Firearms Friday: Finally Getting Organized

Now that's a work bench!

It has only taken five months but I am finally getting around to organizing my work space. Within the first couple of weeks after we moved in, I did take the time to get all the boxes downstairs, unpacked a few, and stacked the rest neatly in the corner for when I had some more time to dedicate to the endeavor. With the exception of adding a few boxes and retrieving a few items, this is pretty much as far as I got with regard to organizing my work space.

The reason for this lack of progress is simple. It was quite the adjustment during the first few months in our new home and during that period of time there were other projects that took precedence over my designated basement work space. When there was some free time on the horizon a couple of months ago, once again, there were other matters that needed to be taken care of before I could spend the time needed below ground.

Now that a few things have seemingly slowed down and I am finally getting caught up on the various projects and responsibilities that have been hanging over me over the past couple of months, the time has come to set aside the time to get things organized. Of course there is also the motivation (mentioned last week) to complete a few projects and pull together a number of items to be sold. Sometimes you just have those moments when you need to cull the heard and with the unexpected expenses that my wife and I have incurred lately, a little extra cash would be welcomed.

It will also be nice to take stock of the parts that I have. While I have a spreadsheet to track much of the material huddled in the corner of the basement, I am certain that there are a few things that may have slipped through and I would like to know exactly what I have before I resume building. After all, you never know... I might be able to take a few of my personal projects up a few notches. However, the most important thing is that I will be able to have the space organized so that, in the future, I can take care of a few things when I have ten minutes here or there rather than waiting, as I have been, until I have a day to get things done. That would be nice.

Moving Day Recovery

As soon as we got out of bed yesterday the long and hectic day started. We had a lot of appointments scheduled and, needless to say, a lot of work ahead of us. Yesterday was moving day and that was not the only task that needed to be accomplished… we also had an ADT consultation in the morning, Raymour & Flanigan delivering furniture by noon, and the cable company coming out to the house to get our phone, internet, and cable up and running by the end of the day. While I was taking care of those tasks, my wife was at work, our son was at daycare, and my parents were supervising the sluggish movers.

With all of these things set to a certain schedule, my wife and I got up a little earlier than usual, got our son ready for ‘school’ and were about to head out the door when my parents arrived. Actually, while my wife was changing, feeding, and generally getting our son ready, I was busy finishing up the remaining packing around the house and making sure that every box we purchased was being used. By the time I stopped to take a breath we must have had over 100 boxes stacked in the various rooms all labeled with their new locations at our home.

By the time I finished putting things aside, closing off all the rooms that the movers didn’t need to address, and coordinating the day with my parents I was already behind schedule and ADT was calling just as I was about to get in the car and head over to the house. Fortunately, the woman with whom I was working was very understanding of the situation and had the patience to wait for me until I arrived about 15 minutes after our originally agreed upon appointment time. Just before we completed the walk through of the house for the quote, the furniture arrived and we officially began the transformation from house to home.

ADT left shortly thereafter and, just like it was planned, the cable company arrived and began work immediately. Thankfully, I remembered to bring a television, my laptop, and a phone with me that morning to test. By mid afternoon, all the furniture was in place, the cable, internet, and phone were up and running, and I already had the quote from ADT in hand. All that was left was waiting for the lackadaisical movers to arrive.

Needless to say, we were not happy with how long it took the moving company to get things done. While I did get them to move a bit faster upon arrival it still took them until 8:30 to get things done, close up the truck, and leave all of their trash behind (I will be checking for damage over the next few days). Today was largely spend cleaning up after them and moving many of the clearly labeled boxes into the correct rooms. But, the important thing, regardless of the issues that we encountered, is the fact that we are now home! Let the recovery begin.

Moving Quotes And Changing Plans

For the past week I have been busy not only prepping for settlement day (which has been pretty smooth thanks to those at the bank and our realtor) but also preparing for moving day which has been a little move involved. Having received quotes from about a half dozen companies in the area, it is amazing to see the difference in how the prices are calculated. While not as expensive as I had originally expected, it is still not a cheap proposition especially when you ask them how much it would cost to have the company pack up your belongings as well.

