Realizing

That I'm not really a minimalist anymore. I read a blog post from "The Minimalist Mom" talking about she really is no longer a minimalist. She still tries to live with less and without excess, but has no desire to live with a certain amount of things or anything like that. The same is true for me. I don't want to own only 15 clothing items, or be able to fit all my possessions in a suitcase. I want to live comfortably, homey, and in something that doesn't look so barren. That used to be what I was interested in, but when I came to as close as I was going to realistically get to that, I realized it wasn't as desirable as I had once thought. I grew bored and just found myself lusting for more. At least clothing wise. Now don't get me wrong, I don't want to stuff my closet or anything. I would though like to have somewhat of a personality in my clothing choices. I still want to live only with what I use.

I want to decorate. Not with tons of things, but I want colorful art on my walls. Maybe a shelf with a couple of carefully selected objects on it, such as a lomo camera, or my orange elephant coin bank. Man I'm just ready to move in already! We get the keys tomorrow!

Tomorrow!

Tomorrows the day! Ahh I'm so excited! Forgive me for talking about it so much, but it's a pretty big deal to me. Plus, not much else is going on in my life right now lol.

I've been looking at art the past couple hours. I plan on buying a bunch of prints from etsy. Not right away obviously, because they're not cheap. At first I was worried grey would be too boring of a color, but I don't think it is anymore. With the bright prints I've been looking at, I think it will look really clean. In the kitchen, I'd like to do pops of yellow, since grey and yellow somehow compliment each other. In both of the bathrooms, we're going to do an orange and teal/mint green color scheme. 

Bought some shower curtains!

So I finally decided on some shower curtains for the house! Originally I wanted this cool orange elephant one from a designer, but it was $120. That was kind of hard to justify. Maybe eventually. So I found these at target. The first one was like $9 and the other one was like $20. Together with tax and shipping it came out to $36 I think. So a lot better than $120. The geometric one is a crappy vinyl material, but we don't mind. The mint green, striped one is made out of polyester. We're gonna get liners for both as well. The striped one is going in our bathroom. I'm gonna do some orange accents with it. I'm not sure what accents were gonna do for the geo one.

We're both really getting excited about the house! We did the final walk through today. It kind of sucks because the closing is at 3 on Monday. I wish it were at like 11 or something. Oh well. I do kind of wish the house was brighter. Cause it's pretty dark, but I can live with it. The back yard is worth the darkness.

Picking out furniture is going to be fun and overwhelming. Because as you all know, I have commitment issues when it comes to that sort of stuff. Because I change my mind about stuff very easily. I know what I want to do for bedroom furniture, but that probably won't be right away. I'd like to do the Hemnes set from ikea in the dark/espresso color.

Trying to find stuff to do

It seems during the day I've been able to keep occupied, but at night I've been so bored lately. Usually people interested in minimalism tend to declutter to focus on what really matters. Well I've been doing that, but I guess I don't really have anything to focus on. Blogging, interior design, and decluttering are pretty much my hobbies. Well I spend a lot of time on the Internet too.

Packing

So I'm almost completely finished packing. There are a few things I haven't because I'm either a) still using them or b) waiting for a box to put it in, since we're out of boxes right now. It feels really good though. I've been having a lot of fun doing it. Probably enjoying it more than I should be. I just love the experience of moving! most people probably don't, but there's something about it I love. Just the feeling of newness and leaving the old behind you get. I love it.

You know it's funny. I literally almost never use my desk, but am right now. What's funny about that is there's nothing on it except my ihome. laptop, and some M&M's I'm eating. I usually have a lamp and a calender in front of me. But when that stuff was there I never used the desk. But since it's almost completely clear, I feel like using it.

Today we switched over the water and gas to our names. We still have to do the electric, but we can do that online. Daniel said he'd do it tomorrow. What's good though is that the gas. water, and electric never got turned off so we aren't going to have to pay to get them turned back on.

