Hi floddedgutted, I don't know if you're still reading this thread, but I took another look at the plan linked above and it strikes me as very impractical for a family with children. For example, there is no front hall closet and most important no mudroom. When kids come inside from the back yard, it looks like they would go straight into the living/dining room. And there's lots of wasted space on the 2nd floor (that big gaping hole, and a sun porch off the laundry room?) I don't mean to pick apart this plan and you might have moved on anyway. But when you look at house plans (or existing homes) I would urge you to think about how you live your every day life... What's the path you'd have to take to get from the car to the kitchen with bags of groceries? What's the path from the front door to the kitchen (where guests always congregate)? Where do kids dump their shoes, jackets, and backpacks when they come in the door? After working in the yard, where will you come and take off your dirty shoes, etc? Maybe I'm biased, but with 2 kids my entire remodel was based on the fact that I wanted a mudroom and was tired of all the shoes, sports gear and backpacks landing in the front hall or the kitchen. I think in a previous post you mentioned you have 4 kids, so you'll have twice as much stuff!

Find some things to do that you really love that you wouldn't necessarily do while your DH was around. My husband leaves every summer for the whole summer (6 months) and is out for up to a month at a time with no email or telephone contact. We see eachother about once every three months for a few days each time. It's not easy. There will be good days and terrible days. There will be days that you are so proud of all you've achieved on your own and days you feel you will feel overwhelmed by your aloneness. Lean on your friends and family. Get involved with a new project you simply wouldn't have the time to do if your husband were there with you. Take good care of yourself (this one's important). Though I hate it when my husband is gone, I have started to really love having my girlfriends over for dinner parties whenever I want, destroying the living room with arts and crafts projects (including the glitter my husband can't stand), and doing silly dance workout videos with no fear of teasing! Whatever you do, I think it's important to remain connected to your spouse. Be proud of your ability to maintain your life on your own. Try not to feel sorry for yourself. Do your best to stay positive during your interactions. Fighting, anger and resentment are pure poison. Let your spouse know that you miss him, but you are okay. Men worry about their wives and want to make sure we are safe and comfortable. Reassure him you are. Like I said, it's not easy. Though I'll admit to calling my mom on occasion and having a full-on cry fest, I'll also admit to having great moments of strength and accomplishment. Who knew fixing a toilet or installing a new light fixture could be so empowering! Hang in there and know he's doing this for you, he'll need support too. Share what help get you through the day and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

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!

Thank you Rosesstink. I think you are right about that. The more I do it, the easier it will become. I have to admit that it was much easier since I brought my iPod and listened to Dan Fogelberg all the way. His music soothes my soul and calms my heart. On the way back I couldn't get it to work until I left Des Moines. I couldn't believe that I missed that the Belkin thing wasn't completely plugged into the iPod! The rest of my trip home was much calmer. Wow! I'm Happy and I know It, I didn't realize we were both from eastern Iowa. That will always be home to me. We were not far enough north to be across from Dubuque, but plan on traveling further later this month if I get a chance to go. I have to work around our grandsons schedule and go on days he's with his mom two days in a row. Thank you Ellende. I was very happy that I made the trip too. It was good for all involved. Even my other cousins and bested friend were touched by my coming home for Jeannie. All who know her love her and were happy to see her so happy. I'm a changed person after seeing how strong she is in her day to day living with cancer and knowing her time is limited. Not that all our time isn't limited, but when your body is as ravaged by disease and chemo as hers, you know your limits are a lot closer than you'd like. Riosamba, thank you so much for the comment about the picture of us. I love it so much. Jeff took one of us in March too and it shows how that last round of chemo aged Jeannie. As happy as I was being with Jeannie, I think the picture taken recently shows a difference in me too. Those six months were pure hell worrying about her. Each time the phone rang and it was Jeff, I was afraid to answer. Now that I've seen her strength building since chemo has stopped I'm comforted in how better she feels. We tried to tell her, but with the help of chemo brain, (it really screws up ones thinking and memory) she thought stopping it was giving up. SheilaAus, thank you for checking in and commenting. I wasn't sure about posting more about Jeannie, as I didn't want to bore anyone with so many posts, but when I saw the thread about traveling, I thought I'd share. I'm glad I did.