowner he doesn't realize it's summer and good contractors are booked up for weeks. Most of my usual guys are booked, so I have had to hire another electrician. I'm a little nervous. He sounded kind of like a knuckle dragger, but he's part of a family company that has been around for 75 years, so at least I know they aren't fly by night.

I do know I will have to pay much more to get the work done than I would have paid my regular electrician. Ugh. But what choice do I have?

I do not want to set up an escrow account to let the buyer pay for repairs, because he has no incentive to shop smart and be cost effective if he's spending my money. And I don't want him to add services or anything on my dime. So, I'm trying to get as much done before next week as possible, and if today doesn't go well, I may angle for the original closing date.

Anyway, fingers crossed that all the pros show up when they say they will!

SO yeah, having a good offer on the hosue immediately? I knew it was too good to be true. The appraisal came back good, so that is good, but the guy-- a frist time buyer-- is freaking out about the inspection.

It's very weird. The inspector gave us the highest rating, saying we were in good condition in every single category. But of course, no house is perfect. We had little things in every room that need to be addressed, But little. Apparently, the buyer was having a second thoughts-- over a GOOD inspection. You just never know what is going to freak people out.

Anyway, today we got the request to remedy and it had 40 things he wants us to fix in the next week or two-- forty tiny things. Some of them aren't even broken-- like he wants all new screens in the sun porch doors, even though there are no tears or damage to the existing ones. At first I was angry, but now I am just numb. I'm more than happy to fix real problems, but seriously?

I'm not sure if the guy is just freaking out or if this is just a sad attempt at a cash grab. I went through the list with the realtor and he helped me weed out what was ridiculous and what we could do with some time (and money, of course.)

I also am so done with this. I just want to be free of all this extra work and worry. I'm so tired and worn down. So, I sent the list over and maybe we'll sign something and send it back to the buyer. IF he accepts our pared-down proposal, that means I have to spend tons of time trying to convince our electrician and plumber that they really should come over and fix 30 little things.

Ugh/. What would you do? I know it's a buyers market, but does that mean I have to deal with unrealistic expectations? I almost feel like if this guy doesn't want to do even the smallest thing to a house, he shouldn't be a homeowner.
GAH!

I dropped 6 boxes/ bags at goodwill today and freecycled 12 partial gallons of paint the last owner left in our garage. Feels really good to part with stuff.

Also, inspection for the house was yesterday at noon. Still no word from the buyer or the appraiser. Should I be worried that I've heard nothing? Trying not to think about it, but obviously I am.

The FHA appraiser is doing our house appraisal today. I have heard they can be brutal, and generally don't count basements (even finished) in the habitable square footage. Not good, since our finished basement basically doubles the size of our house. I have also heard that they act as inspectors as well, and can hold up an entire sale over a few spots of chipped paint. So, yeah, I'm nervous. I've worked hard, and I'd hate to have any overlooked minutiae hold up the sale.

Also, whatever number this person comes back with is held as THE value of the house for the next six months. Set in stone, for whoever buys, so it's kind of important!

If we come back low I will be demolished, considering we are selling for 12k less than we paid for the house AND I put $45,000 in improvements into the house. The world truly is not fair if none of those improvements added any real value.

Anyway, fingers crossed guys! This is hurdle no.1, and the home inspection (hurdle 2) is tomorrow. I don't anticipate any big inspection issues, since we've redone all the major systems, but you never know what normal house stuff is going to freak out buyers, especially first-time ones!

Well, papers are signed, hubby has come around, and we are officially in contract, one week to the day we listed the house for sale. A small miracle. Now please PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE all of you keeps us in your prayers and hope we make it to closing!

And, here are some pics, as promised.

As you know we received an offer on our house. We asked 149k, and we have countered a few times. Buyer wants to give us $143k, but with the caveat that we contribute 2500 to closing costs.

I think we should go for it. I think it's a decent offer, not a lowball. BUT... my hubby is opposed to the idea of paying the closing costs. No one has ever done it for us, is his rational. And, now that we had an offer on the first showing, he thinks maybe the house is underpriced. He wants to get 145k out of it, no closing costs.

There are a lot of houses for sale in our neighborhood. And some have been on the market more than a year. I told him that if we turn this guy down over $2,000 we will spend more than that in time and money maintaining the house until the day If another good offer arrives.

Frankly, I was expecteing offers in the 130s, so to get one for this, I am totally fine with. He seems defeated because of all the money we are losing on the house, but we knew that when we decided to move.