I still can't believe this is really happening. It doesn't seem real. I wish we didn't have to do the work to the house, because I know it's going to be a couple weeks before we can actually move in. Who knows maybe Daniel will want to camp out before the work is done. Knowing him probably not, but if we're going to have to drive out to the house everyday to get the work done anyway, we may as well. Although I guess we'd save gas on the way to work if we stayed here. Anyway, this week can't pass quick enough.

It's been kind of fun going through my clothes and trying to figure out what I'll wear for the next two or three weeks. Not that I've come up with exact outfits, but just not packing the stuff that I will probably wear.

Man I'm so bored! There's never anything to do anymore. I just can't think of anything. I'm really not a tv person. And I feel like I'm tired of everything on the Internet. My rooms as packed as it can be right now so I can't do that. I'll probably end up going to bed pretty soon. Mostly out of boredom.

Small house

I really love how small our house is. I keep looking at various stores that sell furniture trying to imagine what we should buy for our house. I'm realizing that there really isn't a ton of room to put things. Especially upstairs since its only half a story. The upper half is basically a hallway bedrooms and a bathroom. No room for anything in the hallway except photos, art, mirrors. The living room probably isn't going to get a second couch because it would take up too much space and disrupt the flow of the room. The layout of the house is very odd. I'll have to take pictures once we move in.

Oh yeah we drove by the house today to see if they fixed the messed up wood around the house and the chimney. And they did! :) we were happy to see that. 7 days! If you don't include the hour left of today. Daniel and I were talking about camping out in the house the first night we close. But he has work and its gonna be kind of a far drive. He will have to get used to that though. I'll actually have a further trip to make to work. Man I already know this week is going to take so long to pass.

Man I'm getting sleepy! I'm turning into an old lady. I really don't have much to do anyway right now. I really need a hobby :(

Bored

I've just been chilling up in my room. Daniels in the basement hanging out with his friend. I'm kinda hungry. At least I think I am. I've been trying to eat healthy today and I've actually been doing well. The only meal I have left is dinner. So that's good. But besides that its been a pretty boring day.

I can't wait until my layers grow out. My hair looks so dumb right now. I need a haircut, but I really don't want to get one. Cause I don't want my hair any shorter than it is.

I decided I'm going to wait until we move before I change over my eBay and paypal information. It just makes sense. So that stuff I want to sell is just going to have to make the move with us. Man I can't wait to move in! I'm not looking forward to the work that has to be done. Especially since we're doing it all ourselves. I'd probably rather pay someone, but Daniel doesn't want to. I just feel like it be easier and quicker.

I'm happy because Daniel has started going through his things while packing. He's got rid of a bunch of old computer parts and stuff like that. He actually told me he wanted to start living with less which of course made me really happy! I don't know if he really wants to be a minimalist, but he does want less. At least with stuff he doesn't use or is just hanging on to. He still hasn't really packed that much in comparison to the amount of things he has. I have one big box that's packed with my stuff. A lot of my other stuff is keepsakes or off season clothing that I have stored in plastic storage containers. The other stuff are things I use frequently that don't need to be packed yet. I probably won't pack much further until the work gets done on the house. Cause there's no point really. Oh yeah I bought some of those bags that you use the vacuum to suck the air out. They seem pretty useful so far! I really don't have that many off season clothes but it does make the small amount I do have take up less space.

Goodwill

I went to goodwill today to drop off some stuff. Not very much just like 3 or 4 grocery bags full. Feels good though. I always get a little bit of a nervous/empty/relived feeling every time I go to good will. This time it's a little stronger, because I didn't go through those bags super thoroughly before dropping them off. But I'm guessing if they were over there then I probably wanted to get rid of them.

I got somewhat motivated to put those few things on ebay. Then I remembered that my Paypal information isn't up to date since Daniel and I share bank accounts now. I don't feel like updating that information right now.

