Posted: 5/24/2015 11:15:56 AM EDT
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CSB
Came home late last night to a couple of police cruisers in my apt buildings parking lot. Figured, "just another day in the hood", probably a noise complaint or something. NOPE. There was an assault on the street corner right in front of our building. A neighbor, who is an OEF combat veteran and CCDL member, heard it from his apartment and proceeded to break it up, in his words, "courtesy of the Second Amendment". Weapon drawn, no shots fired. Suspects apprehended, neighbor (and his friend) returned to his dwelling (with his weapon) after filing the incident report. Three weeks and two days until we close on our house, it can't come soon enough. If it wasn't for a handful of awesome neighbors I wouldn't be able to stand this place. Theres 32 units, and at least 4 of us (that I know of) are rather well armed. I share a wall with a former Marine/ retired CO, and then theres 2 other CCDL members, one of which is a full-time armed guard (and the other from the CSB above). Moving So my SO and I have hit the 3 week mark, and we are obviously very excited and anxious. We've lived together in this apt for 2.5 years (been together for 5-6 years) and I've got to say, I am a blessed man for finding her. This is a first home for both of us and I know we're going to learn very fast in the coming weeks, so I'm hoping some of you guys can help push us around the curve. Here's where we're at: -Home Inspections etc complete, the process' are all taken care of, just waiting on closing. - Current landlord was notified at 60 day mark. - Prepared change of address cards with the DMV/PO. Will make the call for the Pistol Permit change of address the day of move in. -I've already packed most anything that isn't of necessity to daily life. I left myself half a dozen sets of clothes, mostly work clothes etc. (We'll do her clothes the last weekend) -Today we will pack most kitchen stuff, with the exception of a couple sets of utensils, dishes, pots/pans etc. -Next weekend we will do the same thing with the bathroom stuff. Leaving only what we absolutely need for the final two weeks. -Day 1 - We close on a Monday. I'm only going to move my tools into the garage that day (its a metric fuck-ton, at least 3-4 pickup truck loads), and otherwise, regroup, assess, make a plan and sleep on it. -Day 2-4 - Begin prep & paint. I took the whole week off so there is no rush, which is good because I'm a perfectionist. - Painting Master Bedroom, Kitchen, Living Room, Bathrooms, Dining Room. Everything else can wait. -Day 4 or 5 - Move We're going to attempt no heavy grocery shopping over the next three weeks. Outside of milk, bread and eggs (etc), were going to try to live off what we have, diminishing our food supply for the next three weeks. We have a lot of storable food, and we will eat well so Im not worried, but I'd like to move less food. We're not doomsday preppers by any stretch of the imagination, but we are realistic and do prep, which is not making this any easier. There is literally a 50 lb box of laundry detergent, a couple hundred pounds of water, and then theres the ammo fort . . . etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc 
I expect my plan to not survive contact.  And I'm certain I've forgotten half a dozen things.
Learn me your lessons, please. TLDR: Moving in-state to a more fortified fighting position. Give me your moving advice. Let me know what did and did not work for you. |
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Good luck man! And good motivational story to get yourself outta there. If you had any doubts about getting your own place, that incident should drive home that you made the right investment/decision!
My wife and I have been at our own house for 2 years now. Im still working on rooms, almost finished though. If I could do it from the beginning again though......I would have had the hardwood floors refinished before we filled up the rooms, and really moved in. The whole house is hardwood floors(minus kitchen and baths) and they were all exposed since the house was built. They look fine, but I'd rather them look GREAT! but that gets to be a problem when you have stuff everywhere already. Id have to pack up the whole house now to do the floors, which would be a major PITA. My point is if the house has hardwood floors. REALLY consider refinishing them early on, if they kinda need it. Thats my biggest regret now. Theres definitely other things, but thats one that sticks out to me right now
If you like to keep busy outside of work, being a homeowner is the ticket! 
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Good luck man! And good motivational story to get yourself outta there. If you had any doubts about getting your own place, that incident should drive home that you made the right investment/decision! My wife and I have been at our own house for 2 years now. Im still working on rooms, almost finished though. If I could do it from the beginning again though......I would have had the hardwood floors refinished before we filled up the rooms, and really moved in. The whole house is hardwood floors(minus kitchen and baths) and they were all exposed since the house was built. They look fine, but I'd rather them look GREAT! but that gets to be a problem when you have stuff everywhere already. Id have to pack up the whole house now to do the floors, which would be a major PITA. My point is if the house has hardwood floors. REALLY consider refinishing them early on, if they kinda need it. Thats my biggest regret now. Theres definitely other things, but thats one that sticks out to me right now
If you like to keep busy outside of work, being a homeowner is the ticket!
I owned my own home improvement business for 3-4 years so Im well endowed as far as tools and ability go. (I closed it up to continue work in the solar field, plus, fuck taxes). Im a big time busy body outside of work so I will certainly be filling my time with various house work. Finally. 
