House and Home – Page 5 – commonplacebook.com

Our Yard Sale – Sat. Sept. 22 – 8 a.m. (in Indianapolis, IN)

Post author:HFM
Post published:September 19, 2007
Post category:House and Home

Books, lamps, board games, fun home decor, lamps, toys, Avon collectibles, lamps, clothes.

Saturday only, September 22nd – 8 am to ?

Did I mention we have lamps for sale? We seem to have a lot of them. As you already know, we’re de-cluttering the house, so lots of fun entertaining stuff has to go. If there’s something from our house that you’ve always wanted, I might just sell it to you! (Dog and iPhone not included.)

Think about it! When I become infamous, you’ll be able to proudly say, “This lava lamp once belonged to Steph Mineart before she ~~went on that massive shooting spree~~ ~~was eaten by cannibals in the Amazon jungle~~ wrote that world famous classic novel!”

Own a piece of history, really cheap!

(Also – FREE CUCUMBERS!)

Weekend Update 2007-09-17

Post author:HFM
Post published:September 17, 2007
Post category:House and Home

We managed to get a lot done on Sunday to the house. We spent the morning sorting through some of the garage sale pile. Our friend Jen came by with baby Sam to help us sort some clothes in the early afternoon. Later we hung a bunch of pictures that we just haven’t gotten to yet, and in the evening I sorted lots of our tools in the basement. We don’t really need to get rid of any of those; they’re all useful items that I bought for my old house or that Stephanie’s dad has given her, and we have plenty of storage for them. We just need them to not all be in a jumbled pile when we need to find them for use.
I think we have plenty of stuff together for the yard sale. That’s not to say we have the house organized; there’s still tons to do. We’re maybe 25% done. But I’m excited by how much stuff we’ve pulled together.

weekend Update: Cleaning, Organizing

Post author:HFM
Post published:September 16, 2007
Post category:House and Home

We accomplished a lot of sorting and organizing yesterday. In the morning, we cleaned out and reorganized the coat closet in the dining room and identified stuff that either needed to go in the garage sale or needs to be relocated downstairs in the space we liberated last weekend in the basement. At the end it felt like we did Pressure Washing in Roseville CA ! However, the result was satisfying.
Stephanie’s dad came down and helped us get a chunk of the garage cleaned out yesterday, too. There’s lots more to do; we only got about a fourth of it done. But it’s a start. We inherited a lot of “it came with the house” stuff in the garage that we need to discard, but some of it needs to be sold. That will have to happen after the garage sale. We hired #1 Junk Removal in Staten Island NY | Demolitions Rubbish Cleanouts to help us with the junk removal. Some of it will be freecycle, and some will be craigslist. At the same time, he helped us with another garage problem we had; part of the soffit on the south side of the garage was rotting and falling down. I hadn’t noticed it at all. So we need to hire someone to rebuild some of the trim on the garage. For cleaning services in the garage, Top Stockton, California Junk Removal Service | Debris & Rubbish Removal can be checked out! Visit sites like https://www.ozoneskips.com.au/skip-bins-morphett-vale/ if you are planning a major cleaning or decluttering project to help with the collection of trash.
In the evening, we ordered Chinese food, opened a bottle of Shiraz, watched part of the first season of Maude from Netflix, and sorted out and organized Stephanie’s cassette tapes. (She still has tape players in both cars.)
We have lots to do today, too. Our friend Jen is coming over to help do some more sorting.

quote of the day

Post author:HFM
Post published:September 10, 2007
Post category:Favorite Quotes House and Home

“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” -William Morrisqu

Yard Sale – Saturday, Sept. 22nd

Post author:HFM
Post published:September 10, 2007
Post category:House and Home

Yesterday we settled on a date for a yard sale at our house. 2 weeks from now on Saturday, September 22nd. We sorted out lots of stuff to put into the sale this weekend. It’s a very small dent in the scheme of things, but it’s a dent, and I certainly feel better.
I’m not sure I’ve entirely cured the problem of “maybe there’s something I can do with this…” I sorted through lots of small throw rugs, but kept a couple that I love but just don’t have a good place for. Yet. Yeah. I probably need to go through that sorting again.
We had pulled quite a few things out to sell last week, with the intention of joining a friend’s garage sale, but we got scared off by the threat of rain on Saturday morning. That worked out okay, because we had a lot going on this weekend anyway, and loading up and taking stuff to a sale was cutting things pretty tight.