HELP

We signed the papers to put the house up for sale on Tuesday. Hooray! And it's a good thing!

I felt compelled to get it on the market before we left town for hubby's family reunion 1000 miles away.

We got an email notice last night that someone had scheduled a showing. Then, two hours later we had an offer. One showing one offer. Geesh. What a great start!

We are asking 149k for the house. (paid 154k in 2006, then put a lot more money and work in it.). Anyway, they offered 140k, plus 2500 in closing costs. We countered 144,9k with the 2500 in closing costs. Now we wait and see. Hopefully we'll know something by the time we get home tomorrow.

I think it's a decent offer. Not a lowball. Hopefully we can work something out.

My fingers are crossed, because I know that offer to contract to closing is a long road with that doesn't always work out.

Keep your fingers crossed for me guys!

I have reached the point of good enough! We sign the papers on Tuesday. For sale. Woo-hoo!

These don't really show how dramatic the before and after are, but you get the point!

We hired a realtor today, after many interviews and walk-throughs. We sign the papers to put the house on the market either Thursday or Tuesday (holiday weekends). We have one more big day at the house-- we rented a floor buffer/polisher and a carpet extractor so we can clean the floors. Stanley Steemer can stick their $600 quote! Momm is taking the kids, so me and hubby can both work on the house to get it finished. Then, it's cleaning staging AND DONE!!

Then it's hurry up and wait for an offer.

Moneywise, it's still sad. We paid 154,500in 2006. Put 40k into repairs and upgrades, and the maximum listing price we are looking at is 152k. Boo.

Some realtors tried to tell us we'd be lucky to get 89,000 out of it. I certainly hope they are wrong.

Argh. Spam entries make me mad! Does anyone ever click on those? Isn't it a waste of the spambots time?

My goal is to list the house for sale on Friday. We are ready to go, except for putting another coat of paint on the door in the kitchen, replacing the sunporch carpet (taking care of both of these tomorrow), and scrubbing the floors.

Stanley Steemer actually quoted me $600 to clean the wood floors and carpet in my 1450 square foot house. With a straight face!! So hubby and I are renting the equipment and doing it ourselves for about $80 on Friday.

You thrifty design geeks will like this. I managed to buy all the curtains I needed to Designed to Sell my entire house at various thrift stores, for about $40. That is pretty cheap for curtains for 5 rooms. And they are nice curtains too! I also bought a beautiful fabric to slipcover my diner booth-- for $1.99. It was even still on the cardboard bolt thing from the fabric store. Boy do I love thrifting.

So, we will hopefully sign the papers with the realtor, roll out the staging furniture, take the pictures, and then plop that for sale sign in the yard by end of day Friday. That is my timelines at least, if the stars align.

It's an exciting prospect. painting, repairing and cleaning that house has been my third full-time job for more than a month, and boy am I ready to move on with my life!

I'm meeting with two new realtors on Wednesday. I wasn't impressed with our last realtor. Seemed like his MO was to just list houses for fire sale prices so he didn't have to do any real work. Um, no. So we're exploring our options. Hopefully one of the two will work out. One just listed a house down the street, which was only for sale a short time until it sold. He clearly knows how to price a house to sell. Fingers crossed!

in other news, I haven't put one penny into the savings account since we bought this house. So sad. The good news is that nothing has come out yet either. We've been paying the mortgage and all the money on repairs, etc. to the other out of cash flow, so all of that is positive. It occurred to me that it is very weird to not save anything. It also made me realize how "rich" we would feel if we just spent everything we made! (don't worry guys, I'm not!)

And in other other news. It's ill-timed, given how busy I am, but I did land yet another monthly freelance contract. It's only once a month, short but interesting, and pays about $100. My goal at the beginning of the year was to increase my income by about $300. Then magically, I got a contract for $400. Now this, so I am up to $500 a month in additional, steady income. It feels nice to knock a goal out of the park!

And those of you following my paycheck woes will be happy to know one of the companies I work for is now offering direct deposit. No more lost checks in the mail.

On a sad note, my great aunt died this weekend. She was 90. Same age as her mother-- my great grandmother-- when she died. I think 90 is a pretty good run, don't you?

I put in another 10 hour day at the old house on Friday, six more hours on Saturday (along with my mom), and then hubby and I borrowed a truck to move the last of the big odds and ends out of the old house. Phew!