The range of prices that I received was rather staggering starting at the low end at $700 all the way up to a ten times multiple of that initial figure. Surprisingly the economic company that we used for our last transition, Two Men and a Truck, was the most expensive (by a wide margin) because of the fact that we are moving just outside of their ‘service area’. In the end, we didn’t go with the least expensive but rather the company that seemed the most inclusive, had the appointment available for tomorrow, and was reasonably priced (still on the much lower end of the range).

However, nothing ever goes as smoothly as it should and that was definitely proven about a week and a half ago when I got a call in the early evening which changed our plans. Who called? The realtor representing our current landlord… he wanted to start showing the townhouse in a couple of days. Keep in mind that we gave notice with our September rent check so he could have coordinated this whole process months ago.

Having not packed much of anything at that point I quickly rejected his proposal pushing the earliest possible day to this past Sunday also adding the reminder that we have a 9 month old and he will have to be flexible in scheduling appointments. What realtor in their right mind calls a tenant and asks to begin showing the apartment in a couple of days?

So, since then I have been packing the house deep into the night and making friends with the sales people at Staples, Home Depot, and Lowes. With an evening to go there are only a few more boxes left that need to be packed, the bathrooms and kitchen have been cleaned, and we are, for the most part, ready to move on down the road in the morning. One more night with the preamble coming to an end and the real story beginning tomorrow.

Trick, Treat, Or Video Game

My wife and I are not ones that put stock in the Halloween holiday. It has actually proven to be more of an inconvenience than anything else most years. We are actually one of those houses that simply puts a bowl of candy out as the sun goes down with the hope that some kid doesn’t dump the whole thing in his bag or bucket. Of course, we mitigate some of this by putting half out at the beginning of the night and the other half a little later after having checked the rate of depletion. Generally speaking, this keeps things pretty quiet outside our door.

However, while we don’t care much for the holiday itself, we appreciate the opportunity that this night has afforded us over the years. I am not talking about the amount of money that we have to spend on candy (seems like a waste to me) or the scant leftovers remaining in the bowl after the noise subsides. The evening gives us an opportunity to clean out the house a little bit… in the past we have handed out Starting Lineup figures (they were actually cheaper than candy that year) and this year we were able to add something even better to the bountiful bowl.

A few seconds after I finished dumping the rest of the candy in the bowl tonight, the next group of kids walked up to the front door to inspect the offerings. It is safe to say that based on their wide eyed expressions and near shaking excitement, none of them expected to go home with a free Wii video game. I have to admit that we both chuckled a little bit when we could hear the next group of kids come up to the door after being summoned by the previous visitors and proclaiming “this is the best house ever… by far.” What they didn’t realize is that they were helping us out a little.

Unbeknownst to them, we spent some time earlier in the day putting together a trade in order on Amazon after we had come to the conclusion that we were probably not going to be using the various video game systems that have been collecting dusk in the basement and laying unplugged on our shelf in the family room. All those games that Amazon wouldn’t take (that were age appropriate) were what we put out in that tiny candy bowl. By the end of the night, all the games were either packed in boxes ready to be shipped or in the hands of neighborhood kids. However, the most important thing is that it cleared out about five boxes worth of stuff that was not being used. Everybody won tonight.

The Gifts Keep Coming

It felt like this for a while. 

During the course of the year we have received countless gifts from friends, family, and coworkers for our son. Having now lived through this, I can say that this is the time in life when you see the greatest amount of generosity. The first couple of months of the year saw the greatest deluge of packages and envelopes, but there is still a light trickle of gifts even as we head into the fall. It is pretty amazing the amount of items we have received over the months and we continue to be thankful for each and every item that we receive (even the ones that we return or exchange).

Admittedly, it can be a little daunting at times with the amount of stuff that has accumulated in our house but, in the end, it is all stuff that we have had to purchase anyway. It is interesting to think about the number of things and boxes that we originally moved into the apartment four years ago, the increased amount of stuff that we moved from the apartment to our current house, and the volume that will have to be packed and moved to our next home. And I am sure that the accumulation won’t stop there either.

