The new house to do list

I think I need a catchier name for the ‘new’ and the ‘old’ house.  Let’s call the old house the loft, and the new one… well, I’ll take votes!

I thought I’d share a snapshot of my Day 1 list (the day after move day), when I took the day off to ‘catch up’

Moving house aftermath – the list from the day after (opps and some random phone message notes… sorry, that won’t make sense!)

Now, for the list going forward. I drafted this post a few days ago, so there’s already some updates:

Generally

• complete the condition report for the agent
• start taking photos for the blog (and the condition report!)

Entryway

• oil hinges (pronto!)  canola spray worked a treat
• hooks for scarves Ikea seems most promising
• remove wardrobe shelf to get use of existing rail
• use large hooks on rail for coats and jackets – so far no luck at our big hardware chain
• location for big mirror (previously in the bedroom in the loft)

Bed 1

• buy hardware for bed head ledge Thank you to the bf for taking me to the hardware store on Wed night
• remake bedhead ledge (and modify as needed)
• maybe mount mirror here (if not in entryway)
• get power situation sorted with lamps, phones etc bought stuff on Wed night…
• plane door so it closes!
• buy more Ikea hangers so the BF’s things are all hung consistently (one of my ‘things’)

Bed 2

• rationalise all things stored here (in case we rent it out)
• get floating shelves fitted
• new desk?
• plug in lamp

Lounge/dining

• get approval to hang framed scarf
• reconstruct sofa
• reconstruct arc lamp
• place stools once the two above have settled
• rehouse the cleaning box (rationalise contents too) put it in the laundry cupboard
• plane floating shelf to fit adjusted location

Kitchen

• store condiments (maybe rearrange shelves/cupboards to get ideal location) <- I did exactly that, simple!
• find a storage place for manuals

Laundry

• get approval for a vacuum hanging apparatus?
• move dryer to floor – need extension cord The BF’s task for the weekend!

General stuff to sort out

• where to hang additional towel?
• buy (small) outdoor furniture & BBQ?
• buy new TV (& cabinet) as old TV been recalled

Rationalise/sell etc

• second washing machine
• second vacuum
• second microwave listed on Gumtree, should offer it also through Facebook to friends
• second mop
• second hand mixer and on and on…

So it’s nowhere near as comprehensive as when I moved into the loft.  I wanted to paint walls, and replace tap ware and all that sort of ‘big’ stuff.  So it’s definitely more manageable, but I have to resist the internal pull to get it all done ‘NOW!’  And this list says nothing of the ‘quirks’ I haven’t worked out how to maximize – weird walls, and centering stuff etc.  I took a bath for the first time since I was a kid last night, and I’m thinking ‘those hooks above the TV aren’t centered, they look weird, I need to fix that’.  Evidently I need more baths and less thinking about hooks!

This weekend should get a few more things ticked off, combined with a birthday dinner for my mother and a lemon meringue pie.  Yummo!

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My house review

Today I’m moving house, so in light of this momentous occasion, I thought it time to shine a light on all the things I loved in my ‘old’ place.

When you select your home, you do so based on lots of factors.  Obvious things like number of rooms, location, proximity to amenities, and mostly: the price!  Then there are things that as you start to live in a place you realise you’re lucky to have. First, let me share with you my list of things I was looking for when I was looking to buy:

1. Close to public transport, as I don’t own my own car
2. Linen closet
3. Pantry
4. Bathroom with a window (compromised on this!)
5. No lift (keeps the fees down, also compromised)
6. Character – such as a loft, or oversized windows, timber or polished concrete floors etc
7. Close to amenities, like a grocery store

But here’s all the things that I love, and hadn’t even considered!

1. The double height bedroom railing makes drying sheets easy, so I don’t need a clothes dryer!
2. The hallway orientation allows me a landing station, and a great place to store all my outwear and accessories
3. Over sized kitchen drawers mean I can store more than the usual drawer
4. My carspace have two walls and a pillar keeps cars safe (even if it took a while to master parking in it).  It also makes storing things in the spot easier
5. I live walking distance to my grocery store, the GP, 3-4 friends, butcher, beautican, baker, green grocer AND an Op shop (thrift store).  I can also walk to church
6. The bus from the city stops RIGHT outside my door – so shopping til I drop is possible (why is the city so exhausting?)  And the train is only 3 blocks.
7. My bathroom makes it possible to use a tension bar, solving how to air out running clothes, hang things to be ironed etc

I’m sure once I settle into my new home, I’ll realise more things I miss about this charmer, but for now, these are the things I know, love and will miss!

