I’ve learned a lot this last week while moving into the new place. Here are a few of them.
- Buy a tool belt. It’s the best $17.99 I spent last week
- Home Depot is your friend. Know someone moving into a new house? Get them a Home Depot gift card. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
- Budget at least an hour a day for Home Depot trips
- Add an extra hour to that allottment if you need them to do anything complex…like talk to you.
- If it’s winter, make sure you have some salt on hand. Salt is your friend because it is the enemy of ice. Ice is your enemy, and the enemy of your enemy is your friend.
- Moisture is the enemy of new homes. Fear the humidity. Respect the Hygrometer.
- When you’re an apartment dweller all your life, there are certain home necessities you won’t own. Shovels, brooms, and garbage cans are all necessary.
- Hiring someone to finish your phone/cable/internet jacks is smart
- When measuring for blinds, allow an extra 1/4-1/2 inch for the brackets
- When it comes to drills, 6.5 volts isn’t enough to get the job done. You need 12-14 volts minimum. 18 volts is too much drill for screwing.
- New homes have no personality, they’re just beige boxes. Don’t get depressed, think of that beige box as a blank canvas.
- When you’re an apartment dweller all your life, your first home will be empty. Very empty.
- Don’t try to do too much at once.
All of our stuff is in the house, we’ve started unpacking, and we’re done a good amount of stuff. I’ve got all my blinds cut to size, and now I’m just finishing installing them. I think I broke my baby toe the other night, and I’ve got enough bruises on me that it looks like I went three rounds with a pre-jail Mike Tyson. We’ve had cable since last Thursday, but still don’t have phone.