I wish that I was as thoughtful as many of the people that we have in our life. Time and again, I have been presented with the same or similar opportunities and for one reason or another (usually finances or forgetfulness) too long a time passes and the opportunity is gone. I certainly have to get better at this as it is also a time to pay it forward and show the same generosity that has been shown to us. Hopefully there are many more opportunities coming up.

Sometimes I forget about just how great many of the people in our life are and this experience has been a clear reminder of quality of people that we have in our life. And don’t get me wrong, it is not about the numbers. Some of the greatest (and many time most useful) items have been the small thoughtful things that served us well during this learning process. Sometimes it wasn’t even a gift. There have been many times when the help or a willing ear have meant a great deal when we needed them. The gifts have only proven even more how much others car about us and our son. That is what it is all about and that is what we try to convey to our son each and every day.

Sunday Search: Rediscovering What Was Already Discovered

The early days... it was easy to keep organize with few files. 

My wife and I decided to dedicate this weekend to cleaning and our son finally let us get the much needed work done around the house. With the washing machine humming, sloshing, and twirling in the background, we went from room to room cleaning, organizing, sorting, and packing. It took the entire weekend to get most of the house done and by the time my wife went to bed on Sunday night the only two rooms remaining were our offices. This is a wholly different task altogether as we both have more paperwork than storage space and more books than shelves. It is going to be interesting but hugely satisfying when it is done.

With my wife and son asleep, I ventured down into the basement and began sifting through the rows upon rows of shelves. I went down there with the goal of filling one box of books that had little value to me at this moment. As someone who enjoys information and having resources readily available, this is not a very easy process… many of the books that I have collected over the years are those that contain information that has yet to be digitized. Contrary to what some people say, not everything can be found on the internet. After about 30 minutes, I actually was able to fill a box and clear a shelf for the binders of new research that was going to be added. It came down to a small sampling of books that I know I can find again when I have the space.

Once this part was done, I began flipping through the binders on the shelves and files stored in boxes. It really is amazing what you can find when you it down and sift through the boxes in your office… this is especially true when it comes to genealogy. While slowly flipping through the pages and pages of notes and photocopies, I rediscovered small details that I had written on a pieces of paper while pouring through volumes and volumes of material. They are the small details (like the fact that my great grandparents were brought together by their love of horses) that I had forgotten almost as quickly as I was able to record them.

It is the dilemma of disorganization. While many of the documents and facts have been sorted and organized for later, many of these details seem to get lost in the pages. At the same time, rediscovering these details was just as interesting as when I first read them. It was nice to feel that same way about finding ‘new’ information and it makes me wonder what other documents I have buried (most likely from a scanning / photocopying marathon). With the rest of the house in order, I am glad that I am now in a position to take on this task… at least until the files get moved again.

Box Bombardment

What happened UPS? 

Last week the packages began arriving at our townhouse. It started with a few small items that I pulled from out mailbox as there were a few items that we ordered for the holidays. Of course, this is in addition to the numerous things that we purchased for the house, crammed in our car, and carried up and down stairs. The latest deluge is a result from the large items from our baby registry being left outside our door.

Each time one of these large boxes arrived my wife would get that look like the father receiving his ‘major award’ in A Christmas Story. Of course, she would have that look as I was carrying or pushing the box up the stairs and into the baby’s room. Let’s just say that it really isn’t fun when the 110 pound box barely fits up the stairs and you spend the majority of the time just trying to navigate the corners while keeping it from tipping back.

Now we have all of the furniture in the townhouse without any help from UPS due to their not being allowed to bring things inside of homes. And everything has been finagled up to the second floor with the only exception being that of the dresser which it simply too big for one person to maneuver. We are going to have to unbox it first and have at least two people carry it up the stairs on its end… it is the only way that we are going to be able to make the turn.

