My House is Empty

[Deleted]

No people. No dogs. Three rooms have no furniture. DD and the baby moved out yesterday. I let her have my living room furniture (I don't really use the living room, I have a den) and her bedroom furniture. I'd already cleared out DS's bedroom a few months ago. My house echos now. It sounds like nobody lives here. LOL

I'm going to take my time replacing the things I gave away/threw away. This time I'm going to buy things I really like instead of what's suitable because I need it NOW. Since half the house is empty, it's the perfect time to get my wood floors redone and paint the walls. I've been wanting to do that for a while, but I didn't want to deal with moving all the stuff out the way. Now I have no excuse. I'm not sure which one to do first; I've always heard that you should do floors last. Is that true? Guess I better start looking at furniture too...... A sensible person would've done that before they gave away all their furniture, right?

DD and I don't do well living together, but I'm sure going to miss seeing my little guy every day. He wasn't here to play with me and give me my 'nite 'nite hug last night.

Anyhoo, I'm not sure what to do with myself, but it's nice having my house back, so I'll figure it out. I've always at least had a dog in the house.     And furniture.

[Shooby]

Just take your time and find what you really like.

[kittensaver]

Ohhhhhh, jealous, home decor is a hobby of mine (but sorry that your little lovey-guy has flown the coop ).

Yes, floor last. Take your time if you love to shop, dream, comparison shop, talk to home decor vendors, peruse home decor magazines, yack with color consultants about paint chip, etc.  Plow through it if that task is not fun and you'd rather just be done and "have your house back."

And you'd be amazed at all the pet-friendly options for furniture that are out there now.

Congrats on your "new" life and have fun .

[Deleted]

I'm not sure how much fun I'll have putting my house back together. I don't really like shopping and I get overwhelmed when I have to choose from a zillion options, but I like the idea of basically having a blank slate to work with. We'll see.

They didn't move far from me, probably less than a 5 minute drive. And my little guy's daycare is within walking distance from my house, so I'll still get to see him often.

I most definitely plan on enjoying having the house to myself.  And I'm going to try to get into this decorating thing and enjoy that too.

[mollyanna58]

Are you going to stay dogless?

[Deleted]

You are going to love the decorating thing. There is nothing like creating a space just for you. It makes you feel good every time you walk in the door. And it is worth taking your time. It's twice as much fun when you got a deal on stuff.

[dannylion]

Are you going to get a dog?  Dogs are good.

[Spellbound454]

My house emptied about a month ago....and actually I'm quite liking it

I've a 4mth puppy to keep me busy and we have had a lovely long woodland walk today....She is in day care when I'm at work.

I've decorated sons room.....been itching to do for years.....it was pretty scruffy after years of teenage boys.
Its now black, gold and cream.....

I see them all at weekends.. and during the week for meals and baby sitting duties.

We are out together for a bonfire party tomorrow.....which will be great

They are all coming here to stay for Christmas and New Year.


meanwhile, I'm peaceful and relaxed.

[Deleted]

mollyanna, I'm not sure. I just recently found out I'm allergic to dogs.  I thought I was just taking a break since my last dog died in May. I haven't gone more than a few months without a dog in about 30 years, thinking of never ever having a dog again makes me sad.

Later, I've been slowly overhauling my house for a couple years now. It's taken so long because I had to make a lot of repairs, replace some things and do some deferred maintenance on the house itself before I got around to making it pretty. I did have a little fun when I got to redoing my den (which I haven't finished ). I guess I didn't mind letting the other furniture go because I'd planned on redoing all those rooms anyway. But not all at once!

Rukh, this is the 2nd time DD has moved out. I had an empty nest briefly once before and I loved it! Does that make me a terrible person?

[Apple]

The peace and quiet must be nice   Glad the little guy isn't very far away.

I'm trying to get motivated to do a big purge, it would be nice if someone needed it and I just gave it to them, but I'll figure it out.  I love that I'm finally where I can start to get the things I want to have "forever".  But, I go really slow about it until I see the thing I want.  I can't walk through a furniture store and select something, I'm either overwhelmed, the stuff I like is WAY too expensive, or nothing is "just right".  I'd get the painting and floors done, then just do the rest as the pieces find me.

[Deleted]

Spellbound, sounds lovely! My son's room was pretty scruffy too. What is it with boys? lol

What I'm looking forward to the most is things staying where they're suppose to be and things staying clean for longer than a few minutes when I clean them. DD is messy!

[Deleted]

Walls first for sure.

Put your ideas together on an online tool, then post them here with info on what look you are going for.  Lots of people with great taste on here.

[Deleted]

Nov 2, 2013 11:58:12 GMT -5 Apple said:

The peace and quiet must be nice   Glad the little guy isn't very far away.