Moving day tips list

Just a quick post to note what I think might make this move seamless, and then, I can come back and dispel the naivete next week, post move!

source: http://www.interstateremovals.com.au

• wear pants with pockets – failed at this last weekend, and spent my life asking for things out of other’s pockets, namely keys!
• label boxes on two adjoining sides – at least one should be accessible/viewable when stacked/moved then
• use as many uniformly sized boxes as possible – they stack easier
• consider a ‘car load’ for odds and sods – I have a list of what I think will be in this load
  • birdcages
  • lamps
  • magnetic notice board
  • ironing board
• keep cleaning and hardware products at the ‘outgoing’ house for the final touch ups
• make sure you have all the tools you need for your flat pack items (thanks Ikea, I have so much Ikea in my house!) – allan keys, shifting spanners etc
• create a list for the order of packing, starting with the least used items (like linen closet stock piles, out of season clothing etc)
• consider the order of stuff onto the truck vs off the truck, therefore, I’ll pack my entry buffet first, so it comes off last – in both cases, it’ll keep the entryway clearer in both homes.
• remember to have toilet paper (more than one roll!) at both houses.  Thankfully there’s a four pack left at the new home!
• as above, it’s useful to have scissors/knives for opening boxes and cutting tape at both locations
• work out a ‘food plan’ cause at some stage eating will be needed <- ekk something I’ve not done yet!
• roughly hash out what will go where (furniture items particularly, but you can get crazy and go down to cupboards!), and where ‘other’ stuff will go, such as all the boxes!
• spend the ‘pre’ move time getting things back to their rightful owners, dropping stuff at recycling centers or thrift stores etc.  The less the move the better! (I’ll be rehoming my bokashi compost box to my parents, my sewing machine, 1 microwave and a toaster to some friends in need, excess craft stuf went back to the Co-op, and I have a box to give the op (thrift) shop already)

That’s all I have for now…  I’ll report back!

As for picking a mover – well I’d have welcomed advice.  I feel like cheapest isn’t best.  But then how much is too much?  And what about insurance? Why do they all offer insurance, even though I have contents insurance, and they’d have third party insurance…  Just seems like a gorge for money – your thoughts?

Smile for you close up!

Wow… This was meant to publish last week (Thu 25 July), but it seems all the other changes, I failed to get it to publish! Thanks to everything else going on in my life, I’ve not been meticulously planning content, and preparing photos.  That’s not to say photos haven’t been taken of my new place though 😀

Moving plans

Here’s how things are tracking

• My place has had it’s professional photos taken (so it’s even more perfect that how you usually see it… No tea towels!  No hand towels! No soap by the sink!)

Kitchen

Living room

• The ad will go up today last Thursday (so excited to see it!)
• My open time is booked in (10am last Saturday)

Bathroom (evidently not cleaned :s)

• I’ll pick up the spare keys from my parents Wednesday afternoon (as I’m out that way for a meeting today) & drop them to the agent
• My friends are hiring a van (in the GoGet car share system here in Sydney) and will help the BF and I move his few possessions (this past Saturday!)

Dining area

• My strata manager has approved us to store the BF’s stuff in the ‘games’ room in my building (essentially a storage place/meeting room) for the week between him moving in, and us getting keys for our new place
• I’ve done my change of address almost everywhere I can think of, the majority were online, so super quick and easy

Bedroom, missing on bedside box from Ikea

I was getting all frazzled about the ‘hurry hurry wait’ situation, but I’ve now resolved I will commence next Saturday – in the afternoon, after the showing.  With that decision, I’m much calmer.  I think I can realistically get everything packed in 1.5 days, with moving on Monday. Of course, if my place hasn’t yet got a lease, I’ll move ‘half’ my stuff – the stuff I can take away from my apartment, but still give people an idea of space and furniture options.  Mostly everything in the cupboard and occasional storage like side tables and ottomans. Naturally, I have a prioritised list of what to move: from move now, to move last.

Career

In non moving news, I’ve also been told I start my new role on Monday today.  Just what a girl needs :p I’ll be working under (another) new boss.  Everything’s in flux in my office’s management, and I’ve liked my temporary new boss.  The new new boss, well, I’m not sure we gel just yet.  But it’s a learning experience.  I’ll certainly have a much larger amount of work to output (many more smaller jobs, whereas now I have a few large jobs… When I say ‘few’ I mean about 25, of which 5-10 are active at any one time ;))

Along with a new type of work, and output, I will also oversee the work of one person in my office, and a collection of people in another office.  The other office people won’t be working on my portfolio full time, but will help out to raise output.

Needless to say, I’ll have a few plates in the air in the next this week, between starting a new role, having my house open for inspection, and hopefully getting it leased, and packing and moving from my place to our new place.

I’ve always said I’d rather be busy than bored though!

