This thread sent me down a Youtube rabbit hole! I may seriously get her book. Our major issues are toys, clothing, media (books, movies, games), and insufficient storage. The kitchen could use a little paring down, as well. I choose to donate to just get it out of my house. I guess the lost proceeds would sort of be like paying for convenience, in...reverse? ??

I'm so sorry. Prayers and hugs. ?

Only prayers to give!! I'm so sorry. ?

I don't typically shine floors and polish wood...and I sometimes suspect these products attract and capture dust and dirt instead of repel it. Am I nuts to think that? What are some good laminate floor shining products and some good wood polishes that are also easy to use? Our house just won't sparkle no matter how many times we clean it! ? Oh, and as long as it's not deadly toxic, I'm not going to quibble over chemicals on this one. Consider my even caring how shiny things are to be strategic temporary insanity. ? (No offense to those who do care; I just really don't...normally).

I can't tell you what you should choose, but I personally like the teal and violet.

Praying!

finish moving stuff to new storage unit pick up random stuff at Lowe's lunch mow impossibly bushy yard grocery shop start what will be an epic adventure to make this house spotless in under 72 hours... took a nap because the mower died; too wet I think--called parents who will bring their riding mower Monday and help me fix my self-propelled and we've decluttered a good bit of the house; going to try to keep what we've done that way dinner: ham, sausage, cheese, & spinach quiche and pancakes ?

It might be over-stimulation and a general tapped out feeling--raising people is definitely a contact sport. And then if there's anything atypical going on in life beyond that... I don't think we allow ourselves or others enough space for the toll that takes. Either way, I've been feeling like that for the past few years; not just because of the kids. I still prefer one on one, but I'm not as engaged as before. And I've never been great in groups; I'll just listen. That's a personality thing, for sure.

For the last one, it's not typical here, but I'm completely ambivalent about the presence or absence of commentary on my dip purchases. ? People aren't like bubbly cheerful here, but most do ask many of those nice questions. I'm not very chatty, but I'm not put off by chit chat either. I used to be a lot better at it than I am now.

Ohhhhh. Toss it. Or compost or feed to a critter. Our fridge is crowded as it is. ?

I'm gong with #1. I made a list of stuff that would need to be done before pigs or goats could happen (because people first). And the 5 acres is much smaller, but we can get back to normal and get going with that sort of thing a lot faster and cheaper. And if I just haaaave to have a secluded master on the main, we can save up for an addition. We only need 3 bedrooms right now, and I"m then only one that cares about the master being away from all the other bedrooms. Plus it has the front porch. So there. Now watch it go under contract tomorrow. ?

We have chickens, so unless it has mold on it, they get it when it gets "iffy." Um...idk. I go by smell, sell by/best by date, and when it was opened. Food I've prepared gets "recycled" at the end of its fourth day unless it's something like shrimp or fish. Because typically there's meat in it, or I might stretch it a bit longer. My ILs have had food poisoning more than once, so we're sensitive in the other direction.

The fixer is the one I was going to knock down $67k. And I think that was being generous, honestly. My agent found out they're replacing carpet and painting before relisting, so I might only knock them down $62k. ? I think that's why it's been sitting for 18 months. But he hasn't come down to anything like reasonable in that time, so it makes me think he won't deal anyway. And no, the 2 story is still there; it's over priced as well, but not by nearly as much.

I see. I guess I'll try to watch my phrasing. I love the privacy and potential of these properties. ? They just each have come with considerations and they're so different, I'm having a hard time figuring out my and everyone else's priorities. We're not listed yet (though we're list-able), so I can certainly just stop looking and say, "Forget it; we're staying here!" (except nearly everything is in storage). I'm more afraid properties like these won't come up again for a while, really. I'm personally hung up on the 19 acres, but need a inspector and a contractor to tell me what needs work and how much what I want to do will cost, before I can even make a final call about how worthwhile the trade offs are. But it would be major to put me off because 19 acres. ? But as someone said, it may end up being one of those properties where you spend more to fix it up than you would have buying a move-in ready home on the same property. What's probably really best for our family overall is the cute two story on 5 acres, which is why I was ready to make an offer on it a couple weeks ago, but things got complicated with communication breakdowns with agents, and then I thought DH wanted a lower payment than that house would need... So I've sort of been at square one for the past couple of weeks.

Actually I've been thinking about this, because my real estate agent said the exact same thing, even though I'd already made the "I'd have to build it to love it" statement. So now I'm curious what it is that makes me sound not excited, and what it is that sends the "I'm excited" vibe?

Oh it's not a lack of excitement; it's just exhaustion. And realism. ? There's no existing house/property I'd just totally fall in love within our price range. It would have to be a custom build to my specs for me to looooove it. But if I were just settling on something, Either I would have already quit or we would have already moved. Because there's plenty we can afford if we're just looking at the typical criteria and don't care how close our neighbors are. And on the flip side, settling for just anything isn't worth all the stress and cost of moving. No worries; I won't settle beyond acknowledging I won't get my perfect ever dream home until we're independently wealthy. ? I just think in trade offs. A smaller crappy house on 19 acres is definitely worth moving to, whereas the same house on 2 acres is easy to pass up. I'm potentially willing to sacrifice 400 square feet to get a secluded master if the properties are similar enough in other regards. For what it's worth, I didn't test drive my van. My first time driving it was to take it home after we'd signed all the papers. But I also knew I wanted that one for X price, and got it. If we buy a house now, DH probably won't even look at pictures and he's totally ok with that. We're just like that (however "that" is, lol). ?

Sooo... the big property went off the market--expired listing. So sad. ? It may come back, but if they give it new carpet and paint, I doubt they'll be any more willing to come down off their price (and trust me, it's overpriced). So for now it's between property #1 and a new one that's basically our house with more space in strategic places, and a 5 acre lot that they recently had harvested for trees (good for us because we wanted open land for gardens and goat and stuff). BUT it would be a lower mortgage vs. #1 which with be the max of our comfort zone. A detached garage is in the future of either property.

Oh no; no filler if you don't stain. Staining helps it become much less noticeable. And ideally, if you have the $$$, I'd just get a solid piece for the top. But if you're wanting to build it for $50 or something, either spacing the boards 1" apart OR fitting them as tightly as possible and filling the cracks will keep all the crumbs from collecting in a too-tight-to-clean space.

Deceased or debilitated. And even then, I'd probably start with trying to find a work at home option... That's sort of what the homestead dream is all about, anyway.

I'm sorry. That sounds stressful...

Between the boards: crumbs. I like the plank look, but crumbs just aren't worth it. Or space the boards a bit more so they fall through...

Wooooow.... ? So sorry that happened!

I used spar varnish on our bench. One thing I would strongly recommend is filling all your gaps with wood putty before sanding and staining. I wish I'd done that with the bench, which is made of 2x4s. And I could theoretically go back and refinish it, but trust me, you only want to do that once per furniture item!

Oh dear; I don't blame you! No one was hurt, though? I've seen that happening around here every now and then, though so far nothing that's landed on a house! I just don't know if I can sanely launch three young adults from this house when I know we can gain more space for not much more money, even for debt free living. That's honestly a tough one. If they weren't here 24/7, it would be a bit different. And I guess it would be hard to do differently in 1200 sq.ft., but we have the open-concept thing going on and I hate it. DH and I are both nook people.

I'd do it if no one stopped me. I'm considering way crazier real estate moves, though....