I can FINALLY say that all of this hard work is almost over! If I put in some real time cleaning and scrubbing this week, I could have the house ready and for sale by this weekend. WOO-HOO!!!

Once that sign is in the yard, I plan to kick my feet up, watch a movie, and go to bed early. Then maybe, just maybe, I can turn my attention to the house I'm currently living in!

If I there were a way to let out a long, exhausted breath via words, I would be doing that right now.

I have been stretched to my absolute limit since we put an offer in on our current house about two months ago. I'm like a really bad Plastic Man wannabe-- all stretched out, only I haven't been zapped by some magic ray that actually makes me stretchy!

We are back to our daily routine, as far as where the kids need to go and the work I need to do, etc. Now that I have moved to the other side of town I basically live in the car, driving the kids to the sitter and to preschool. I HATE driving, so I made the executive decision today that we are switching Kid 1 to a preschool in the new neighborhood. We have two good prospects, and I am touring them both later this week. Hopefully, the preschool issue will be solved by the end of the week.

We moved out of our old place April 15. I am STILL working on it to get it ready to sell. It's taking forever, first because it's only me who is spending long hours over there painting and repairing-- because someone has to watch the kids, and I'm the handy one of my family. And two, because it seems like every surface needs primer plus at least two coats of paint to get it to look good. My fault, I tried a new paint and it's coverage is for squat. So, I had to spend more to get good paint unless I wanted to put on five coats. Frustrating, to always feel like you are doing the same project over and over yet it doesn't get done.

I still haven't received one bit of forwarded mail-- which includes about $1300 in freelance checks I really need right now. I went to my old post office, and they have no mail. They said it's been forwarded, and asked me to go to my new post office. I'm almost scared to do. If they don't have my mail, then where is it? Lost in some vortex, along with all the other halves of pairs of socks I've lost through the years???

I still have no idea how our mortgage will be impacting our savings plan or daily life, as I haven't had any time and energy to sit down and plan. And, I've been spending money on paint, supplies, cleaning, repairs, etc. on the other house, a temporary but spendy expense.

Add in that I haven't clipped a sinlge coupon or had the energy to hunt down sale sin feeding my family and my money situation is a total wreck. AAAAAAHHHHHH!

I just really need to get this house on the market in the next couple of weeks, so I can start putting some of my time and energy into all the things that aren't being taken care of while I'm slaving away on painting and mowing!!

Phew. Are you exhausted from reading that? I am!

On a bright note, I did manage to drop off four giant boxes at the Goodwill today. Phew.

I thought I would have the old house painted and ready to put on the market by now. Of course not. I've been there putting in long days of painting and cleaning, but I probably still have two more weeks to go. It takes so long because I can't just go full steam ahead. I have to work on weekends, and then only for as many hours as someone can be with the kids. Hubby has had to work the last two Saturdays (unexpectedly) which further put a crimp in my plans. It's frustrating. I want to get this house on the market ASAP, but trying to accomplish anything-- especially as monumental as this-- is impossible when you have two small kids.

I am thankful for my mom. She spent two days last weekend cleaning and scrubbing, and definitely knocked some time off of the work that needs to be done before listing. Sure, I could sell as is, but in this market, I don't believe in leaving anything to chance. The house has to look perfect and be priced right.

Murphy's law has also kicked in on my paychecks, which arrive by mail once a month. I didn't forward my mail until April 25, because the check usually arrives before then. I'd been at the house every day, so didn't mind picking up the mail. The check didn't come. And in my new house, I've maybe gotten one piece of forwarded mail since April 25. So I'm living in a "where is all of my mail?" limbo vortex, and about $1000 in paychecks, which I could really use right now are caught up in the void. I talked to my employer, and they sent the checks on April 15. I should have had it before the mail forwarding. But of course not. And because I moved, they want me to wait and see if it shows up. I'm stuck. How much longer is it going to take for my forwarded mail to arrive???? I need to get paid!

The new house is working out swimmingly. We met the parents who have an adjoining unfenced backyard. Love them. They are totally on the same page with us, and their kids are only 2 years older than ours. They have played together for hours in our (now shared) yards for two days in a row. It's very nice!

****

At our old house, garbage was free and we had to pay $11 a month for recycling. At our new house, recycling is free, and we have to pay $2.90 for every 35 gallon trash can we put on the curb every week. Yard waster bags also cost $2.90 each.

