Category Archives: Prepping

Prep Monday—Zipping Along


So here’s the revised plan:

  1. SEE the property. In person. Thanks to all this flippin’ snow, we have yet to make the drive down there.
  2. Go to the seller’s auction in a couple weeks. There was some nice stuff in the midst of all the junk.
  3. Close. You know, do all the paperwork and hand over a lot of money. That sort of thing.
  4. Build an outhouse and a shower house. Not that the bathroom in the house doesn’t work, but we’re building the campsite first so we can work on the house over the summer and fall. It doesn’t need a lot of work, but does need cleaning and a few additional walls. Plus the decking needs to be repaired and sealed and re-worked. And a few other things.
  5. Host a work weekend. This is where we invite everyone we know—including YOU—to come down, camp out, and build the kitchen shelter at the campsite. And drink beer, ‘cause, you know . . . it’s a campout, after all. Might even have time to build out the storage units inside the barn. Definitely have time to hike and explore!

What ELSE could we do? Ideas? A dock on the pond comes to mind, and of course, we’ll need to assess the older house and see if it’s fixable and/or what to salvage. Good thing I’m a list-maker!

 

Prep Monday—It Finally Happened!


All the papers are signed, the closing date is set, all the details worked out for possession, etc.

And I’m a mess.

You know how it is when you have SO MUCH to do? Me, I just kind of shut down. Random thoughts fly through my head at odd moments, and when I have a chance to sit down and think and make lists, my mind goes blank.

As you can guess, this plays havoc with my company. And family. And day-to-day stuff.

But we do have a plan. Sorta:

  1. Actually see the place.
  2. Go to the auction on March 14.
  3. Walk the property—this is separate from the first thing on the list, because initially we just need to see the buildings and check it all out.
  4. Decide where a few outside improvements are going to be built. We’d originally planned to camp while we were building the cabin, and even though it’s more like remodeling and cleaning now, we still need a place to sleep and cook and shower and all that. So that’s first on the building list. Plus, there will be a place for ALL OUR FRIENDS to stay while they’re um, helping. [wink, wink]
  5. Start the clean-up. The seller is having an auction, but we don’t really know how much of the “stuff” will be sold and removed, and we don’t know how much of the leftover stuff will be taken away. And, too, there’s some trash and things, overgrowth, and who knows what that will be need to be cleaned out.

Based on the calendar and our schedules, we hope to have these things done within a few weeks after closing; by the first of May, at least. Once school is out for the summer, we’ll have more time to go down there and stay for a few days or so. Of course, we won’t just be working—what’s the fun in that?

Next up will be putting storage stalls in the barn so we can start moving stuff out of our garage—if you’ll recall, over the last year I’ve been moving things into a big pile for a garage sale and packing up all the other things, memorabilia, etc., that I don’t want to exactly get rid of, but we don’t use. You know, kids’ mementos, papers and things from my grandparents, those kinds of things.

Our sale is set for April, and when it’s over, EVERTHING left—that the kids don’t take—will be donated. Stick a fork in me, I’m done. Ruthless. That’s the keyword.

And then we have the house itself to deal with. The stuff. That’s all moving out too, eventually, to the garage for the next sale. Whew.

By the way, I hate garage sales. Loathe them. Despise them. Words are not strong enough to describe how truly terrible it is to have a garage sale . . .

So, up and at ‘em, onward and upward, and so forth. Go forth. Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m getting a little loopy making all these lists!