inanna's demesne

The Movers and Moving Van arrive Wednesday morning bright and early... our goal is to have 90% of the house packed and moved prior... or at least off of all the things that we want the movers to move. i am low on motivation, so it is taking me forever do to the work that would take 2 hours if i focused. But i am also washing dishes and clothes as i pack. And poking on the Internet. And watching some TV.

So... on the the REAL reason of this post... stuff that will need a new home. Or some of it, anyway.

1) We have a couch and loveseat... it wasn't the best when we got it, and a year of kids and cats has left it with a couple more stains and a bit of scratching on one arm. The loveseat comes with a white cover... the couch with a comforter for a cover. Free is a good price. :) Comfy enough.... definitely.

2) 4' tall x maybe 30" cabinet... again, not in the best shape, structurally sound, but the finish isn't great.

3) 4' tall dresser... it is white and looks nice... it should have 5 drawers, but only has 4 since one drawer got broken when my son stood on it. We just keep the empty one on the bottom and put clear plastic boxes there for adl. storage.

4) 3' tall dresser... wood and 4 drawers and (honestly) ugly. But very sturdy.

5) Small 3-drawer bedside table sized chest of drawers. Also pretty ugly, but works ;)

6) What was once the "printer stand" part of a Sauder desk set... now being used as a bedside table. In decent shape.

All are free, unless you want to give us something for it (money, cookies, a starbucks drink.. :)

i am... overwhelmed and afraid and scared and terrified and panicked and obsessed and dead inside.

i don't know how i am going to make it through this move. To be prepared. To be financially able. i need to rehome my chinchillas. i need to rehome most/all my birds. i may need to rehome my dog. i need to get rid of at least half of my "stuff" - or more. And i have maybe 8 weeks to do it all. And i want to crawl into a hole and fill it in after me.

Mom is coming down tomorrow to help. And of course, the thought of her seeing my house so messy is making me want to hide even more. i need to sort through at least one room a week - sort and pack. If i can sort and pack one room a week, i will be pretty much ready by the time we have to move. 4 upstairs rooms - living room, 'school' room, family room, kitchen/dining room. But i have to add in the storage shed and the pantry area. One a week may not sound so bad... but most of you haven't seen my house. And... in addition... i need to get darkmuffin back on school track, do all the cooking and routine cleaning,... plus find a new place to live, figure out where to get the money to pay for the move, keep on top of all the bills, screen homes for the animals, get darkmuffin to hockey on time at least twice a week (Sat and Sun mornings by 7:30 usually), and make time for time with my husband. Oh... and maybe time for me, too.

i went through several boxes tonight... i am trying to be brutal. i have kept about 1 box of the 10 i have sorted through so far. i have thrown out all the writings and papers and cards and letters and stories from the past 30 years or so that i have been hanging onto for no good reason. i found my girlscout pins/patches... they are gone now. i found letters from an old love... gone. Pictures and papers and notes and letters. Who needs things and stuff... the memories are there or they aren't. If they are, then wonderful. If they aren't, do they really need to be dredged up again? i found some rose potpourris that my friend Jill and i made when we were about 14 - amazingly it still smelled fresh and strong nearly 24 years later. Gone. The glass bottle is up for grabs.

There is so much up for grabs. Books. Records. Betta tanks. Decorative boxes. Baby/craft scale. Dishes. Books. Clothing/shoes. SCA style/Con style clothing (none my size now... and who knows if i'll be that size again or if i'll ever do things like the SCA or Cons again anyway). Stones. Petrified wood. Books. Free or donation.

For sale i know we have at least 1 DVD player. A pilates performer similar to this one only with 4 resistance cords and with burgandy/brown, not black, vinyl and no videos. A spinning wheel with some fibre. A table loom. Probably a TV. Probably another DVD player. Probably a VCR. Likely a surround system that does great for TV and for radio, but whose DVD/CD player part is broken - or free on that one.

