Wednesday 13 April 2016

Send out a search party








I am lost in the hell that is my attic.  I cannot believe how much stuff is crammed into every corner, it is a nightmare!  I think attics should be banned, if I had to look at all our old stuff everyday, move it to clean, constantly trip over it etc, I'm sure I would decide that I really don't need to keep every bit of paper that my children draw on, all of their old school books, toys and clothes.  The drum kit and surf boards would have been ditched years ago, but while they are hiding in the attic they avoid the grim reaper.  I am drowning under a sea of boxes, if you don't hear from me for a while send out a search party, seriously I need help, I have fooled myself that I'm not that bad at hoarding but I confess......I am a hoarder.  Is there a cure?  I hate the thought of things going to landfill so have been trying to come up with creative ideas to divert a lot of the stuff elsewhere.  Old c.d.'s will make bird scarers, old clothes for quilts and rugs, a huge amount is going to a friends mother who raises funds for a wheelchair football group at car boots.  There is still an awful lot of stuff that unfortunately has to be taken to the dump, it is a timely reminder not to buy anything that cannot be disposed of in a 'green' way.

I am also in a flurry of chasing up solicitors, estate agents etc. to try to keep things moving.  What a palaver!  The house buying/selling business being as it is in England, there is nothing stopping someone coming along and offering more money on the house we hope to be buying, or our buyers pulling out.  It is a nerve wracking business and the further I can push the process along hopefully the less likelihood of this happening, though I get told horror stories of people pulling out within days of exchanging contracts.  Aaarrrgghhh!!!

I am so stressed that I am grinding my teeth even more than usual in my sleep (when I do manage to sleep) and have broken bits off two teeth.  I have been told that wearing a shield when I sleep would help but I'm worried that this would affect my already terrible sleep patterns.  Has anyone ever tried one?  Any advice would be most welcome, I don't want to shell out a load of money only to find I can't use it.  It hasn't helped that I have had redundancy looming over me....yes good timing hey....but was relieved to be told today that my job is safe.  I feel desperately sad for all the people who have lost their jobs.  Working in the Public Sector used to be a relatively safe profession, not any more!

Apologies that my blog is so boring at the moment, life seems to shrunk to work, housework and packing at the moment.  Hopefully in a few months I will have lots to share as I turn my hand to the country life.......I will be needing a lot of advice as I stumble my way through growing my own, looking after chickens and learning about the country that I will be surrounded by.  I will be getting used to strange sounds, smells and the dark again.  It is been a long time since we lived so close to nature, no streetlights, no local shops or walking into the city for a meal.  How our urban cat will cope with it I'm not sure.  I will also be exploring a whole new coastline, I have always headed to the north coast, in our new home (fingers, toes, legs and eyes crossed) the south coast will be nearer so lots of new beaches to walk.

I will leave you with some photos of a natural phenomenon that looks like something out of Dr Who.  Every now and then, conditions come together to form sea foam, it looks very weird, but is harmless.






                 





Love the wobble, it's a bit like jelly :)


Chickpea xx














46 comments:

  1. Hey Chickpea,
    Oh my goodness you really are to your eyes at the moment. I well remember our move to St Ives from Bristol nearly fifteen years ago. It was one of the most stressful periods of my life. The owners of our home to be kept dilly dallying (the wife really didn't want to leave her home), and instead of moving into our new home in August, we didn't get the keys until mid October. And even then it was right down to the wire, with an admin hiccup that meant I couldn't pick up the keys at the agreed time, and then keeping a very disgruntled removal firm waiting on our new doorstep for three hours!!!! I was seven months pregnant, with a four and a half year old. I finally walked through the door of our new home, and all that stress just fell away. As will yours, I'm sure. Imagine all those new adventures to come, lovely. AS for the attic; Marc and I will be tackling ours next month. Hoarders from hell here too ;)
    Hang on in there, my friend!
    Leanne xx

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    1. Thank you for your words of support Leanne, good luck with your attic!

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  2. House selling in the USA does sound a little more civilized as once you have signed the contract there is no reneging and is only contingent upon mortgage approval.

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    1. It really needs to be sorted out in England, far more stressful than it needs to be

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  3. My heart goes out to you, it is said that moving is the most stressful thing to do in your life. Hang on in there as it will all be worth it in the end when you walk into your new home and start your new country life. Take care.

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    1. Thank you, it will be a new country life with a few more grey hairs :)

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  4. I don't envy you but it will all be worth it in the end. I'm looking forward to reading all about your new adventures. X

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  5. I hope that very soon you will hear good news on the moving, it seems to be usual now for everything to be complicated.( You know how our move dragged on!) My sister is trying to move and thought the date would be during the first week of april but discovered this week that the solicitor acting for the people at the bottom of the chain had taken on so much work that he hadn't even sent out draft contracts! Like we were they are living surrounded by boxes and have had to re-arrange removal company etc etc. My fingers are crossed for you right now!

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    1. Thank you Sue, whenever I am moaning I think of how you got through it all, I don't really have much to stress about.