View from the entryway

Oh I am SO excited to have had my place photographed by a pro, if you couldn’t tell! And here I was thinking (and hoping) I was modest… I’m not, I love my baby(house).

Maybe tomorrow I can share the ‘disaster’ photos of how it looks after absorbing some of the BF’s stuff.  It really isn’t that much of a disaster!

Rental wish list

Remember, I share a post about things I’d like in my future home?  Well, now that I’m looking for a rental, some of these might be ‘for real’ soon enough.  Though I think the fireplace is highly unlikely in inner city Sydney apartments…

From top right: out of our price range, quirky and a building I almost bought in, sunshine, and a potential cross breeze

Here’s the list I drafted with the BF

• sunshine: my dark loft is just too dark.  Sunshine makes me happy
• train station proximity: we both prefer trains to buses, and my work is on a train line
• 2 bed or 1 bed + study: the premise for moving from my place to our place is to gain some space (or a location I can escape the snoring!)
• crazy: the bf’s way of saying x-factor or character.  Something that makes the place better than ordinary
• car space: the bf’s car is lovely, and street side parking has already resulted in some damage
• grocery adjacent: given how good I’ve got it now, I know I’m unlikely to enjoy such an easy walk to all the shops!
• secure: my current neighbourhood isn’t known for it’s safety!  The bf wants to be sure we feel safe
• storage: I’m used to a full height pantry AND a linen closet, and then a storage niche.  I’d like to be sure I can relocate all these items easily into a new place
• big kitchen: we currently trip over one another when cooking in his U shaped kitchen, so it’d be great to have something more open
• cross breeze: the bf’s rental had a great summer cross breeze, that beats any fan.  I don’t like the chances of finding the same again, but it’s something to be mindful of.  And I would love a bathroom with a window, but realise they are uncommon in inner city apartments
• air conditioning: I think that snuck onto the list when I wasn’t looking. Tut tut.  And we’d talked about double fans (when we combine ‘stuff’)
• easy to move in/out: yeah, no body loves moving, but this isn’t our ‘forever’ home.  If it’s easy to move into, it’s easy to bring groceries home…

The bold options are the non negotiables and a starting point.  The rest will act as a guide.  But, guiding as they may be, places go FAST in Sydney, so we might need to up our ante. I started looking on Monday morning, and when I called Tuesday morning, the place had two offers and they wouldn’t consider more applications, or show it again.  Talk about fast! They didn’t even list an inspection time online (which is usual).  Anyhow, I did ring her, offer to drink with her (it was in context) and otherwise befriend her – cause there’s no harm in building rapport!

This was going to be the end of the post, but then we looked at two properties (one is pictured above). Both are in warehouse conversions, but in neighbouring suburbs.  Both happened to be on the building’s top floor (3rd or 4th story, not super high) For my thought process, I’ll share these with you:

Daytime property viewing

Positives

• lots of light, especially downstairs
• good kitchen storage & gas cooktop!
• a linen closet!
• a block to the train (and opposite my close friend’s house)
• 2 bathrooms
• both bathrooms have windows (light + ventilation)
• exposed wooden beams upstairs in the bedrooms and bathroom
• beautiful wooden stairs and entry
• vacant – could move in anytime
• air conditioner in the bedroom
• cross breeze possible downstairs
• within our discussed budget

Negative

• midget sized wardrobes – due to
• sloping rooflines
• small bedrooms
• a bit of a walk to grocery store
• no window coverings
• no power, so couldn’t check light fittings (known to be bad in this building)

Evening property viewing

Positives

• HUGE generally
• new kitchen with drawers
• new bathroom
• more wardrobes than I could imagine ever needing
• new wooden floors in living areas
• warehouse conversion
• close walk to a shopping centre
• lovely leafy neighbourhood (I’ve always said ‘I want to live here’)

Negatives

• just ‘a bit too far’ to the train station
• may be dark (we’ll go back for a daytime viewing)
• priced a little higher than we budgeted (but not above what we could afford)
• small bathroom
• no dryer provided (yet)
• difficult to access washing machine taps (just a one time bother)
• carspace less safe
• small bedroom windows

So which way will we go? Or will we abandon both and look at some more?  Either way, I’m sure to share photos of my new home in due course!  Oh, and pick which one you think I prefer…

I interrupt regular broadcasting…

… to bring you breaking news!