I'm not thrilled at the prospect of paying per can, but I am excited that I live in a place that has it's priorities straight. They give you a really clear incentive to compost and recycle.

So, of course, all of this got my wheels turning about how we can reduce our waste. I'm finding I think about the money I will have to pay, ever time I drop a garbage bag in the can.

That said, I am trying to come up with some simple and effective composting options. We have a small, drum composter for household items, but we screwed up our first batch and it has to be disposed of. I'm willing to give it another try, especially now that there is money on the line. We produce a lot of plant waste in the summer, thanks to our farm share and the garden, so this could save us some dollars. And, we'll produce a lot of leaves in the fall, and composting them somehow will also save money.

We're already pretty heavy recyclers, so I'm not sure there is anything I can improve there.

In a weird way, I'm kind of excited about the challenge, especially because I can put actual dollar amounts on our savings. This is also in line with our values as far as reducing the clutter and waste in our own lives.

*****
I'm trying to come up with a new menu of healthy, home-cooked lunches and dinners that the kids and I can eat. Part of buying this house is belt -tightening, as in less eating out and take-out. And, I really want us to have healthier diets. I feel like the kids eat too much processed and junk foods, and I'm finally to the point that I feel like we need a serious change.

Do any of you have any tips for meals, or places to find meal ideas?

In the meantime, I have used a dry erase board for our weekly schedules and dinner menus. I'm going to add a line for lunch menus as well, so I don't always feel like I am scrambling to feed them when 11:30 a.m. rolls around.

****
The decluttering is going REALLY REALLY well. Almost too well, as the current stash of boxes destined for goodwill will take more than one car trip. And I'm not even finished unpacking. I don't know why, but change of scenery has made it so much easier to get rid of things, and to really really assess what is important and what we'[re just hanging onto for some other silly reason. I think the "Clean House" crew would be very happy with me.

Organization is my big kick in the new house. I've already installed more metal shelves and drawers than I ever had before. I don't know why I never did it in the other house. Even just a few of them has made the spaces so much more functional. Our kitchen is actually smaller, but thanks to clever use of existing space and decluttering, we have empty cabinets. It feels really nice. Peaceful, almost!

****
Designed to Sell starts Saturday. I'm renting a steam cleaner to do the rugs and carpets in the other house, and buying all the paint. I don't know how far I will gt, considering it's a holiday weekend, but even if I just get the carpets cleaned, that will be a start!

The big weekend of painting, cleaning and repairing is the following weekend. Then, a week later, I plant some flowers and get the last electrical project finished (box replacement, to pass inspection), and we should hopefully be ready to list. Best laid plans, though.

***
I also just got a new bookcase for the kids, for almost free. Our kids' books are out of control-- taking over. In pile everywhere. We have one small bookcase that has canvas pockets so the books face out and the kids can see the covers. That one works great. But the two others where the books are spine out? Not so much. They just pull all the books off until they find one they want. Not working. So, I bought another one--albeit larger, canvas pouch-style one on Amazon. It was $45, free shipping, but I had tons of free gift cards built up from Swagbucks, so I only had to pay $1.99. Sweet deal.

Hubby and I also realize we have hundreds of dollars worth of gift cards in a box in my closet, and it's probably time we started spending them. The house always needs little things, so why not use up the gift cards, and feel like we're treating ourselves, even though we are on spending crack down?? Two of them -- $100 each at our favorite retro 1960s steakhouse-- we are saving for anniversary and to celebrate the night we sell our other house (whenever that may be).

So yeah, I guess we are planning a free shopping spree, starting tonight, when I hand over three gift cards hubby can use to buy his favorite gourmet fancy-pants coffee.

Mom came up to help me two days in a row. We're finally starting to make a dent in the moving boxes, finally started to put some furniture where it goes, and finally got all the clothes, shoes, and coats, food, and bathroom supplies where they need to be. I am happy to say I'm surprised by the amount of storage in this house- at least upstairs, it's been great.

I admit I did "enhance" this a little bit via two shelves, a drawer, and two pull-out trash/recycling bins in the pantry and four shelves in DS2's playroom closet.Side note: shelving and organization supplies are soooo overprices and expensive. It's a racket. really. It's motivation enough to stay organized just to remember how much all those shelves and drawers cost you!