Thankfully there should only be one more big item that will be delivered in the coming weeks as we have another couch due to arrive this week. This too will have to be taken up stairs but this time to my wife’s office to serve as the guest bed for when we have overnight out of town visitors. Hopefully it is like the other couch and I can simply take it up in pieces and assemble in the right place.

There will also be a continued package bombardment as the due date approaches and the baby continues to accumulate more and more items. But at least we are nearly done with the items that we wanted to get to complete our new home. Everything is finished in the basement (at least everything that I had planned on putting down there), my wife’s office is nearly done, and the first floor is full of all our existing furniture. The baby’s room is the only one that will continue to accumulate a heck of a lot more stuff… stuff in all different sizes of boxes.

Transformation

We have now been living in our townhouse for over a week and things are starting to come together. The move was smooth, the boxes are slowly disappearing, and new furniture (mostly for the baby at this point) is showing up at our door every other day. I am pretty sure that FedEx is hating us right about now. It is all coming together piece by piece and starting to feel more like a home with every day that passes.

While we haven’t had much time to talk with our neighbors, we have met most of them and their friendliness is something that we have been seeking for some time. More importantly, the people that we have met enjoy where they are and have no plans on moving anytime soon. While there were a few like that in our previous place, the door kept swinging around with people moving in and out on a regular basis.

Of course, compared to our apartment, it is nice to have some breathing room. We have more than doubled our living space with the move and it has been nice to be able to have a little separation at times when we need to get work done, talk on the phone, or simply sleep. Even with our son on the way and the mountains of stuff that will come with him, we are still looking at a much more comfortable living situation.

Even the commute has been better for both of us with my wife only about 10 minutes from work and mine consisting of a few quick turns and letting cruise control take over for about 30 a half hour. I don’t mind the time in the car but at least now it is much less aggravating (I don’t have to take the perpetually congested roads) and much more consistent. Heck, even my gas mileage is enjoying the change.

It finally feels like we are going to be able to turn this place into a home. It has been a long search and a number of years, but we are finally making some progress in this area. It is a transformation that we have yet to accomplish and we were beginning to see the process as some kind of alchemy. Sure there have been places that have served us well on the surface but once you peeled away the plating, the lead core was clear. While I don’t expect everything to be golden, it would be nice to at least have something consisting of silver or bronze.

Oh, The Stuff You Find When Packing!

As I have stated before, over the last few weeks I have been busy packing boxes. Whenever I have been home I have either been putting together or stuffing boxes. It really is amazing how much stuff that you can cram into a small apartment… that much is apparent when the closets and book shelves start to empty.

No matter how much I have tried to stay organized I can’t do much more than put general labels on boxes in the hopes that they are put in the right room. There are no specifics mentioned. I guess you could say, given the time of year, that they are mystery presents filled with crap that we have already bought. The good thing is I know that my wife will like what I give her.

However, one of the interesting aspects of this whole process is that after over three years in our current apartment there is stuff that made its way onto a shelf or into a corner that we have long since forgotten about. At least until now. Maybe we didn’t have to buy it when we did.

There are also other things that met the same fate and upon discovering them again it was a “I was wondering where that had gone to” type of feeling or a “I was thinking about picking one of those up”. While this was more common with documents than things it was still an interesting time of discovery even more prominent than when I was simply cleaning.

These documents were things that I was most excited to find. While it wasn’t the same, it was close to the feeling of when I originally found them and put them aside. It was a feeling of rediscovering family and/or memories depending on the piece of ephemera that came to the surface. Maybe this time I can get around to checking that last item off my genealogy wish list.

Just as I would discover these things I would once again relegate them to the spaces out of sight. I would find them, look at them, and put them in a box to be unpacking in our new place and, hopefully, stored in a more efficient manner. While the documents will be going with us there are also items that we just don’t have any use for anymore and will be making their way to either the dumpster or a donation location.

So we will soon be in a new place filled with the same stuff from our previous residences. And, of course, we will be getting more stuff to fill in the extra space. Thankfully we have good reason for the additional accumulation. Baby needs his stuff too!