THE HOUSE IS EMPTY

 THE.

HOUSE.

IS.

EMPTY.

Saturday was a busy day.  A coworker came with a friend and a big truck because we gave her our bed frame and mattress/box springs for her son.

I had moved it to the barn to get it out of the house using the farm truck but he had a much bigger truck, ha.  In fact, they also took the guest room mattress/box  springs for her mom.  We kept that frame because we want to use it in the new guest room.  We'll just buy a new mattress for it.

She also took some other pieces for herself so it was nice to give stuff to someone who will enjoy it for years to come.

Then, the movers came and took the rest of the furniture, the big pieces we couldn't move with the pickup truck.

We were worried about the steps from the porch.  Well, they had this brilliant solution (I'm sure lots of movers use it but I'm easily impressed, ha).  They backed the truck close to the porch and then got out this two piece "bridge" that arched up over the stairs.  Then they just rolled everything in like it was all at the same level.

The guy told me it was the easiest move they had that day, ha.  It took them about 20 minutes to get everything out of the house.

The other thing we were worried about was fitting it all in the remainder of the storage unit.  We kept the small things about halfway over and left the rest empty.

We had three bookcases, the dining table, the yellow kitchen hutch, the bedroom dresser and armoire, a filing cabinet, coffee table, end table, sideboard, the marble top kitchen table and two more cabinets.

Would it all fit?

Here it is...all in there!  It was like the game Tetris for sure and there was still a little room to spare.  Now we don't have the eight dining room chairs in there.  I put those in the barn (all eight fit nicely in the back of bed of the truck).  If they had gotten there and they didn't fit, they'd charge extra to take it back so I figured the barn was good, at least temporarily.  I used the empty space to bring a couple more items...

...the orchard rack and couple more boxes I missed the first time and a few smaller things.  Oh, and I moved that top box before I left and put it on the floor, it was smashing the one below it (books).  2nd Man is worried about the dining chairs being in the barn since it's not climate controlled but I reminded him the house has not been climate controlled for years.  Plus, we're going to put them on the screened in porch so non-climate controlled again.  If we get a nice cool day when I'm out there, I might move them.  I bet I can make them fit.  I'm great at Tetris!

The last thing I had to do after they left was clear off the porch.  I moved the plants over by the barn where they'll be in mostly shade like they were on the porch.  And bonus, if it rains at least once a week, I won't have to worry about watering them.  If I do have to water though, I'll have to fill up 5 gallon buckets from 2nd Family until our well is up and running.  Then I moved the clay pots and some misc things we are keeping and that was it.  I was finally ready to leave.

I was driving down the driveway and then I remembered something...

...the construction string lights that I put under the house last year for the freeze!  They were good, heavy duty and kind of pricey, so I figured we should keep them.  You never know when we could use them again.

  We could put these under a tree or between the barn and shed if we put in a concrete pad there, heck we might need them in a chicken coop or the garden or something.  So, I crawled under the house and pulled them all down and put them in the shed.

When I left, I didn't lock the doors and yesterday two guys came out to strip the house of anything they could use.  They are taking the stove of course, the furniture we left (couch, loveseat, a few small tables), they are going to save the shelving from the mudroom, the ceiling fans, light fixtures, even the mudroom sink.  At least things will continue to live on.

Wednesday is the big day...the house is being demolished.  We'll both be out there, filming and taking pictures as this chapter comes to an end and we prepare for the next one.

And of course, we must remember today to say thank you to all who serve our military!  Thank you and your families for what you do for us.