To add to the joy, i am having sleeping issues again. And stomach issues. And eating issues.

And i still want to be in a hole. Oh. i am.

[Edit: Wow, that was quick! Good thing we have much more good stuff to rehome!]

Ok locals... the exodus of stuff begins. i'll post things in LJ and if i don't get a response in a few days i'll post to craig's list and/or freecycle. The first offering is:

Double-sized papasan chair with a green pad. Good condition. - free

White chest of drawers - It is about 4' tall or so and has 4 of 5 drawers (meaning one drawer broke from child climbing it - we just leave the bottom drawer out and use that space for sterilite style boxes for storage) - the 4 drawers are in good shape. - free

Tonight is officially a no-sleep night.

i always seem to get more done in the odd hours - when the rest of the household is asleep. For some reason i have a difficult time packing or cleaning when the house is filled with awake children or husbands. Give me time alone, and i do well. Give me time alone and someone with whom to chat on the phone, i do even better.

So... tonight i plan not to sleep.... i may go to bed between 5 and 6 AM if i get enough accomplished. So, if you are up and around and have one of my phone numbers, feel free to give me a call. If you don't have my numbers or can't call... feel free to ping me on IM (all my contact info is on my "info" page) - i'll try to check it now and then. :)

My goals for tonight.....

sort all the papers/garbage on the floor in the living room

sort all the papers/garbage in the dining room

go through all the toys in the living room :
discard broken toys
re-home outgrown toys
pack other toys

sort magazines into keep/strip(articles)/discard

.......

i'll add more when i finish these :) expect many posts tonight :)

Well... should hear tomorrow or Wednesday whether we get the house in Edmonds or not. i keep praying that if this is the house we should get, let it be; if it is not the house for us, let the new one present itself presently. :)

Today i packed 9 more boxes. Seven of those boxes were CDs. i think i have 90% of them boxed now... barring the few in cars and around the computer. Last of the "brighter vision" learning packages and misc. books are boxed. About 1/3 of the games are boxed. Problem is where to put the boxes. Have a corridor started in the living room.

Animals know something is off. This is the first time (really) of Maire's life... she is staying very close. Falcor is even willing to be near the dog to be near me.

Hey all you wonderful Seattle area LJ friends of mine (and friends of friends, and acquaintences of friends of friends) - As previous posts have noted, we are in need of new housing - and fairly soon. End of March the earliest.... End of May probable.... End of August at the VERY latest.

So... here is my request.... please let me know if you see housing that you think would fit my family's needs/wants; which are as follows:

NEEDS:
1) Rent or lease for $1400/month or less (we decided to wait a bit to buy unless the PERFECT house arrives at an INCREDIBLE price ...separate post about that decision).

2) 3-4 bedrooms (or more... always open to more :)

3) Pet friendly (we have dog, cats, birds, chinchillas)

4) Yard that is fenced or can be fenced.

5) Within a 45 mintute or less commute to Harbor Island (average day, not middle of the night).

6) Good landlord (attentive to major issues, not too nosey, etc.)

WANTS:
1) More than one bathroom
2) Garage and/or storage area
3) Offstreet parking for 2 vehicles
4) hardwood/laminate/etc. floors throughout (no carpeting)
5) nearby safe place for kids to ride bikes/skate

PIPE DREAMS:
1) Lease-to-buy option if house is "right."
2) Nice trees and places to plant garden
3) Within 15 minutes drive of Harbor Island
4) Gas heat - wood/pellet stove
5) "Green" house - insulation, windows, heat, appliances, etc. are most 'green' friendly

DEAL BREAKERS:
1) outdoor only dog/cat requirement
2) per-pet deposit requests
3) bad/scarey neighborhoods where kids can't play safely

Ok all you wonderful people.... you have eyes in more neighborhoods than i can imagine - and off the major roads, too. Please share those signs in windows/on lawns.... the conversations with co-workers or neighbors.

Thank you so much. :D