I'm glad I'm starting to get back into the swing of things though. I think the house is my motivation. It's funny because I'm moving into a bigger area, but want less. Well I always want less. It's just the letting go that's hard. Ahh I'm so excited!! Next, next Monday is when we close! :))

My room is actually starting to feel more empty. Which I love. :) I'm having a little bit of a "now what?" feeling. There's always room to "shrink" haha. Get it? Instead of grow? Anyway. I'm happy with how far I've come in the past couple years. I'm still not very extreme minimal wise. But the last bout of going through things I've been a lot better about getting rid of keepsakes that no longer seem important or worth hanging on to. And stuff I've been holding onto because I feel like I might use it.

I still need to tackle my jewelry. I'm just not satisfied with it for some reason. I never even wear jewelry, but occasionally when I'm feeling a little fancier I do.

I keep looking over at a pile of stuff that isn't really resolved in whether or not I want to keep it. Well most of it is sell stuff, but I also have some art. A big camera bag with lomography stuff in it. Actually I'm going to get rid of that I just decided. I've been thinking about it for a while now. I'm going to keep the camera and film. But I don't need a giant bag sitting around. I have a bag I can use instead if I ever decide to take it out. I've been holding onto the bag, because its grey with black stripes, which is my thing. I know I'll never find another bag like that. And it was only 99¢. But I don't use it.

I'm so bored right now. Daniel is watching a movie in the basement. I couldn't focus on writing so I came upstairs. But now I'm kind of bored with writing. Well I want to write I just can't think of anything to write about. Ugh I've been eating so bad lately. Ever since we went on the cruise. Probably before that too actually. But I just can't stop eating bad :( I bought healthy food but I haven't been eating it as much as I'd like.

Went through things

So I finished going through my stuff for the most part. Man I can already tell I'm not going to want to sell that stuff. Not because I don't want to part with the stuff but because it will be a pain. If I can actually get rid of that stuff I'll be really proud of myself. I managed to fit most of my keepsakes in one big tub whereas before I had them in two boxes. I still have a lot of art that isn't in that box cause I'm not totally sure if I want to keep it or not. I feel like I've actually managed to knock out a big chunk of stuff. A lot of the storage containers I was using are more empty now, but I don't know if they'll stay that way based on the decisions I make about that stuff in "purgatory". I'm getting so distracted right now because property virgins is on.

I have such a love hate relationship with minimalism. I love living with less, but it's really hard to get rid of things sometimes. Like I have some watercolors, brushes, and paper for watercolors. However, I've used the paint twice I think. I've been imagining us getting a house and me having a craft room with a desk and room to paint. In my head, maybe then I would use the paint. I don't know if I ever will though. I guess I'll have to see.

Whenever we move in I want to buy this bookshelf type thing. I don't really know how to explain it, but it's like a cubby type thing, 3x4 and you put the little cubes in it. I think that will be perfect for craft and art storage.

Ok I think I'm done with this blog. I can't focus for crap.

Going through things

So I'm starting to rethink my reverse getting rid of things idea. I started going through my things and I'm trying to be more aggressive with it. I've been letting myself get by for a while. But I think it's finally time to get rid of the things I've been holding on to such as my prisma color set and my two big black purses. I decided that I'm going to try to sell these things. Because I'm starting to think that's why I'm holding onto these things is because they weren't cheap. They're just weighing on me. I'm kind of taking a break at the moment cause it's starting to get overwhelming.

I went through all of my clothes and pulled out a lot of things and put them in my "minimalist purgatory" as I like to call it. I'll probably pull a lot of the stuff out, because I do wear it just not super often.

I know selling stuff is going to be a big pain, but I think it'll be worth it to get a little money back. Plus, it may be easier to get rid of knowing it will actually get used by whoever buys the item. Maybe after I get rid of these things my minimalist-ness will come back and I'll feel "lighter" again.

Bored

Do you ever just get that feeling of extreme boredom? I kind of have that right now. Daniel's super tired so he went to bed. I'm slightly tired, but not enough to sleep. Plus I know I have to work a double tomorrow. Ugh. It'd be fine if I worked the two shifts back to back but I don't. I'll get off around 2-2:30 then go back at 5 until 8:30 or so. I really wanted to take a bath tonight, but Daniels aunt is in town and I didn't know when she'd want to use the bathroom.

