Long distance architect
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7 years ago
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7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoRelated Discussions
Decluttering for selling home and long distance move
Comments (28)We moved in June. We were moving into an apt. because our house wasn't ready, so we couldn't take too much. The cost wasn't a factor for us since it was a job-related move. We knew we had a lot of stuff that needed to go even if we didn't have to pay to move it. We just didn't want to have to deal with it again. We didn't even attempt a yard sale. I did put a few things in boxes to try to sell on Ebay. Guess what? I haven't gotten around to that yet. I only have about five small boxes, though, & hope to do that around the first of the year. We filled a dumpster with junk & donated a a lot to charity. They sent a large panel truck to pick it up & it basically filled it. My tastes have been changing over the past few years to a cleaner, less cluttered look. I love the cottage look & wanted to have something similar in my new home, but not quite so fussy. I was able to get rid of a lot of things just because I knew they wouldn't work with what I wanted. Julie mentioned decorative items & knick-knacks. That was a difficult one for me. Although I knew I wanted a less cluttered look, I still had a hard time letting go of a lot of decorative things. We'll go through the boxes again when we move & will probably gid rid of more stuff. Some major things we were able to get rid of: Tupperware: I had too much & it was all odd sizes & shapes that didn't stack. Plus part of it was missing lids. We kept only a fraction of it that we actually use. Pots & pans: We had bought a new set about a year before the move, but still had some odd pieces that we didn't use. Small appliance: We had some things like a sandwich maker & baked potato maker. They were gifts, but we never used them. The George Foreman does double duty making grilled sandwiches & the microwave works for baked potatoes. Out they went. Clothes: We kept a few too-small pieces. I kept more than DH, as I have some classic things that I love that I've outgrown in the past couple of years. Anything that looked really dated or frumpy went even if it fit. We also got rid of our worst "around the house" clothes. How many stained t-shirts do you really need for cleaning? Books & magazines: We got rid of a lot. We only kept reference type books & a few hardbacks by DH's favorite authors. We got rid of almost all magazines. I kept a few for reference for the house. We don't really buy DVD's except exercise & a couple of movies, so those stayed. If we'd had a big collection it would've been thinned. CD's & DVD's: We use iTunes & have the device hooked up so we can play our music wirelessly thorough the stereo. We ripped all CD's to digital format & stored the originals in one box. An even better thing is that now I don't have to arrange storage for those CD's in the new house. I think this is one of the best clutter-busters I've even seen, even better than one of the large CD changers. CD's take up so much space in most people's living rooms. We only have a few DVD's because we don't really buy them (usually rent movies), so all stayed. If we'd had a large collection we would have thinned it. Linens: We tossed anything really ratty. Paperwork: This has always been a problem area for me. We purged a lot of old paperwork that we didn't need. A shredder was an excellent investment. Electronics & computer stuff: DH is a programmer. We had all sort of software, as well as various cables from purchases like DVD players. He kept only what we'd need to hook everything up in the apt. & then in the new house. Hobby/craft supplies: I like to work with silk flowers, making wreaths & arrangements. I had accumulated way too many flowers, in large part because of not saying "no" to donations from my sister. I purged a lot of that. I also purged quite a bit of old fabric that I'd been keeping to practice sewing. A lot of this again was due to donations from my sister. When she cleaned out her stash, she offer me what she didn't want. I won't fall into that again unless it's something exceptional. Tools: We kept the majority of them. We kept the majority of our furniture, but only until we move into the house. We were planning to buy new family room furniture before we moved, so we moved what we had & will buy once we're in the house. Good luck!...See Morewe are making a long distance move from southern Illinois to New Hamp
Comments (3)Don't know if you still need advise but I've moved many times including cross country and what has worked for me is using the AFB pods. You pack your own belongings and put it in the pod or there are companies now, from my understanding, that you hire and they will do the packing and unpacking for you. Otherwise you will need to find yourself a National firm as they can cross state lines, as local ones stay local. You just need to figure out how much of a full service you want and need and then start dialing away. Advise? Evaluate what you are wanting to move will really have a home in your new home. Many people move with everything and only find that they don't have the space for it or it doesn't really go with the style of their new home. And then they regret that they paid big bucks to move all of it. Good luck and New Hampshire is beautiful. Enjoy your new home....See MoreHow long does it take an architect to design a house?
Comments (15)It sounds like you're not on the same page with your Architect if you keep revising. For speculative builds where the developer/owner isn't as emotionally invested, I'm getting full sets with structural engineering out in 6-8 weeks. This is usually a quick schematic review, more thorough design development review and a 95% submission in case I missed anything small they wanted to include before I seal and deliver. For owner-occupied custom designs, most of my jobs for the last few years have been 6-12 months. A couple of rare ones that clocked in at 3-4 months because I just got lucky and really clicked with the clients. For me, it's a vastly different process than throwing "a set of plans" together, and for people who are making significant emotional and financial investments in a project, I don't think it can be done well in the same timeframe as the speculative I mentioned earlier. I also have a pretty strict "no internet plans" policy, so a good amount of time gets spent learning about people and what they want and need versus just hunched over drawing. I am up front about my timelines at the beginning, but if I say revisions will be delivered by a date, they'll be there. It's easy for me though as I work alone and only depend on me to hit those deadlines - I do empathize for some other independent operators who have staff because many I know are struggling to hire and keep staff and the turnover can really wreak havoc on schedules. Doesn't let a competent professional off the hook, but just trying to provide some insight. For context, I'm in SATX but have active projects in D/FW, Houston and Austin too. Hope this helps somehow. Good luck!...See MoreSoapstone long distance/DIY
Comments (41)Yeah, we first started down the soapstone road in 2009, when we lived in a different home. That’s when we put down the deposit…Which was for different slabs. Then I got sick, and several years went by, before, finally, the 8th doctor figured out what was wrong. When we sold that home (a necessity for my health) in 2015, we went back to Teixeira with the new kitchen plan, and selected a different slab. At that point, $900.00 is all that was owed. While we don’t have to use trivets, we still do…most of the time. Just force of habit from years past. And, we do use a drying mat for hand washables, like good knives, wooden spoons, and most pots and pans…to absorb the excess water. It’s a thickish, two sided fabric mat in black, so it blends in with the counter. It was inexpensive, and purchased from Amazon. One of the nice things about soapstone, compared to granite, quartzite, and the manmade ”quartz”, is it never feels cold. Not even in the depths of our North Eastern winters....See MoreUser
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7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoMark Bischak, Architect
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