I’ll soon have one more person living in my place 😀

The BF’s lease is up in two short weeks (sort of caught him by surprise), so he plans to move to my place to buy us some time while we hunt for the ideal rental.  We both think it’d be best to have ‘our’ place, rather than ‘my’ place, cause let’s face it, I know I can be a little particular!  There’s so much to organise, in the next two weeks, and then looking forward from there, I thought I’d share my list with y’all

The next two weeks

1. Get spare cardboard boxes from work/fruit & vege shop for the BF to pack
2. Make space in my wardrobe for his clothing
3. List all BF’s bigger ‘stuff’ (furniture etc) with measurements
4. Make space in my house for his furniture (and a plan for what’ll be at mine in the short-term)
5. Speak to my parents about temporarily storing some of the BF’s furniture
6. Go to open for inspections – see the places, but review the leasing agents…
7. Make inquiries with agents about renting my place, and the likely rent
8. Make a budget – rent I’ll receive, bills for my house, bills for a new place, rent I can pay out, savings goals
9. Work out suitable rent/cost sharing between me and BF in the interim period Half of what my neighbours pay
10. Speak to my cousin about borrowing his trailer for move day 1 Find a car with a toe bar first!
11. Collect details on utilities etc for BF to cancel/change his address
12. Book cleaner to do ‘final clean’ at BF’s place (then I’ll likely want to stay there!) Saturday/move out day
13. Book in accountant (for tax) and discuss best $ options with house/loan etc
14. Bore readers with inventory posts 🙂
15. Share my new rental ‘wish list’ with readers, and my ‘what I (inadvertently) love about my current place’

After finding a new place

1. Procure even more boxes
2. Start packing up my house
3. Patch holes and paint (ie Lack hanging shelves, maybe hanging birdcages?)
4. Switch-a-roo washing machines (? Leave bf’s at my place, and take mine to new place, perhaps)
5. Set up new utilities
6. Advise all of change of address (yikes, but I’m good at it now!)

I’m sure there’s more for this list – so suggest away! And ask questions too, cause that’ll prompt my brain!

Is my house an Ikea showroom?

I really hope not!!

But then I thought, what is from Ikea?

So another photo essay it is.

PS none of the links are affiliate, but to help you should you want to source anything.  I’ve tried to link to Australia’s Ikea, as a more factual reference to the prices.

• Bed – Malm Queen Bed in Dark brown, which I don’t think is a colour they still do

Ikea Malm bed with Malm hacked bedhead

• Bedsides – the cheap Kassett storage boxes do double duty, both storage under and on top!

Storage underneath and my perfect bedside height

• Box for elevating the fan (stolen from the parent’s house!) – the cute Hol – I love that lattice pattern and it’s stood up to many years of service!

I love the lattice pattern, and it’s strudily built!

• Bedroom curtains – Vivan for the sheers (not shown below), and Sanela is a red velvet (which is out of stock, and the tops of mine are different to this new model), all on the awesome Kvartal triple track system

More colourful than a hotel room.

• Smalls storage – Skubb boxes, but bought years ago to fit in a wardrobe hanger thing

On the floor of my wardrobe live my ‘smalls’

• Lighting – the kitchen has discontinued and the living room has the PS Maskros

Ikea’s flowery light fitting

• Kitchen table – I bought this second hand from the old tenant, but it’s a Sanfrid table top and Adils legs (I think?)

The perfect table to compliment my stainless steel benchtops

• Semi-armchairs – found in a thrift store, so I forgot they were Ikea’s Nils

Doesn’t everyone have one of these lamps?

The other chair

• Salvaged trolley – from the kerb! But the real deal is the Bekvam
• Magnetic notice board – sort of like the Spontan, but different

The trolley was a kerbside find! The noticeboard was not

• Lamp in the dining area

A thrift store find, but from Ikea orginially

• Lamp in the living area – I swear everyone has one of these, Dudero, it’s $15!! (Maybe it’s the cool name? Shown in the Nils chair photo above)
• Second hand entertainment cabinet – the Besta, didn’t realise he was Ikea til someone told me (can be seen in the lighting picture above)
• Side tables/stools – love the double duty Marius, and the limited edition teal colour of them

Stool or side table, it works double duty for only $6!

• Floating shelves in the entry way – those little Lack’s

Entry way with floating shelves

• Bathroom bin – love the shiny Rundel (til it’s not of course!)

So shiny and easy to use!

• Kitchen bin – so cheap at $3, you can’t go past Fniss (just why did I buy the white one?)

Kitchen bin – with no wet waste, being unlidded doesn’t matter.

• Stationary storage set of nine drawers

Stationary etc drawers

• Blue platters

A thrift shop find, and I love them true

• Bedroom lamp shades (Jara)

Just the shade is from Ikea

What do you think? Do I have more than the average (keeping in mind, I was a ‘poor student’ until 2009)?

I’m pretty happy with the smattering of things I have, but I do wonder at what cost to societies and the environment where these things might have been made.