I think I'm going to be doing a bit of a reverse purging process when it comes to moving and unpacking. Since my room is so tiny right now. It's very overwhelming for me to be sorting through things and putting them into piles. So instead I'm going to pack up everything I have and put away the things I really want. Then consider getting rid of the other stuff. Ugh my cat is driving me crazy. I've blogged 3 times today and every time he gets in my face and rubs my hands with his head trying to get me to pet him. He was outside my room with the door closed but kept scratching at the door. Anyway. I'm so tired of not being realistic with myself and lying to myself. I keep holding onto things I'm not going to use. Things that may be my style or may be useful, but I simply don't use them There's these two purses I've had for a couple years now. I think I've wrote about them on here at least two other times. They're both very pretty and very much my style, but they're simply too big! And I know I'm not going to use them. I think it's time to let them go. I really need to sell my stuff. I'm quite lazy though, but the extra cash would be nice.

I buy too much. I always feel like I "need" stuff, like clothes for example, but I really don't. I just think I do.

I am so ridiculously curious about what the house will look like with paint and the new floors. The paint isn't too different from what we're going to do. Well except in my office room. There's a dark navy wall and light blue walls. The floors are going to be very different though.

:)

The inspection went well :) There were no major things wrong with it. Just a couple minor things. I can't wait to move in! We just gotta get that work done first. I'm hoping it doesn't take a long time. I'm hoping two weeks at the most. The realtor was talking about closing possibly earlier than the 28th if the other agent agreed to it. That would be awesome. I can't wait to just sit on the couch and hang out with the hubby and Theo and future kitten, baking some cookies, having a beer. Good combo I know.

Quick blog before work

I actually don't have much to say, just trying to kill some time. Today is the inspection! The inspector said he doesn't need us to be there until the end. Which is good, because Daniel doesn't get off until 4. The guy said he should be wrapping up around 5. I guess it takes about 3 hours to do the inspection. Then, he puts all the pictures and information on a disk for us :) So much less space than a stack of paperwork that I'm assuming it would be otherwise.

My family really wants to see the inside of the house, but Daniel thinks they'll distract the inspector. My mom is kind of loud. Also she doesn't even get off until after we'd be leaving. So she may just have to wait. I'm gonna see if he doesn't mind my sister going cause she won't be all over the place like my mom will.

I want this month to just fly by! Well it's actually only 17 days until closing. I'm really excited for all our friends to come over. I'm just worried about how the floors and paint are going to turn out. We're going to do that all ourselves. One of our friends has experience with laying laminate floors who can help and teach the other guys how.

The time just needs to go by quick lol.

Part 2

Ok I just got off work. I FINALLY after having this blog for 2 or 3 years got the time zone right. I could never find the setting, but I just found it! It's so nice out. Theo (my cat) is hanging out in the window enjoying the weather too. I'm excited to see the house again today. It's all I can think about if you can't tell. It shouldn't be much of a surprise though.  Right now I'm just waiting for Daniel to get off work which he does at 4.

I wonder when we should start packing. I could pack my whole room in probably less than an hour. It's all Daniel's stuff that's going to take forever lol.

Inspection is tomorrow!

I'm happy it's tomorrow. It's gonna feel good to have that done with. I'm just hoping it goes well. I'm assuming it will. There really weren't any areas of concern we had just looking around. Also there's some terminix plastic things surrounding the house. So there shouldn't be any termites. There was a little concern about the house being on a flood plain. Daniels mom is going to call her home insurance company tomorrow to pull up the information. The neighborhood retention pool or whatever it's called is in the backyard of this house behind the fence. However since it hardly ever rains in Georgia and definitely never floods I'm not really worried about it. I don't think you have to buy flood insurance, but I could be wrong.

I'm trying to hard not to brag about this but I'm so damn excited. I haven't said anything on Facebook cause I'd rather wait until I have the keys in my hand. More exciting that way.

Daniel and I went to world market today because we heard they were having a sale on furniture. We saw some cool stuff, but were going to wait until we know the measurements of the house and stuff. The sale goes on until February so we have some time. Hopefully the table we want won't sell out because it was one of the cheaper ones. I doubt it will because it's pretty different and not everyone's cup of tea.