I'm trying to get motivated to do a big purge, it would be nice if someone needed it and I just gave it to them, but I'll figure it out.  I love that I'm finally where I can start to get the things I want to have "forever".  But, I go really slow about it until I see the thing I want.  I can't walk through a furniture store and select something, I'm either overwhelmed, the stuff I like is WAY too expensive, or nothing is "just right".  I'd get the painting and floors done, then just do the rest as the pieces find me.

The peace and quiet IS nice. Like you, I prefer to give things to people that can use it, rather than just throw it away. I've never really liked my living room furniture, I bought it from the kids' grandmother when she had a yardsale. My living room was empty back then too lol. She'd had it less than a year and we rarely sat on it, so it's in great condition. Giving it to DD kept me from having to figure out what to do with it later and it saved her some money. Win-win.

I plan to do exactly what you said, get the painting and floors done (paint first, since that's what everyone here advised) and take my time finding what really suits me.

[Deleted]

Rock It, where do I find the online tools you're thinking of? I'm clueless.

[Deleted]

I think that's great Pink! It's an opportunity to get the house the way you want it, to enjoy the peace and quiet, and you still have your kids and your GS very close by ... win-win! And it sounds like your DD is doing well if she was able to move out. Your relationship will improve now that you're not living together 24/7, and I'm sure she'll want you to babysit lol. 

I agree, walls first, and flooring last. 

Remember that sales are coming up: Black Friday, Xmas is right around the corner. Look at CL ads too. But take the time you need and only buy items you really like. Since you've got your den and your bedroom, you won't need to rush. 

Enjoy!

ETA: Could you get a dog from one of the "hypoallergenic" breeds? I remember you used to have a poodle ... maybe you never realized you were allergic before because they don't cause allergies (as far as I know)?

ETA2: And if the house feels TOO quiet, you could always invite friends / your kids for a meal this weekend?!

[Deleted]

Thanks debt! I do hope DD and I can enjoy each other's company better now that we don't live together anymore. I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities to babysit too.

I NEVER want another poodle. I had a standard poodle (the big one) and he was a great dog, but very very high-maintenance. I already had a bullmastiff when I got the poodle, so you'd think that would've sent my allergies through the roof if I'm allergic to dogs. But I never noticed a difference. Then again, I've had bad allergies all my life (just not to dogs when I was tested before) so I might have just not noticed a difference around dogs.

That's all thoughts for a later date. Right now I'm just going to enjoy a little freedom and solitude.  

ETA: It's the dogs' dander, not their fur, that I'm suppose to be allergic to.

[swamp]

Party at Pinks house!!!! 

[Deleted]

Nov 2, 2013 13:06:10 GMT -5 swamp said:

Party at Pinks house!!!! 

LOL! C'mon over! It could be like a club; 3 dance floors. Limited seating though.

[cronewitch]

I want an empty house too . ISO went to rent a trailer this morning to start moving out but his tail lights didn't work so he had to get them fixed. Then he said it was too late in the day so next weekend . Now I have stacks of boxes, dresser in the dining room dresser drawers out in the living room and a guest bed that is naked. I hate having to live in the moving mess another week. I wanted to go today.

So I seek revenge, first I will leave the mess in the way all week so he has to snake around it to get anywhere. Next bring in more empty boxes and pack more of his stuff perhaps not marking the boxes so he has surprise unpacking.

I might call my nephew to get him to help move some things to the rental trailer next friday night so no excuse Saturday about too late in the day.

ISO asked what is wrong and I said "nothing" that should let him know I am mad right?

[NastyWoman]

Nov 2, 2013 14:02:31 GMT -5 cronewitch said:

I want an empty house too . ISO went to rent a trailer this morning to start moving out but his tail lights didn't work so he had to get them fixed. Then he said it was too late in the day so next weekend . Now I have stacks of boxes, dresser in the dining room dresser drawers out in the living room and a guest bed that is naked. I hate having to live in the moving mess another week. I wanted to go today.

So I seek revenge, first I will leave the mess in the way all week so he has to snake around it to get anywhere. Next bring in more empty boxes and pack more of his stuff perhaps not marking the boxes so he has surprise unpacking.

I might call my nephew to get him to help move some things to the rental trailer next friday night so no excuse Saturday about too late in the day.

ISO asked what is wrong and I said "nothing" that should let him know I am mad right?

-rofl-RIGHT! Oh, the power of communication 

[Deleted]

ISO asked what is wrong and I said "nothing" that should let him know I am mad right?

Wellllll, some men know to think "uh-oh" when we answer "nothing", some men don't get it. Which one is your ISO?

I can't recall how many times I've thought to myself "Just hold on til the 1st. Just hold on til the 1st". It seemed like DD got even messier after she told me she was moving.  Having an end in sight helped me keep my cool.

So, while I've been around the boards off and on all day, it was on breaks from getting my house in order and making it sparkle. I won't get it all done today (actually I'm about ready to call it quits for today), but it already feels sooooo much better.

Crone, I hope the mess gets cleared out/up sooner rather than later. Moving unmarked boxes will certainly make things interesting lol.