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  6. I saw your instagram post. The foam did look very wobbly. Why is it we feel the need to have so much stuff. Recently saw a TedTalk about that very thing. We've made a huge business out of the storage business so that we can keep stuff we don't use and doesn't even see the light of day. Doesn't make much sense. I need to do a thorough clean out around here but getting started is the hard part because I know the process won't be easy. I have a real problem also knowing that the crap goes to landfills. I live in a country that already creates a horrid amount of trash, lots of which you can see lining the streets and blowing in the wind. :/ Good luck with the move.

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  7. I see house moving as an opportunity for a good clear out. We should all do it every few years. I volunteer to tell you about chickens.

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    1. Thank you Anna, it's been many years since we had chickens

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  8. I know exactly what you mean about clutter. I don't particularly think of myself as a hoarder but I hate the thought of stuff going to landfill so it gets tricky knowing what to do with it all. And then I just avoid the decision by stuffing it in cupboards. We did clear out our loft a few years back though... It took all weekend and several trips to the dump! Fingers crossed the move goes smoothly.

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    1. Thanks Gina, hopefully less clutter next time with just the two of us

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  9. I am glad selling and buying is more straightforward in Scotland. Mind you, I have no plans of moving until it is time to retire to the South of France. I am not a hoarder but I still have a lot of stuff. I try to keep this to a minimum, children's memorabilia have to fit in one box (not one per child), etc. I am really bad with books, just can't give them away. We do a lot of freecycling, there might be a freecycle network near where you live. It is good for just about anything and you'd be surprised what people want. I am sending you some virtual energy to keep going. I am glad you still have your job, it is stressful not to know and it is stressful to be made redundant (I have been there). x

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    1. Yes I freecycled a lot of stuff last year including all our bikes. Thanks for the virtual energy I need it :)

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  10. Gumtree worked well for me, I managed to sell all sorts of things. People came to get things and gave me money! Good luck.:-)

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  11. Oh my dear I do feel for you. I hope everything comes through for you soon, fingers doubly crossed here xx

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    1. Thanks Jo, just wish it would all move faster!

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  12. Sounds like a tough time for you right now. Fingers crossed that all goes smoothly :)

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  13. hang in there it will be ok x freecycle is a good way to offload stuff. xxx

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  14. Sea foam like that is eerie stuff, I think!

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  15. There's a reason that house moving is up there on the stressful things to do list - I remember it all well. I'll cross everything that it all goes smoothly for you and I can't wait to see your new home and hear of your adventures. That sea foam is very weird isn't it? If you hadn't told us it was harmless, I would have assumed that it was due to some awful pollution. Good luck with the clearing. xx

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    1. Thank you, totally fed up with clearing now :)

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  16. Ah, you have just reminded me of the sorting / packing process I had to get through when we left our town house 4 years ago. $ YEARS AGO!!! Hectic!

    You certainly have a strange house sale process there. Here, if a house is liked, and an offer to purchase signed, with the seller signing acceptance, then that is it. The sale contract is rigid, and cannot be reneged upon. I would freak if the sale was revoked - both as a buyer and a seller.

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    1. I wish our system was like that, all sorts of dodgy behaviour could be avoided

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  17. Beautiful photos! I've never seen sea foam, I don't get to see the sea very often!

    I'm in the position as you at the moment and it's awful! We're first time buyers though so the whole process is new to us and we're learning as we go! We had an offer accepted on 14th March... now waiting on searches (no idea how long that'll take) but I'm really worried our sellers will change their mind or something as they love their house and thought long and hard before putting it up for sale. I'm wishing the weeks ago and desperately hoping nothing goes wrong! Hope everything goes ok with your house moving too.

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    1. I'm learning as well Louise, things seem to have changed since the last time we bought, and not for the better! I will keep everything crossed for you :)

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  18. Oh you have re-kindled memories of what I was doing two years ago, the attic was the first thing I tackled, so much junk never again, I hope we hear lots of good news soon :-)

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  19. Freecycle is another way of avoiding the dump - one persons trash is another person's treasure, and all that x

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    1. Freecycle is good, but I'm afraid there is just too much and not enough time :)

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  20. I use a night guard and sleep peacefully.
    Try one, and see if it helps?

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    1. Thanks Diana, good to hear from someone who uses one.

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  21. The Spanish system of buying and selling is good, you agree to buy and you have to put down a deposit, you want to pull out, you loose your deposit, the seller wants to pull out, he has to pay you double your deposit. it stops gazumping and time wasters.

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    1. That sounds a lot less stressful, at least you all know where you stand.

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  22. Hang in there Chickpea! I am going through similar stress trying to move from Kent to Cornwall! A friend recommended your blog - I love the photos and stories and it certainly helps to know I'm not the only one dealing with the traumas of buying and selling property. Hopefully we'll all end up with what we want. In the meantime, keep the photos and news coming :-)

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    1. I hope everything goes smoothly for you and you get down to Cornwall soon :)

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  23. Hi - visiting again after your comment on my blog. Seem to have got out of blog reading habit. Wanted to tell you of my expensive gum shield experience as I am also a teeth grinder and a bit of an insomniac. It cost nearly £200 and I hated it and yes it was even harder to sleep with it in. Eventually I managed to lose it. My advice is don't bother - spend money on something relaxing instead. All the best with your move.

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    1. Thanks Doris, I think at this stage anything that messes with my terrible sleep patterns needs to be avoided. It is a lot of money for something that may make other things worse!

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