Homeowners

/ Meg

With keys


It’s all ours!

Spencer and I went to closing on our first home Friday and had the keys later that afternoon, which means . . . we’re homeowners! It’s still a little surreal, even after spending the entire weekend there scrubbing and vacuuming and Lysoling everything within sight.

Though the house is in great shape overall, like all homes that have been vacant for a while . . . well, it needed airing out.

And by “airing out,” I mean cleaning from top to bottom.

Cleaning. So much cleaning. I don’t think I’ve ever vacuumed so much in life. I knew the house was, um, bigger than our condo, but I didn’t have any concept of how much bigger until I was on my hands and knees wiping down baseboards, walls and floors.

And wiping out entire spider colonies. I . . . yeah.

My entire weekend, in fact, looked like this:


Vacuuming


With a hefty amount of this:


Pressure-washing


And though my arms are aching and my head is fuzzy this morning, I can’t believe how much progress we’ve made in just a few days. Friends came by Sunday to see the place and kindly offered to cut the grass as a housewarming gift (we have no lawn mower yet), and I was so grateful I could have cried! The grass was already about two feet high, and several new neighbors stopped by to introduce themselves and gently inquire about it.

Already with the grass wars. But it’s all right.

I’m still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that it’s “our” house — I just don’t feel old enough? grown up enough? “wealthy” enough? to own property, but I guess that will fade with time. We certainly signed our lives away on Friday, so this baby is all ours.

There is so, so much to do — but I already feel better for having started the process. Spence is so handy, excited and on top of things, so I know all the basics will be covered.

In case you’re curious (and for posterity), some things we tackled this weekend:

• Scrubbed and power-washed exterior of house
• Took broken window in for repair
• Mopped kitchen and bathroom floors
• Scrubbed out all kitchen cabinets and drawers, plus sink
• Swept porch and deck
• Vacuumed all floors (can’t unsee that dirt and dust)
• Bissell-cleaned carpeting throughout house (ditto dirt)
• Cleaned two of four bathrooms (hadn’t the strength for others)
• Fixed wiring in office light fixture
• Moved a few boxes from condo, packed a few others

Not bad for two days’ work!

Thankfully the weather was gorgeous — mid-60s both days with plenty of sunshine, so we could open all the windows and let lots of fresh air in. Cleaning is also far more pleasant when you’re not sweating to death, and the temperate breezes kept Spence and I both happy. (Though we were still sweating. Kind of unavoidable.)

As much as I enjoyed whipping open all the windows, cleaning and daydreaming about our new space, I’ll admit to being a little relieved to go back to work this morning. Some sense of normalcy, you know?

And I don’t have to vacuum there. Already a huge plus.


34 thoughts on “Homeowners”

  6. Oh, congrats. There are few milestones that are as meaningful as buying your first house – getting married & bringing home your babies (should you have them), and then moving them out are about it. Weeps. (my daughter is leaving for college this fall. Can you tell?)

    Best of luck. Being a homeowner is hard work, and it’s expensive. But it is worth it to be able to paint your walls the color you want, and turn the place into something that you love.

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  8. Congrats! So very exciting to purchase your very first home. It definitely is such a surreal experience. Like you, I had to make sure that I had personally scrubbed the house before we moved in. (Especially the bathrooms!!!)

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  9. Now, give your home a name! (Tara has already been taken.)
    After all, a person’s name is their dearest possession. Consider the other things you have given a name to: Pets? Golf clubs? Cars?

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  14. That is awesome…congrats! I can remember when we bought our first house, right after we closed we went and just sat in the living room, in the dark, in shock at what we had just done. You feel like “Yeah, I can do this adult thing! I’ve made it!”. All that hard work is a labor of love.

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  15. So exciting!! It is such a nice size house too…room to grow. I can’t wait to see more pictures as you put your own special touches on your home. Congratulations!

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  27. I hear ya and I feel ya. SO much work. But such an awesome labor of love. Congratulations darling. I’m thrilled for you.

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  28. Oh the homeowner list of things to do never ends. But CONGRATS!!! It’s a beautiful house and I’m so envious of your greenbelt behind you. I know that you’ll fill it with many happy memories and joyous times. xo

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  29. Congratulations!! Woohoo! Being a homeowner is an amazing feeling! We’re only 1.5 years old in the homeowners’ family but I can never go back to apartment living now!

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  31. Thank you all so much! We’re a little overwhelmed but definitely ready to tackle the challenge. Spence has made tons of progress since I even wrote this post — updates to follow . . .

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  33. Congratulations!!!! The new house is incredibly beautiful! And BIG! I can’t wait to read more posts about all the great stuff you guys are going to do to make it a home ❤

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  34. Congratulations!! I’m so impressed with all the cleaning effort, I’m exhausted just thinking about it!

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