did I mention that we’ve been thinking about moving? it’s been in the back of our minds for a little while – our current house was only ever meant to be a starter house. it wasn’t in perfect shape when we bought it (and had many a questionable design choice to spruce up), it didn’t have the space to grow into knowing that we wanted to start a family, and it didn’t check all the boxes. but we have loved it, we’ve taken care of it, we’ve updated it to our tastes and have made it home for the past few years.

all that being said, we saw a listing for another house the next neighborhood over that mutually peaked our interest and really seemed to tick all the boxes, though the price was just a smidge over budget. this prompted us to get in touch with our realtor, and ever since then I have had moving pressed very firmly in the front of mind. (if wondering, this house didn’t pan out. it seemed everyone wanted it).

recently, a house in our current neighborhood (which we do adore) came on the market. it again, peaked both of our interests. we went to the open house and of course it was stunning. the pictures were already gorgeous, and somehow it was even better in person. (should go without saying it too is a smidge over budget). while I don’t think this place is in reach, going to the open house did light a bit of a fire under my husband as well. ever so practical, he wasn’t quite sure about the idea of moving right now while I’m on parental leave, but yet. so we’re both in tune with the idea of moving soon-ish. there’s not necessarily an abundance of good homes in our area to pick and choose from.

here’s the rub, I really want to spend less and get a fixer upper. spending less = not increasing our monthly housing expenses too significantly so we can still have comfortable room for savings, discretionary spending, or admittedly, emergency spending if need be given fixer upper. depending on the house, we could also have that and a healthy reno budget. my husband (can I just introduce him? Casey, he is Casey going forward) would rather spend more to get a place that doesn’t need significant renovations and is move in ready barring some cosmetic updates. which really, isn’t a wild notion. I do think it could make moving sooner than later a bit more out of reach however because now we’re waiting for the one, versus a good enough one. neither of us are wrong. there are a lot of drawbacks to what I have in mind, we have young children which can be a full stop in and of itself. do we have the capacity to be taking on a reno even if the labour is outsourced? it does make a pretty significant transition even more grueling by dragging out the timeline until we’re comfortably living in the house. but also, spending more means potentially less capacity to maintain our current lifestyle, having our discretionary spending reduced can also have impacts on the transition in a similar way – maybe we aren’t able to utilize spaces to their full potential right away and don’t have the room in our budget to buy furnishings etc. that would make it feel like home.

all of that to say, I am diligently purchasing lottery tickets. so far I’ve got myself 3 free plays.

so Casey and I were discussing all this, and he rightfully questioned my level of confidence in me being able to tackle a fixer upper while on leave where my priority is taking care of our youngest son. I would need to squeeze in projects during naps which sounds okay on paper, but with a son who still isn’t sleeping through the night, sometimes just taking a beat to relax during those periods can be really lovely. not to mention the general maintenance of keeping up a house can really eat into free time as well. so the challenge is this, we need to fix up/clean up/spruce up however you want to label parts of our current house before we’re ready to list. the to do list is large and gnawing. Casey suggested that if I could tackle some of this list in my free time, he would be open to a fixer upper. it’s not a crazy proposition. my I have been talking out of my ass, so let’s find out together. there’s really no downside, if I can tackle the list, our house is that much closer to being ready to list, if I can’t then we know what we do and don’t have the capacity for at this time.

so let’s attempt it. the list in question:

• touch up paint on kitchen cabinets
• clean out laundry room
• clean out laundry room closet
• clean out basement
• paint basement
• clean out shed
• fix up basement exposed areas (leaving this for Casey or my dad)
• carpet stairs (leave this to the professionals, but I will get a quote)
• clean up gardens – front (done-ish! just needs mulch)
• clean up gardens – back (ugh)
• move storage items from basement out to shed
• fix up floor in foyer
• paint master bedroom
• stage basement as living space (rug needed, arrange furniture, hang pictures)
• paint main floor bathroom cabinet
• touch up foyer door paint
• trim trees (this is done! thanks to the pros)
• flooring under dishwasher (leaving this for Casey)
• ceiling paint touch up
• wall paint touch ups/ magic eraser
• outdoor front light fixed (I think it might just be a motion sensor lightbulb, is that a thing?)
• pot lights in living room fixed (definitely leaving for a pro, but can get quotes)
• general decluttering

big list? yes. but honestly this is the kind of work I purport to enjoy. so off we go.