That said, I was extremely picky about what I wanted to do, and thusly we've been looking at houses for over two years. Floors is one of the things I want nothing to do with, and happily, these (hardwood) floors are pristine, and re-done just this year. Septic system is only two years old, also. As is the (oil) heating system, and the bathrooms. Windows & doors are on the short list of things that need to be done. As soon as thats done, wood stove, then kitchen, and then were pretty much all set. Siding and a deck makeover are on the 5 year list. |
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Might be worth renting a storage unit as close to the home as possible, or a POD or something. Move the heavy/bulky items that you don't need anytime soon into that now and worry about them after the initial chaos.
You probably already did it, or are doing it, but now is the time to get rid of the excess junk that accumulates. Trade, sell, gift, trash everything you don't absolutely want to keep. Got mixed dishes and really only use one set? Dispose of the extras and fill out the set you like if you can. Got ammo for guns you no longer own or use... Guns you just have around out of inertial? Apply the same brush to all hobbies, sports, clothes... Every few years I go through and clean out and it's amazing how much stuff accumulates that really doesn't need to stick around. Hell, I'm just going through putting some stuff away in the basement and discovered that my supply of 223 brass is bigger than I thought. I have a kitty litter bucket (the smaller rectangular one) full of crimped stuff and then almost as much again unsorted that is probably 50/50 crimped/non crimped. I need to trade or sell the crimped stuff to someone who has a use for it. Then there's all the misc packing materials, old boxes I kept "in case it has to go back" where that isn't happening now. I figure I can fill my trash and recycling bins this afternoon with no effort and without missing any of it later. Simplify, simplify, simplify |
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good luck, it will be a never ending story for years to come as i wrote this i realized i was taking a break from installing a new kitchen sink with all new copper. haha I'm loosing my marbles my advise, don't pull your hair out . She gets a sink and you get a scope. Fair deal! How's the kiddo doing? I don't think Ill have any hair left. hahaha |
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Might be worth renting a storage unit as close to the home as possible, or a POD or something. Move the heavy/bulky items that you don't need anytime soon into that now and worry about them after the initial chaos. You probably already did it, or are doing it, but now is the time to get rid of the excess junk that accumulates. Trade, sell, gift, trash everything you don't absolutely want to keep. Got mixed dishes and really only use one set? Dispose of the extras and fill out the set you like if you can. Got ammo for guns you no longer own or use... Guns you just have around out of inertial? Apply the same brush to all hobbies, sports, clothes... Every few years I go through and clean out and it's amazing how much stuff accumulates that really doesn't need to stick around. Hell, I'm just going through putting some stuff away in the basement and discovered that my supply of 223 brass is bigger than I thought. I have a kitty litter bucket (the smaller rectangular one) full of crimped stuff and then almost as much again unsorted that is probably 50/50 crimped/non crimped. I need to trade or sell the crimped stuff to someone who has a use for it. Then there's all the misc packing materials, old boxes I kept "in case it has to go back" where that isn't happening now. I figure I can fill my trash and recycling bins this afternoon with no effort and without missing any of it later. Simplify, simplify, simplify We're seriously considering going the POD route. As far as simplifying/reducing/minimizing; we currently live in a one bedroom apartment, and I might be the largest organizational freak you will have ever known. I am the most minimized person you'll ever meet.  (not by choice)
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We're seriously considering going the POD route. As far as simplifying/reducing/minimizing; we currently live in a one bedroom apartment, and I might be the largest organizational freak you will have ever known. I am the most minimized person you'll ever meet. (not by choice)Quoted:
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Might be worth renting a storage unit as close to the home as possible, or a POD or something. Move the heavy/bulky items that you don't need anytime soon into that now and worry about them after the initial chaos. You probably already did it, or are doing it, but now is the time to get rid of the excess junk that accumulates. Trade, sell, gift, trash everything you don't absolutely want to keep. Got mixed dishes and really only use one set? Dispose of the extras and fill out the set you like if you can. Got ammo for guns you no longer own or use... Guns you just have around out of inertial? Apply the same brush to all hobbies, sports, clothes... Every few years I go through and clean out and it's amazing how much stuff accumulates that really doesn't need to stick around. Hell, I'm just going through putting some stuff away in the basement and discovered that my supply of 223 brass is bigger than I thought. I have a kitty litter bucket (the smaller rectangular one) full of crimped stuff and then almost as much again unsorted that is probably 50/50 crimped/non crimped. I need to trade or sell the crimped stuff to someone who has a use for it. Then there's all the misc packing materials, old boxes I kept "in case it has to go back" where that isn't happening now. I figure I can fill my trash and recycling bins this afternoon with no effort and without missing any of it later. Simplify, simplify, simplify We're seriously considering going the POD route. As far as simplifying/reducing/minimizing; we currently live in a one bedroom apartment, and I might be the largest organizational freak you will have ever known. I am the most minimized person you'll ever meet. (not by choice)There ya go then. Half the hassle already covered and you didn't have to do any extra work. :) I used to be more of a pack rat, then I started moving around more. A few moves, a few studio or one bedroom apts... suddenly "stuff" didn't seem to be worth the hassle. Good luck with the move. It's a huge pain in the butt, and a great feeling and big step forward at the same time. |
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She gets a sink and you get a scope. Fair deal! How's the kiddo doing? I don't think Ill have any hair left. hahaha Quoted:
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good luck, it will be a never ending story for years to come as i wrote this i realized i was taking a break from installing a new kitchen sink with all new copper. haha I'm loosing my marbles my advise, don't pull your hair out . She gets a sink and you get a scope. Fair deal! How's the kiddo doing? I don't think Ill have any hair left. hahaha She's doing great! Growing fast already. Just wait, your women will have babies on the mine soon enough |
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We're seriously considering going the POD route. As far as simplifying/reducing/minimizing; we currently live in a one bedroom apartment, and I might be the largest organizational freak you will have ever known. I am the most minimized person you'll ever meet. (not by choice)Quoted:
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Might be worth renting a storage unit as close to the home as possible, or a POD or something. Move the heavy/bulky items that you don't need anytime soon into that now and worry about them after the initial chaos. You probably already did it, or are doing it, but now is the time to get rid of the excess junk that accumulates. Trade, sell, gift, trash everything you don't absolutely want to keep. Got mixed dishes and really only use one set? Dispose of the extras and fill out the set you like if you can. Got ammo for guns you no longer own or use... Guns you just have around out of inertial? Apply the same brush to all hobbies, sports, clothes... Every few years I go through and clean out and it's amazing how much stuff accumulates that really doesn't need to stick around. Hell, I'm just going through putting some stuff away in the basement and discovered that my supply of 223 brass is bigger than I thought. I have a kitty litter bucket (the smaller rectangular one) full of crimped stuff and then almost as much again unsorted that is probably 50/50 crimped/non crimped. I need to trade or sell the crimped stuff to someone who has a use for it. Then there's all the misc packing materials, old boxes I kept "in case it has to go back" where that isn't happening now. I figure I can fill my trash and recycling bins this afternoon with no effort and without missing any of it later. Simplify, simplify, simplify We're seriously considering going the POD route. As far as simplifying/reducing/minimizing; we currently live in a one bedroom apartment, and I might be the largest organizational freak you will have ever known. I am the most minimized person you'll ever meet. (not by choice)We had a storage unit for a while before we moved In. Kinda of expensive for storage. If you can get a pod go that route |
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She's doing great! Growing fast already. Just wait, your women will have babies on the mine soon enough Quoted:
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good luck, it will be a never ending story for years to come as i wrote this i realized i was taking a break from installing a new kitchen sink with all new copper. haha I'm loosing my marbles my advise, don't pull your hair out . She gets a sink and you get a scope. Fair deal! How's the kiddo doing? I don't think Ill have any hair left. hahaha She's doing great! Growing fast already. Just wait, your women will have babies on the mine soon enough Soon!? Bro, my woman was born to be a mother. I'm not kidding, she came out the womb with baby fever! Hahaha It's taken all my fight to keep a kid at bay for the last couple years. The SO is no problemo. I'm more afraid of my mother. If I don't give her a grandkid in the next couple years . . . I don't even want to consider the consequences. Ha! |
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There ya go then. Half the hassle already covered and you didn't have to do any extra work. :) I used to be more of a pack rat, then I started moving around more. A few moves, a few studio or one bedroom apts... suddenly "stuff" didn't seem to be worth the hassle. Good luck with the move. It's a huge pain in the butt, and a great feeling and big step forward at the same time. Quoted:
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Might be worth renting a storage unit as close to the home as possible, or a POD or something. Move the heavy/bulky items that you don't need anytime soon into that now and worry about them after the initial chaos. You probably already did it, or are doing it, but now is the time to get rid of the excess junk that accumulates. Trade, sell, gift, trash everything you don't absolutely want to keep. Got mixed dishes and really only use one set? Dispose of the extras and fill out the set you like if you can. Got ammo for guns you no longer own or use... Guns you just have around out of inertial? Apply the same brush to all hobbies, sports, clothes... Every few years I go through and clean out and it's amazing how much stuff accumulates that really doesn't need to stick around. Hell, I'm just going through putting some stuff away in the basement and discovered that my supply of 223 brass is bigger than I thought. I have a kitty litter bucket (the smaller rectangular one) full of crimped stuff and then almost as much again unsorted that is probably 50/50 crimped/non crimped. I need to trade or sell the crimped stuff to someone who has a use for it. Then there's all the misc packing materials, old boxes I kept "in case it has to go back" where that isn't happening now. I figure I can fill my trash and recycling bins this afternoon with no effort and without missing any of it later. Simplify, simplify, simplify We're seriously considering going the POD route. As far as simplifying/reducing/minimizing; we currently live in a one bedroom apartment, and I might be the largest organizational freak you will have ever known. I am the most minimized person you'll ever meet. (not by choice)There ya go then. Half the hassle already covered and you didn't have to do any extra work. :) I used to be more of a pack rat, then I started moving around more. A few moves, a few studio or one bedroom apts... suddenly "stuff" didn't seem to be worth the hassle. Good luck with the move. It's a huge pain in the butt, and a great feeling and big step forward at the same time. Thanks, I appreciate it! |
| Good plan to paint before moving your carp in. Save time to do a real good scrub down before you move in too. Lastly, don't start too many projects before finishing others. I have project add and its terrible. There will be plenty of projects to keep you busy for a lifetime so just take you time and bang them out slowly. Congrats again on the new house. |
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I am glad to help you minimize. I will take the ammo.