Budgeting Time

Post author:HFM
Post published:September 8, 2007
Post category:House and Home

One of the difficulties in our getting organized process is our time management. We both have a tendency to think “we’ll get to this” and we never do. We’re always purchasing space for the objects in our lives with time we don’t actually own. I find myself saying – “I’ll hold on to this because I’m going to do X, Y, or Z someday soon” and that justifies keeping it, because time is ethereal, and we can just lazily spend it because there are unlimited amounts.

And I have to confess, I thought I was way better at time management than Stephanie is, and she has more of a problem with purchasing with borrowed time than I do. That is, of course, not the case at all. Or at least, I may be slightly better about it, but not significantly enough to really make our lives function well. Here’s a graphic example of the problem:

I made this in Google docs this morning and shared it with Stephanie, and we were both freaked out by it when we saw it. Of course this is padded all over, but you get the general idea; there are a finite amount of spaces to be filled in with activities, and we have way more things to do than actually fit. So we do things like cut corners on sleep and skip meals and the gym and skating, or have to skip seeing friends. That’s not good at all. Plus I’m looking at this and realizing I spent last year watching something like 10 hours a week watching TV, that all came out of my sleep schedule. No wonder I feel like crap.

Clearly, organizing our things goes hand in hand with budgeting our time better so we spend much less time cleaning and more time eating and drinking wine with our friends and reading good books and making pretty internets.

Our Little Secret

Post author:HFM
Post published:September 6, 2007
Post category:House and Home

Yeah, there’s a reason why so many of my photos seem to be only shot in one or two rooms, or only show small, focused parts of our house.

There’s a reason why we never have people over to visit; why I’ve stopped having parties and game nights and overnight guests.

There’s a reason why I’m awake at 1:00 a.m. writing this because I can’t sleep because I’m so stressed out.

We have a serious problem. It’s more than just a problem that’s driving me out of my head, although that’s bad enough.

It’s making me physically sick, too – enough that I’ve had to go to the hospital 5 times in the past three years because I’m so allergic to dust and the house is so full of it.

We have a problem, and it’s time that problem comes out of the closet.

We have too much stuff – way more stuff than we can manage, store or enjoy. Way more stuff than we need.

These photos are just the tip of the iceberg; the garage is equally packed, and the basement is the same way, too. I just haven’t taken pictures there yet because it’s the middle of the night.

I have always had a serious pack rat problem. I don’t want it to appear that I’m blaming anyone. I’m certainly not. And I know I’m not the only one trying to fix it; Stephanie is working hard at this, too. But I’m getting seriously overwhelmed lately; and I’m worried that we’re not making progress at all. We spend all our time organizing, never have any fun, and the clutter just gets worse, not better. And we fight over it, a lot – and that has to stop because I love Stephanie so much; I don’t want this problem to ruin our relationship.
It’s interfering with living our lives, doing our jobs, enjoying what we have and our families and friends, and enjoying the blessing that is our relationship as well.

We really need two things:
1) HELP. Help confronting the problem, help accepting that it’s a problem and help fixing it. To some extent, we need to hire someone to work with us on this. But we sure could use some support from our friends, both in the clean up process and the encouraging us not to bring new items into our house as well.
2) For people to back the hell off. Ease up on seizing control of our time. Let us get this figured out without constantly hijacking our schedules. Understand us when we say we can’t do stuff with you, and lay off the guilt trips. Stephanie and I both have a tendency to say yes to everyone and everything, and we need to knock that off, for our own sanity and well being. We don’t want to blow off our friends; we love you, and care about you. But we can’t always do everything you want us to, and lately I just can’t manage to do anything at all.
I took an entire cruise and spent the whole time stressed out because I wasn’t at home organizing and cleaning stuff. I’m up late tonight because we overloaded our weekend again with events and won’t have time to relax or get anything done. We need time to work on this – lots of it.
This run-away freight train needs to stop, and now.

Dust Allergies

Post author:HFM
Post published:August 9, 2007
Post category:House and Home

I finally managed to get around to getting tested for allergies yesterday, in my ongoing quest to figure out what the hell is causing my repeated bouts of Pleurisy. In the case of airborne allergies, I am apparently allergic to 3 things: Household Dust (to which I have a particularly bad reaction) and the pollen from Hickory and Walnut trees.
I’m so thankful I don’t have a reaction to cats or dogs. I can’t begin to tell you how I would have felt about that.
BUT. Ohmygod, the things we have to do to our house regarding dust. My stuffed monkey collection. The BOOKS. I have to find some way to keep everything clean, or it has to go. And we have SO MUCH clutter that needs to be sold or donated to goodwill.
My head is spinning just thinking about it. We’re also trying to show the rental house, which also needs to be cleaned, and we’re going on a Cruise for Dan’s 40th birthday at the end of August. I’m absolutely overwhelmed with everything.

