So we’re moving next month.

I can say that now. Yes, let’s take a moment to freak out about that.

We still don’t have a closing date set in stone. The builder seems to think it’ll be mid-December. Mid to me means December 15th, but I haven’t gotten word that we’re 45 days out just yet. 45 days out would put us at December 24th. So I’m predicting it’ll be more like late December. Maybe even the last day of December.

Regardless we’ve decided we’re spending one last Christmas in our beloved home here (albeit with plenty of boxes) and then we’ll ring in the new year in our new home. We’ll list this one for sale hopefully the first week of January.

I’m beginning to freak out, just a tad. About many many things. Mainly these seven things:

I haven’t started packing

At all (is that terrible?). However, I have been working with a decluttering coach and going through my house category by category and eliminating about half of our stuff. So far I’ve done clothes, books, papers, movies, pet and craft stuff. I still have a looooong way to go but my plan is to do one to two categories a week until mid-December. Then frantically pack everything else in about 2 weeks. I’m hopeful packing will be easy since I’ll have already gotten rid of so much stuff and I’ll be leaving behind everything we want to pack.

I’m worried I’ll miss something

The house is really coming along and it’s finally starting to feel real. We have trim, tile, and paint and cabinets. We just got countertops too. I’m trying to drive out and see it a couple times a week instead of just once a week now. There are still things we need to decide on and I’m worried I’ll miss something.

There are tons of trees in our backyard but I’d love some of the brush closer to the house to be cleared out around the oak trees and set ourselves up for what we envision our backyard to be. Our lot goes back 875ft so we could literally camp a ways back and not see the house. But closer to our home we have big plans. As septic and propane tanks go in and the yard gets done, I want to make sure we don’t overlook anything inside or outside of the house.

Carrying two mortgages

Though we’re extremely fortunate to put a down payment on our new home without using equity from our current home, our savings will be taking a HUGE hit. So we’re trying to find that delicate balance of achieving my goal of paying half up front. But also still having extra funds for emergencies, new things for the house, and potentially two mortgages for a few months. Our market seems to be doing well, so hopefully it’ll stay that way as we prepare to sell and we can replenish our savings once we sell.

We have no place to sit or eat

Our kitchen table is literally broken, and our super dark but comfy living room furniture is going up into our theater room. That means downstairs we don’t have seating. I *did* order a camel colored sofa I love and worked with a designer at a Pottery Barn to pick out chairs to go with it but they won’t arrive until the end of January.

Via Pottery Barn: My new couch looks kinda like this

Via Pottery Barn: I ordered two of these chairs but they’re a little darker and hopefully super durable

Even when they do though, there will definitely be no eating on those pricey pretty pieces of seating. So I need to decide on bar stools and a kitchen table stat. Which brings me to my next freak out.

Designing and Decorating

I did mention how this totally makes me crazy right? I’m terrified all of my design choices and I am not skilled in this area at all. However, the last few weeks I’ve watched an embarrassing amount of HGTV and I feel like I’m finally starting to understand things or at least what I like.

Now I’m looking at pendent lights for the kitchen and searching for the perfect kitchen table and barstools. It’s finally getting FUN since I’m more aware of what I like but things add up fast, and I am stressed about choosing the right thing. I think one important fact I need to remember is it all doesn’t have to be done right away. I can take my time. Maybe we will even move our current table so we can eat someplace and I won’t feel rushed into choosing something.

Deciding on this space

For the most part I’ve stopped second guessing my design choices. I’m more or less planning fun ways to work with what I’ve chosen. However, we have a big cut out in the corner of family room that I initially thought would be the fireplace. Turns out the fireplace isn’t there and our TV won’t fit in the niche. So we are moving the large TV upstairs in the game room and the TV from our bedroom will go above the fireplace and we will make a nice cabinet/floating shelves situation there. OR build in our TV there in a amour kind of thing. Here’s what I’m thinking right now:

I’ve changed my mind about this little area no less than 7 times. But I do think I like this. I like the idea of hiding my TV but I also like the idea of displaying photos on these shelves. People say a mantle is fun to decorate but I think this area would be too. If you have suggestions please let me know!

TIME

It feels like just a month ago we were picking out our lot and deciding if we were doing this. I can’t believe how quickly this process has flown by (having a newborn in the middle of it all helps). This is the busy time of year for bloggers, which I’m so thankful for. But I’m still getting used to a baby, limited sleep and being a mom of three. Our schedules are jam packed as it is before adding in the move and all these other decisions and loan processing things before then. Plus there’s Thanksgiving and Christmas to plan for. I do love being busy so these next couple months are sure to fly by. I just hope I won’t be too banged up on the other side of it all.

Wish me luck! And if I seem like even more of a hot mess than usual… Well, now you’ll know why.

Tags: dream house, moving, new house