On a serious note. Do all the painting before putting furniture in the rooms.It will go much faster. Paint the Master Bedroom, kitchen and bathrooms before you move. Put everything in the garage and basement except bedroom furniture, bathroom stuff and kitchen stuff. Then you can carefully and slowly carry a box at a time to the room it is intended for. You will find that you will have more stuff to get rid of after you unpack each box. If you are on the fence about keeping it put it back in the cellar. Once you have unpacked every box go back to the cellar and get rid of what you do not need. Then organize the stuff into boxes and date them. If after 2-3 years you haven't used the stuff get rid of it. You will be amazed at how stuff accumulates and how quickly the 2-3 years passes. If you have it for 5 years and have not touched it, do you really need it? Obviously certain things, like photos and family items are exempt somewhat. My wife and I bought this house 11 years ago. it needed a ton of work. We are down to some trim and finishing touches. Although now some of our original work is 10 years old and in need of an update. 
We are planning to leave the state for the Gunshine state hopefully in 5 years. Because we were doing major renovations on the house up until last summer, the basement became a catch-all for stuff. I have been selling things I don't need. Anything over 3 years has to go. That is the deal we made with each other. I have tons of tools. I have even sold a few of the tools I just don't like or use. Not many but a handful. I use the money from selling my stuff to fund other hobbies, like firearms. You would be amazed how quickly these $20-50 items add up, never mind the expensive stuff. When you move you will find out who your friends are. I helped so many people move and some several times. When I moved here I asked them all for help. Amazing the excuses and the guys who said they would help but never showed up. My 4 closest friends helped including one who drove down from near NH. The others I knew they were not really my friends after this. |
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Good plan to paint before moving your carp in. Save time to do a real good scrub down before you move in too. Lastly, don't start too many projects before finishing others. I have project add and its terrible. There will be plenty of projects to keep you busy for a lifetime so just take you time and bang them out slowly. Congrats again on the new house. Thanks. I do fear the project ADD, I've got big eyes and I'm easily excitable. Ha |
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I am glad to help you minimize. I will take the ammo.
On a serious note. Do all the painting before putting furniture in the rooms.It will go much faster. Paint the Master Bedroom, kitchen and bathrooms before you move. Put everything in the garage and basement except bedroom furniture, bathroom stuff and kitchen stuff. Then you can carefully and slowly carry a box at a time to the room it is intended for. You will find that you will have more stuff to get rid of after you unpack each box. If you are on the fence about keeping it put it back in the cellar. Once you have unpacked every box go back to the cellar and get rid of what you do not need. Then organize the stuff into boxes and date them. If after 2-3 years you haven't used the stuff get rid of it. You will be amazed at how stuff accumulates and how quickly the 2-3 years passes. If you have it for 5 years and have not touched it, do you really need it? Obviously certain things, like photos and family items are exempt somewhat. My wife and I bought this house 11 years ago. it needed a ton of work. We are down to some trim and finishing touches. Although now some of our original work is 10 years old and in need of an update.
We are planning to leave the state for the Gunshine state hopefully in 5 years. Because we were doing major renovations on the house up until last summer, the basement became a catch-all for stuff. I have been selling things I don't need. Anything over 3 years has to go. That is the deal we made with each other. I have tons of tools. I have even sold a few of the tools I just don't like or use. Not many but a handful. I use the money from selling my stuff to fund other hobbies, like firearms. You would be amazed how quickly these $20-50 items add up, never mind the expensive stuff. When you move you will find out who your friends are. I helped so many people move and some several times. When I moved here I asked them all for help. Amazing the excuses and the guys who said they would help but never showed up. My 4 closest friends helped including one who drove down from near NH. The others I knew they were not really my friends after this. Thanks for the pointers. |