Weekend To Dos

Post author:HFM
Post published:April 14, 2007
Post category:House and Home Journal

~~Taxes – Stephanie is finishing these up. She’s awesome.~~
Hallway painting – I’m painting two walls in the upstairs hallway where the Beetle collectible display shelves will go. This will let us finally unpack and arrange those boxes. we’ve been delaying that unpacking because we didn’t want to have to move the shelves when we got around to the painting.
~~Setting up the new server – yup. As God is my witness, I will never lose music again.~~
Replace the belt on the vacuum cleaner.
~~Take recycling to center.~~
~~Go to the pet supply store – for food, cat litter, Feliway.~~
~~Visit our friend Jill’s house.~~
~~Eat dinner on Sunday with Stephanie’s old skating coach.~~
Thinking about my sister’s dog and my friend’s baby.

Our Awesome Realtor, Sherry Soforic

Post author:HFM
Post published:April 9, 2007
Post category:House and Home

I have been terribly remiss on one aspect of my recent home sale – in all of the celebration over getting the thing finished, and the tearing out of the hair that came before it, I completely neglected to mention how awesome our Realtor is.

Spike helping Sherry fill out paperwork to sell my house.
Her name is Sherry Soforic, and she works for F.C. Tucker. She’s been a friend of Stephanie’s forever and ever, and helped her buy her house. Stephanie’s been recommending her to friends ever since, and everyone we know who worked with her thinks she’s awesome. She also helped us find our house, and was amazing in getting us into it – through all the negotiations and figuring out how to get contractors, Sherry has been a tremendous support. Recently, she also assisted us with finding Canary Wharf apartments, making the whole process smooth and stress-free. For those looking to buy or sell a home in Broward County, FL, having a dedicated realtor like Sherry Soforic can make all the difference. If you also plan to invest in a real estate property, you need to partner with various contractors to help you with its maintenance. Contact a seattle plumbing repair service company if you need help with plumbing repairs. For a rapid response to plumbing emergencies, call Graham and Sons Plumbing.

The Canadian real estate market continues to thrive, with a particular surge in interest for properties in scenic and serene locations. Among the hotspots is the picturesque Aylesford Lake area, where aylesford lake cottages for sale are attracting numerous buyers. These cottages offer a perfect blend of tranquility and natural beauty, making them ideal for both seasonal getaways and year-round living. The demand for such waterfront properties has been driven by the increasing desire for remote work options and a more relaxed lifestyle. With competitive pricing and an array of amenities, the cottages at Aylesford Lake present a unique investment opportunity in Canada’s vibrant real estate landscape.

In addition to having a skilled realtor, utilizing tools that offer detailed insights and up-to-date listings of Broward County is crucial. These resources provide valuable information on market trends, property values, and neighborhood dynamics, helping you make informed decisions and find the perfect home that fits your needs and preferences. Understanding the different Broward County real estate zones and having access to comprehensive data can significantly enhance the home-buying experience. Combining Sherry’s exceptional service with these comprehensive tools offers a seamless and efficient home buying experience.

If you invested in a rental property, it is advised to use a property management company to significantly reduce the time and stress involved in handling tenant issues. GH Property Management Company handles everything from routine maintenance to emergency repairs, ensuring the property remains in top condition. This streamlined approach allows landlords to focus on other investments and enjoy peace of mind. More information can be found at GH Property Management Company’s professional services.

She comes by it naturally; Sherry’s mom was a real estate agent in Indianapolis for decades, and Sherry’s been at it for years, too.
Given the housing market slump recently, and the number of problems and things that went wrong on the way to getting my house sold, Sherry went far above and beyond what a real estate agent should be expected to do – she’s been a true friend and a spectacular, helpful person as well. Although I’m thankful we’re done with real estate transactions, I’m disappointed that I won’t be talking to Sherry every day or every other day – she’s one of those smart, insightful, funny people you just want to have around. I highly recommend her if you are planning to buy or sell your house in the Indianapolis area – if you call her, let me know; I’d love to hear about it. Also be sure to tell her we sent you.
Sherry Soforic Szeszycki
F.C. Tucker Company
work phone – 317-846-7751
Sherry’s Charity Triathlon
Sherry is also a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training, where she’s run three marathons to raise funds to fight cancer. She’s now in training for a triathlon, which I’m in awe of. She’ trying to raise $3,250.00 for this triathlon, and if you want to check out her donation page, I’m sure she’d be thrilled.