And, while unpacking all of those boxes, we've been sorting, tossing, donating, and recycling. We have at least five very large boxes for the Goodwill. it feels good to let go of things. I've donated things I never would have even considered giving away before. Maybe something about the new scenery is inspiring me. Or, just making me realize I am in a new phase of my life and I can't hold onto the old life and all the stuff that came with it.

This is the first night, too , that little man stayed in bed after bed time. The last few nights, he's been up saying "this isn't his room" and wanting us to stay in there with him until he fell asleep. Poor little guy. Moving is hard on us, but it must be even harder when you are 3.

On a side note, we have giant backyard. My plan is to plant substantial veggie and fruit gardens. I heard the record scratch noise on Saturday. Three deer apparently live in my backyard, and stomped around all day like they owned the place. Deer, given I live way inside the city limits and next to no actual nature, did not figure into my plan. A complication. What to do?

I'm also still waiting for the dust to settle on our finances. It's hard to say what we will be able to save, spend, do etc. until we get used to having a mortgage payment.

We're okay right now, so these next couple of weeks I'm just going to concentrate on unpacking, then on getting our paid for house painted, scrubbed and ready to sell.

I clearly remember why I hate moving! It is sooooo much work. We moved all the big stuff Friday. We moved boxes, bins and bags over slowly for two weeks prior. Today, I moved the cats, as well as another carload of odds and ends over. And there is still more!

How did we acquire sooooo much stuff?

I really am nostalgic for the days when everything I owned fit into the back of my hatchback. Moving was easy then. Who needed a sofa anyway?

On a positive note, the thrift store boxes are piling up. As we open every box, we are sorting. We've got at least two more large boxes for Goodwill, and we haven't even scratched the surface.

I also finally got the washer dryer hooked up. It was an ordeal, as I had to rewire the dryer from a 3-prong to a 4-prong cord ( I was dreading it, but it was easier than I thought.), replace the existing dryer venting, because it was a linty-fire hazard, and install new washer supply lines. Also, the washer drains into an old cement sink. I've never seen this before, and I'm not super comfortable with it. Next time the plumber comes by, I'll just ask him to double check it for me.

Laundry is great. One more level of function! We are living in limbo still, as we still have so much to put away.

Just about to go to sleep. Today was the big day. We rented the Uhaul, paid our friend's 18 year old son to help us move, and moved ALL the big stuff into the new house. It's our first night sleeping here. It's a little weird. Still miss the old place. And so so so so much work to do.

Today, I made my first mortgage payment in 5 years. And we don't even live in the new house yet. Seriously. It feels weird and overwhelming.

The payment wasn't due until May 1, but I had the cash on hand, so I thought I may as well pay a little early and see if that knocks some interest off the balance.

Our mortgage is through our primary bank, so when I logged in today, the mortgage account now shows up on my accounts summary page, right next to the checking account. I like that it's convenient, and I don't have to log in to yet another Web site to check the balance or make a payment.

Hubby thought it was funny to see the checking and mortgage side by side. a "Here's what you have, here's what you owe" approach.

I sent $400 extra on the payment. This is part of the early pay-off plan. IF we can sell our current house, all of the equity will go to pay off the loan. That, plus $400 extra a month, and we will have the new house paid off in about 5 years. That is the idea.

IF we can't sell our current house, we will rent it out, build a rental maintenance cushion with the rent money, then start applying all of it to the mortgage. Hopefully, we will not become landlords. I don't feel I'm up for the hassle, considering how full my plate is with the babies.

Tomorrow, I have to meet the cable guy at the new place to install the internet, phone, etc., I will hopefully sell a few big items via some craigslist appointments, and I have to drop the kiddies off at grandma's in prep for moving day, which is Friday.

The movers were way way way way more than we felt comfortable paying, so we enlisted our friend's 19 year old son to help us move. He can use some extra cash, and I'd rather pay him to work like a dog than pay 10 times that much on by the hour movers. His mom--our friend-- is also coming by to help.

I'm still overwhelmed by the amount of stuff we own, but I'm feeling a little better now that I have a plan to deal with all of it, and to eliminate the clutter the minute it comes out of the box. Storage and stuff management is an A-1 top priority this weekend! I predict many trips to the shelving department at the hardware store....

My mom came over to the new place today and saw the inside for the first time. She had some storage ideas I hadn't even considered, some that might even work out better than what I had planned. I.e. adding some more shelved in the pantry and dedicating it to food storage only, and shifting all the mops and brooms to the second front hall closet.

A fresh set of eyeballs on a problem can certainly come in handy!

