Move-In Recap: The Finale

Sep 5

This morning i’m working on a big organization project in the garage. Yep, it’s a messy job that requires a garage location. Can’t wait to share soon! So I thought today I’d share the final move-in recap post. If you missed the two previous installments, here’s the first and second.
At this point of move-in, I had 1.5 days to unpack as much kid-related stuff as possible before my little people pulled into their new home. Anything kid-related had to be unpacked because school didn’t begin for another 2.5 weeks. Which meant I needed activities and toys to keep them busy around the house for a while. I had all day Saturday and part of Sunday. Knowing this limited amount of time, I buckled down, asked family and friends to give me a break, turned on the coffee pot and blasted my music.
Did I mention these were the first 3 boxes I clawed through the house to locate?….
Yes. The coffee maker. The wine opener. My Bose stereo. All 3 a must-have in order to function daily unpack a home.
And did I ever need the motivation (and caffeine) in the playroom! I spent a good amount of time Friday tearing through boxes and sorting items for keep / donate. This is where I started on Saturday morning…

The toys you see are those that made the initial cut. The quantity has since changed as more items have been donated. And even more will make their way out of the house after a new wall system arrives in a few weeks. Really excited to share a playroom update later this month!

I spent Saturday morning sorting through and organizing the toys…

 

 

While sorting, I ran wash/dry loads of couch slipcovers…

 

Here was the final set-up by the end of Saturday morning. The green circus tent shelving contains arts, crafts and games – anything the kids need to ask to play with (think small pieces, play-doh, etc)…

 

 

 

 

The mesh bins survived the move, but many are now mis-shapen due to packing. Boo…

 

No, the playroom didn’t look this tidy for long after the kids arrived!
After the playroom was set-up, I tackled all 3 kid rooms. Son #1…

Those are lego’s tucked back on the far right. We are so re-organizing those!…

 

The room of son #2…

 

His room has changed quite a bit already. His bunk bed went up last weekend.
And finally the girlie’s room…

 

 

 

 

Keep in mind, this was mom’s initial set-up. The rooms have changed a bit since and will continue to evolve as the kids each put their own fingerprint on the space. Already have some fun ideas in the works!
Once the kid’s spaces were completed, time to tackle the kitchen…

 

 

Watch your head, knees and elbows…

By Saturday night, most of the kitchen was unpacked. A lot of my kitchen is on garage shelving. Where it will live until the kitchen remodel.

Sunday I tore into part of the living room…

 

 

Set up the patio table on the screened-in porch…

 

 

 

 

In case you’ve been reading a while and wondered where the rest of the patio set landed? It’s right here on the front porch…

As I waited for my people to pull in, I tried to create a little order out of the garage chaos…

 

No, you can’t walk back into that far right corner yet. Yes, I get itchy and start shaking a lot little when I walk out here each day. But I know exactly what’s back there and exactly where it’s going. More on that soon!

Far left side has looked like this off and on since move-in. The packing material is never-ending. The day I don’t see a cardboard box or piece of packing material in this house is the day I open that $100 bottle of wine I’ve been hiding away for months….

Then came the moment I had been waiting for. The moment I dreamt of for weeks. The moment I dreamt about when we purchased the house and could envision the kids living here and loving it. This…

 

 

They made a b-line to the swing set. Who couldn’t predict that! Then they made their way through the house to find their rooms and beloved toys that had been packed away for months and months…

This is all the payment I’ll ever need for months and months of debating over paint, carpet colors, working with contractors, crunching numbers to make the messy jobs happen before move-in, dealing with packing and unpacking, movers, dirt, dust, pool renovations and more. This little thumbs up and happy cat is more than enough payment…

Are there still a few boxes around the house? Yes, but only in the guest room, which is my staging area for wall hangings and random decor…

 

And a few remaining boxes in the garage. But more importantly, the move-in process is pretty much a wrap. I can’t be happier to have this phase behind me.

Although I’ve been back home in california for a full month now, I haven’t left Arkansas behind. There’s a lot to miss about living there. That’s a post I’ve been composing for months and one I’ll share someday. Just when I think that post is complete and ready to be shared, my memory is jogged and I add something else. There was simply too much to love about living there. Too much!

Thank you, always, for reading along on this journey. Now I live in the house, get a feel for how life flows inside these four walls, and dig in to set up those organization systems. I’ve started thinking about the kitchen remodel and have a loooooong list of projects to tackle. Can’t wait to share it all!

comments +

  1. Pam says:

    Love the house and can't wait to see what you do to it. Can you tell me where you got the bed / sheet set for Boy #2. My son would love that. He is so into planes right now. Thanks.

    • hi pam!

      i purchased that set for my oldest son several years ago – when he moved from the crib to a big boy bed. hard to believe, that happened almost 7 years ago! 🙁 they grow so quickly!

      anyway, i purchased the set from pottery barn kids. and i'd offer it to you but my 7 year old LOVES the set b/c he's an airplane fanatic. 🙂

      i just looked on the PBK website and it appears they don't have this set, but they have a few other airplane options. great quality b/c as I said we have had the set for 7 years and it's made it through 2 boys and still looks great!

      best,
      sam

  2. Gates 8105 says:

    I am exhausted….

  3. Melissa says:

    Wow! What an accomplishment! Two thumbs up for getting so much unpacked before the family arrived. I'm definitely looking forward to the kitchen remodel 🙂

  4. Mamarazzi says:

    Looking forward to see how you decorate the new place.

    In son#2 bedroom, where did you get the red nightstand?
    I love it!

    • hi!

      thank you!

      the red nightstand was purchased from a small, locally owned furniture shop in little rock, arkansas. where we used to live. it's called "kids furniture". i love it! you buy pieces you like and then chose the paint color. all of the pieces are handmade and cost much less than PBK. 🙂

      if you'd like, i'm sure you could contact them and order for shipment to you. ???

      thanks!
      samantha 🙂

  5. Shannon says:

    Hello! Found you while researching organization ideas. I've been having fun following your new-house journey.
    For the play room couches, did the slip covers come with the couches? If not, where did you get them. Love that they have a taylored bottom, rather than ruffles.
    Thanks!!!!

    • hi!

      thank you so much for following along on the journey!

      yes, the slipcovers came with this couch when i purchased it. i purchased the set more than 10 years ago from a store in san mateo, calif called "house of values". i was thinking about contacting them soon to order a new set of slipcovers b/c the light tan is faded in a few areas. i'm hoping they still carry this model couch!

      thank you!
      samantha 🙂

  6. […] are awesome at containing the toys and keeping them organized in their various categories. And they fit perfectly into the 2 built-in shelving units in the playroom. but the issues with that system in this […]

I'd Love To Hear From You!

DESIGN BY TONIC SITE SHOP

|

terms of service & privacy policy

|

© 2022 Samantha Pregenzer LLC |
Bay Area, California