Is it possible to move into a larger space and have even less room than before? Where before in our apartment we had a kitchen, living room, an office, and bedroom, and here we have twice that number of rooms, it seems unlikely---but it's true!---to find we have Less Space than before!
It's all about the closets. (Isn't that always the case?) We used to have two nice-sized walk-in closets (nicely organized, good arrangements) and a great pantry space off the kitchen, and I think we may have taken them for granted in the five years we lived there. Here in Poodle Cottage, the 1946-era closets provide just about enough room for an adult or two to stand in---when they are empty! Try putting something in them, and the space simply vanishes!
Maybe it's not about the space at all; more space, less space, smaller closets, everything tight and compact in an urban flat now spread out to a suburban house with 3 floors . . . maybe the space itself isn't the issue. I think it's the organization---or lack thereof, for us, for now.
This week we're on the hunt in IKEA for some storage solutions. Maybe having our things sorted will help it all feel like a bigger place with more space, like we'd hoped for. It'll just take time. Ah yes, patience, I'll take an extra serving of that, please!
Taking a step back: We're only on Day 17 here in the new house, and expecting everything to be neat, tidy, organized, and perfect is just not a reasonable expectation to have. I'll work on that "having more patience" thing this weekend, and we'll take it from there. One day at a time.
12.31.2011
12.26.2011
The First of Many Firsts . . .
Our little cottage is our first house: first to be purchased, first to be worked on, first to settle into, eventually. Boxes still dominate the decor but hopefully that's just a temporary situation.
We've already dealt with a first minor headache, as discovered on moving day. Even though our full-size mattress handily fit itself through the doorway and squished itself up the small semi-steep staircase, the boxspring decided to rely on its rigid nature and planted itself firmly on the first floor, far from the bedroom. Taking the advice of the moving guys and some online sources, we carefully cut the wooden pieces on the boxspring's bottom, and carefully bent the metal pieces on its topside, only to find that it still refused to bend around the corner at the bottom of the stairs. Awesome. Three nights of camping on the bedroom floor was just about the limit of excitement that we could handle, so we purchased a DIY boxspring kit---it's not really a boxspring, since it's just pine and no springs, so it's technically a bed "foundation"---but no matter the nomenclature, we assembled it upstairs, problem solved. (Of course it created another future problem: not EVER getting it down the stairs!)
We have experienced other firsts, too. We had our first meal cooked in the new house. We've celebrated our first Christmas and we've had our first house guests. We've jumped at the first chance to have kind-hearted family members drive 8 hours and willingly be pressed into hard labor for 4 days: painting coats upon coats, schlepping boxes, stuffing vehicles, and eating nothing but takeout. Thank you!
The firsts are fun milestones to mark along the way, though I'll bet that the seconds through hundreds will be even more memorable.
We've already dealt with a first minor headache, as discovered on moving day. Even though our full-size mattress handily fit itself through the doorway and squished itself up the small semi-steep staircase, the boxspring decided to rely on its rigid nature and planted itself firmly on the first floor, far from the bedroom. Taking the advice of the moving guys and some online sources, we carefully cut the wooden pieces on the boxspring's bottom, and carefully bent the metal pieces on its topside, only to find that it still refused to bend around the corner at the bottom of the stairs. Awesome. Three nights of camping on the bedroom floor was just about the limit of excitement that we could handle, so we purchased a DIY boxspring kit---it's not really a boxspring, since it's just pine and no springs, so it's technically a bed "foundation"---but no matter the nomenclature, we assembled it upstairs, problem solved. (Of course it created another future problem: not EVER getting it down the stairs!)
We have experienced other firsts, too. We had our first meal cooked in the new house. We've celebrated our first Christmas and we've had our first house guests. We've jumped at the first chance to have kind-hearted family members drive 8 hours and willingly be pressed into hard labor for 4 days: painting coats upon coats, schlepping boxes, stuffing vehicles, and eating nothing but takeout. Thank you!
The firsts are fun milestones to mark along the way, though I'll bet that the seconds through hundreds will be even more memorable.
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