Guess whaaaat?

They accepted our offer on the house!!!! It doesn't seem real! I keep expecting to get a phone call saying something didn't work out, but it hasn't happened yet! We still have to do inspections and stuff obviously. But we close on the 28th of this month!! I'm beyond excited. Apparently there was another better offer on the house, but for some reason we still got it! I don't know if it came in too late or what. But I'm thanking for God for this one. Daniel and I both prayed hard and it worked!

We're going to be in 1,400 sq ft of pure bliss! It's going to be so cozy and perfect. Our friends are already offering to help us do work on the place. Like I said though all it needs right away (and pretty much period) is floors and paint. Daniel and I want to do dark wood laminate floors everywhere (since hardwoods are expensive). And we're gonna keep the paint light. Either white or light gray. I'd obviously prefer white everywhere, but I'm not going to be the only person living there. The cabinets are pretty ugly, but were going to paint them white. For now. Maybe down the road we'll replace them but for now paint is good.

I just can't believe it's finally happening!! The wheels are already turning in my head about furniture. Who am I kidding? I've been thinking about furniture for our future house for as long as I can remember.

A downer though is that the house is only 3 br which means Daniel gets a music room and I'm getting a craft room/office. So no guest room. I probably don't need that office, but realistically it's going to get used everyday whereas a guest room will only get used 2-3 times per month max. So our friends are getting an air mattress. Or the couch. I'm happy though because I really think we'll use all the space in the home. There is a dining room which I don't think we'll use. Maybe we will when people come over, but we won't use it everyday. But that's pretty much it.

I can't wait to start taking the next steps. I'm just gonna be praying there are no surprises along the way.

Counter offered?

I believe we were kind of counter offered. I think there were only 2 offers on the house including ours. I could be wrong though. But we're going to put in $1000 more. We really don't feel comfortable doing more than that since it was already higher than we wanted. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but this would be a really good house for us. It's in the perfect (realistic) area for us. 5 min from church, 10 min from where we spend a lot of time, 15 min from family and current jobs. Also all it needs is paint, carpet, and a fridge. But the paint and floors aren't even essential but we don't like what it has right now. I feel like this is our best chance at getting a house since its not a HUD home, foreclosure, or short sale. I guess we'll find out tomorrow or the day after whether they accepted it or not. We still have to put the offer in but that won't take long.

Third times a charm (we're hoping)

So we put it our third offer on a house today. Obviously I hope we get it, but I'm not getting my hopes up. This one is a 3br 2.5 baths 1,400 sq feet. The backyard is huge and fenced in. Comes with a washer and dryer, oven, and dishwasher. We'll probably replace the oven. But it's a gas stove which is nice. The house is nice as well and has character. The carpet needs to be replaced. It's like a modern shag. I do really like the house. I feel like it has a lot of wasted space though. But I still want it. Let's hope we get it!

Just chillin

I tried knitting again yesterday. It didn't go very well. I was using some cheap yarn and I think that's why. When ever I was picking it out, a girl who knits told me it was one of the best ones for a beginner, because it's cheap. However, it's very hard to work with. Because last time I tried knitting, I used a thicker yarn and had no problems with it. I just stopped doing it. So maybe I'll try with that yarn again. I just feel bad using it for practice, because it's good quality and really thick.

I just really want a hobby. Is it weird that I'm looking forward to cooking and baking for Daniel and guests when we move into a new house? Daniel never lets me cook, but I'm gonna make him let me soon. lol. He just loves to do it. We started looking at houses again today. Well listings anyway. Our agent sent us some listings in Flowery Branch, which is further than we wanted. However, I feel like we'll have a better chance of getting something out there. They do have nice stuff out there for the money too. And it's also close to the highway. I'm getting excited, because one of the listings has been on there since August. That house is also probably the most realistic for us. It is a over our budget, but I'm guessing we can get it cheaper since it's been on there for so long. Hopefully we'll be able to look at it tomorrow or Friday.