Endings and Beginnings: the sale of our house

Post date: Sep 4, 2015 12:02:25 AM

This week marked a significant event: Mike and I signed the papers to finalize the sale of our house. We lived there for almost 15 years, moving in right after we got married on a sunny August afternoon in his mother’s front yard in 2000.

It was a big, comfortable house with enough room for us and our two young adults; Jon got the large bedroom suite upstairs, which was the envy of his classmates. He had his own bathroom, a large closet, and a big L-shaped bedroom, with a little back hallway for studying or hanging out. He was a senior in High School and fairly independent.

Mikki had the bedroom in the basement because she had graduated from Hawkeye and was going off to Luther College, so she wasn’t going to be home much. After Jon went off to Germany in the Army, his room became our guest room, so Mikki stayed upstairs longer than anyone.

Mike and I had the main floor bedroom, with green wall paper with little drawings of fish: in addition, the previous owners left behind three wooden fish hanging down from the ceiling. We put in a closet organizer, which I promptly filled, and like a good man, he used the closet in the bedroom next door, which became his office.

As you walked into the front door, there was a living room, complete with a fireplace and mantel. That room had our first small computer desk and PC for the kids to use, as well as a futon, a table with plants, and a few other small pieces of furniture. We also had a dining room and Mike bought me a beautiful hutch and my father gave me my grandma Nellie’s old antique dining room table and chairs.

The kitchen was large, and we loved it: lots of counter space, lots of cupboards, and a great view of the yard. We soon decided to knock down the small half wall between the dining room and kitchen, and that opened up the space even more. Later we replaced the counter tops, put in a tile backsplash, and tore out the awful indoor carpet, as well as replacing the lights, putting in ceiling fans.

We expanded the main floor bathroom, stealing a little space from Mike’s office, and put in a walk-in shower. We tore off the carpet throughout the first floor and discovered beautiful wood flooring, including parquet flooring in the entry way; it had been painted over a dark brown.

Off the kitchen we had a wonderful family room with lots of built-in bookshelves, an entertainment center, and a small built in bar with a fancy glass front shelving unit above that housed my family’s antique glassware. We loved that room, which also had a gas fireplace and mantel. I stored all of our family photo albums in the built-in book cases and on either side of the entertainment center there was a window bench with more storage.

We had a large back yard and even had a vegetable garden for a few years; we added a deck and then focused on getting a grill and furniture, planting hostas and putting in tree rings, organizing the garage and the basement, which had a large laundry room, big room with a bar counter, a nonstandard bedroom, bathroom, several walk-in closets and a furnace room with shelving.

At one point I had the basement office; I went back to graduate school and had started to teach online, so I was soon spending many hours in the basement where my main companion became Cleo, Mikki’s cat. After the kids left home, Mike decided it was time for me to move upstairs, so I took over the front living room area for my office and loved the large windows, fireplace and mantel.

Holidays were wonderful at our Woodstock House; it was a great neighborhood, only one block long but very family oriented. The fun began in the fall, with decorating houses for Trick and Treating: we sometimes had over 100 children show up for treats. Everyone had three little metal trees with strings of lights that we set out after Thanksgiving: at night, people drove up and down the street to admire the lights. The neighbors gathered first at one of the houses on the street and later at a downtown restaurant for a holiday cocktail party.

It was also a great house for family gatherings: as I sorted through pictures for Jane’s funeral, I was struck by how many we had of her at the house, where she loved to help us plant our early gardens, sit on the deck, or come to a family meal. Unfortunately, she did not get to see our new villa for herself, which makes me sad, but she loved the pictures.

At the point that we decided that we needed to move, almost two years ago, I was struck by how much stuff we had and what a herculean task it would be to declutter enough to move. After all, this was a three floor house with lots of closets, a large basement, and a garage full of tools, bikes, ladders, and all the stuff you need as a homeowner.

I worked for over a year with two helpers, Lynn and Kathy; it was very painful at first to sort through and decide what I could do without. I set up an account at Stuff, a local consignment store and started collecting cardboard boxes. Room by room, we worked. We got rid of books, dishes, clothes, records, furniture, holiday decorations, jars of old buttons, old jewelry, shoes, coats, etc. I sorted through my mom’s slides, with my sister’s help and went from 35+ boxes down to one tub with maybe half a dozen boxes that I will eventually scan in and digitize. I donated a slide projector and a movie projector to a local museum. I took lots of stuff to the free box outside of my office.

I gave things to family members; my daughter and I joked that her most recent trip, in May, was the first one where she had not gone home with a car full of stuff from mom. My son helped me haul furniture to Stuff, took a few things, and found people to take more things.

Mike got a new car and gave me his Tucson, a little SUV with seats that folded down; it was the perfect vehicle for my new passion. Week after week, I took furniture and tubs to Stuff: I also made trips to Goodwill. I gave things to a faculty yard sale raising money for charity. Slowly, I saw the rooms emptying and closets getting less cluttered. Then we began to pack up the house and staged it for photos.

We moved to our new Villa six months ago: the cardboard boxes are long gone and the shelving units in the garage hold a few tubs with holiday decorations and off season clothes. Some friends are still shocked that we did not have to get a storage unit, but we also have seven closets in the new place!

I spent the summer running to the old house to check on things, weed the yard, clean, and tear off wall paper in several rooms so they could be painted. I realized this week that I was worn out—not a great way to start off a new semester. However, the sale of the house didn’t feel real until I saw the SOLD sign and signed the papers.

Here is to the memories made in that house: to the family and friends who sat around the table enjoying a good meal, or sitting in the family room watching a movie or unwrapping presents, or in our home offices, working on a project. Here is to the wonderful man who gave me a space in his heart and life, and to my children and grandchildren. Let’s make new memories in our Villa!

Last updated September 3, 2015