I also dropped four big boxes of stuff off at the thrift store today. And, I sold a ceiling fan that's been sitting in the garage for $25 on Craigslist. It went into the house-stuff piggy bank.

I also started a fresh donation box at the new house. As I unpacked, I put a couple of things in there. It's easy to get sentimental about stuff, but eyes on the prize. With two small kids, we have minimal extra energy, so energy we don't have to spend dealing with the everyday fallout of clutter can be spent on bigger and better things. If we haven't used it or there isn't room, it's going. No questions.

I will say I am totally exhausted. The kids have been sick for going on a month now, two rounds of pink eye, an ear infection, and now two colds that have lasted about a week. It's been hell. And, the baby is cutting more teeth, ergo screaming his head off the last two nights. And, little man is stalling going to bed and then keeps coming out of his room. This, on top of moving, work, etc. and I am exhausted. I think I got about 4 hours sleep last night, and that is being generous. I know I'm on deadline, but I might just go to bed early tonight. I know I should work, but I am totally spent.

Or declutter resolve, I should say.

After the kids were asleep, I drove over to the new house. I managed to rescue the three boxes of thrift store donations hubby accidentally moved over there. AND, as I unpacked a few kitchen boxes and perused some boxes in the basement, I managed to cull enough stuff to fill two more big bins. It's in the bag of the car, pending drop off at Goodwill.

The new carpet we had installed in the basement (after my new paint job), looks pretty good. I'm happy with it. And, in the mail today I got a bit of a surprise. a refund for $116 from the title company for overcharging for county recording fees-- I've never gotten a refund before. I was floored. If they had kept it, I never would have known.

I also discovered that the main bath in the new house has a laundry chute. Score. I always wanted one of those, and yes, it drops right next to the washer. Let's fast forward 10 years and see how that's going to work out with an 11 and 13 year old boy....

The new house will be a challenge though. The kitchen has significantly less cabinetry and storage space. I'm pretty bummed about it. I love my current kitchen. (no lie. I love my current house. It's just the schools. Sad to leave.). This one, meh. Just have my fingers crossed I can tone down the stuff enough to make this one functional.

And, the basement basically has zero storage, unlike my current house which has built-in cabinets and a walk-in basement closet. Oh well. The new house has the potential for great storage, we just have to add it. On the glorious day our current house sells, I will hire someone to frame out some awesome storage closets.

I was hoping moving to a new house meant we could turn over a new leaf. I was hoping we could be organized, live clutter free, and be able to keep it cleaner. I'm wondering if it's even possible.

Hubby has realized we have significantly less ready-to-go built in storage than we have in our current house. We have plenty of space to build storage, it just isn't there yet, which at least in the short term, means more chaos. The bins of seasonal items and holiday decor we have moved over have nowhere to live, as of yet, and are starting to pile up. Hubby and I are both kind of down about it. We have moved so much, but we still have so much more to move!

The moving process has really shed a lot of light on the fact that we just simply own too much stuff. Too much. I have no idea how it happened. I feel like I am constantly donating, freecycling, selling or giving things away. But it just isn't enough. We still just own too much stuff.

And considering we are terrible organizers and terrible housekeepers, we'd probably be better off if we owned less. Much much much much much less. Sometimes, I feel so overwhelmed that I just want to throw everything away. Some days, I put every toy I step on into the recycling bin. It's so frustrating.

I am hoping to turn over a new leaf of organization with the new house, but I am wondering if that is just wishful thinking. Really, all I want is a simple, clean, functional house where everything has a place to live. No clutter. No junk drawers.

It's already an uphill mountain. I went out of town for a couple of days and my MIL decided to pack for me. (I was planning to sort as I packed.) So, I know that two boxes of things I had designated for the thrift store are now somewhere at the new house. I know it's an innocent mistake, but it felt like a big blow. Our lives are so busy, I don't want to have to count on sorting later. With two toddlers, there is no such thing as free time!

It just feels impossible, short of throwing everything away. But that doesn't seem like a real solution. I don't feel like I am a big buyer of stuff, but I must be. I'm the one who brings most things home because I do most of the shopping. Clearly, I must be more mindful of what I'm bringing home.

But what is the solution for the mountains of stuff we already own????

We closed today on the new place. Now we own two houses, have $50,000 less in savings and are the proud owners if $212,500 in debt! Woo. hoo. Isn't home buying great?

Now, it's time to start packing and get this place ready to sell!