how to change your life for $14.95

When you move, you make some decisions about what you want to haul into your "new life" - for me, one thing I didn't want to haul was an entire cupboard of mismatched plastic containers.  I had some of at least 2 brands, which meant that lids were hard to find, nothing nested well, and on top of that there were a bunch that didn't even have lids.  I convinced myself that they'd be handy mixing bowls, but I never used them.  So I decided to throw them all in the recycling bin and start anew!  I bought a set of Rubbermaid containers for $14.95 and they are amazing.

 Not because they're anything special - but they all stack together, and their corresponding lids snap right onto the containers, so everything is easy to find and super easy to store! I'm pretty sure this is totally standard for any containers now-a-days.  But now I have plenty of containers and they even fit in the little cabinet over the range hood (which has part of its space taken up already by the vent!)  I always want to think that stuff like getting 8 hours of sleep a night, or drinking more water, will make me feel amazingly better, but I never really feel any different - I expect a life changing improvement and I'm always disappointed.  A new container set, however, is life changing!  I've been telling everyone I see that they need to buy a new set of containers and set themselves free - pretty much everyone is sick of it by now because I forget who I've told so I just keep telling them over and over!  it's ridiculous, and I promise to never mention it again.  but seriously, you need to get a new set of containers!

Long time no bloggy!

Geez, I didn't realize that it'd been MONTHS since I last posted!  Lots has happened and I've been kinda stressed, I suppose!  Here's the Cliff's notes:  we decided we were kind of tired of historic district living - the houses are so close together it's claustrophobic!  So we called a realtor who used to live in our neighborhood and is a big lover of historic districts/urban living/old houses, so we knew if anyone could sell the house she could.  She helped us find a new place and we finally closed and moved in - it was a heck of a process, but apparently with all the new regulations and whatnot, it's just that way now.      Our main thing was that we wanted a few acres (and originally we wanted to not even see any neighbors, but that ended up not being so easy to find!) and we ended up choosing a 1961 brick ranch which was the furthest from what either of us thought we'd ever end up with!  We decided that the non-stop maintenance on a 100+ year old house was just not what we felt like dealing with.  This house is so sturdy and accessible and it'll be much less work!  It's nothing special to look at, but it sits on 5 acres!  It's a cute house (quite brown at the moment - but eventually we'll add some color by painting the shutters.)  The realtor did an amazing job and got the sellers to install a new roof and a new electrical service/breaker box.  I wanted the roof to be darker so it'd be less of a one-tone brown blob, but the seller was still sort of emotionally attached and didn't like my idea of charcoal grey shingles despite the fact that he was selling the place!  in the end I decided it was a new roof and not that big of a deal!

Here's a shot of the backyard - yes, that's ours as far as the eye can see!  and that shed out there is really big - enough for more than 3 cars (not that we're keeping cars there- it's just for size reference!)  One bay will be for my gardening stuff, pots, etc., and another will be for lawn care stuff, and other assorted junk, I'm sure!

My kitchen is extremely butterscotchy.  it's somethin'.  It was done in 1983, but decade styles don't change much in 3 years, so it's actually pretty 70's looking.  Check out the intercom under the cabinet there - there are lots of cool mid century touches like that!

We decided to not make a bunch of changes right off the bat (hence the butterscotchy plaid kitchen!) - we need to put our energy into getting the old house cleared out, cleaned up, and sold!  And man, that is no easy task!  There's so much stuff there even after the movers did the hard work - so much stuff was something i thought I'd just easily throw in the back of the truck, but it's taking forever!  you also don't realize how much dust is under things like beds until you move them!  yikes!  and how many imperfections are hidden behind furniture and really stand out when there's nothing there.  I thought I was stressed out before - now it really starts!  BUT - we really love our new place!  More later!