Almost there!

**Originally written April 18, 2015**
We received word yesterday afternoon that we have officially been sent to underwriting! I still can't quite wrap my head around the idea that this is actually happening. I'm sure the underwriter will ask for more paperwork but it looks like we are on track for closing in three weeks. While the move does complicate several things, like giving birth, we are all super excited about the property and the potential.

Our newest hurdle is packing and, of course, moving. Coordinating a move with five adults total is simultaneously fun and nerve-wracking. We are combining two and a half households - half is Jason's since he has already moved in with Cat & Alex and they have already started this process - and we have a ton of stuff to show for it! I'm actually a little nervous about how much stuff we all have collectively. Moving provides a great time to purge unwanted items and that is exactly what Lance and I have been focusing on for the past two weeks. We are becoming best friends with donation centers, Freecycle, and Craigslist.

One of the things that I am exceptionally grateful for (and excited about) is being allowed to use my Type-A, control freak, organizer super powers for good. Organizationally speaking, here is what we're doing to help minimize the chaos of moving:

- Color-coded rooms. Each room has a color that is assigned to it. Before we move in, we will label each room with it's specific color and will place colored arrows pointing in the direction of said room at intersections. The house isn't huge but it does have a fairly awkward layout so the arrows (and possibly a large map in the entrance) will be very helpful for movers.

- Cleaning before we move in. Our closing date is on a Friday so we will have the weekend to clean the house thoroughly before we actually move. The house has been uninhabited for two years and, even though it's been meticulously cared for, still has some areas that need special attention (I'm looking at you, water damage in the nursery!). We will also use this time to make immediate renovations: adding a door that separates the upstairs and downstairs, repairing the parquet flooring in the rooms where that is necessary, adding in screens to windows where necessary.

- We are not all moving in at the same time. However, we are all UNPACKING at the same time. It was really important to me that we all be present when we decide where things should go. Some places in the house, like the kitchen to me and Alex, are more important than others, like the garage for Lance and Jason. Alex is over 6 feet tall, I'm a little over 5 feet tall and we are moving into a house with a galley style kitchen. Since we both love to cook, it makes sense that we unpack the kitchen together so he doesn't put the cheese grater* on top of the refrigerator and I don't put it under the counter on the lowest shelf. To help minimize traffic chaos, our moving trucks will not be arriving at the same time - possibly not even the same day. We have no idea who is "going first" but it ultimately doesn't matter since we are all unpacking the house at the same time.
(*Insert any useful kitchen item you can think of)

- We have all agreed that furniture, etc is being initially placed and will be trial and error. For example, Lance and I have a couch that is GINORMOUS. Seriously though, I don't know why we thought being able to seat 12 was important. With the way that the house is laid out, we may not be able to fit the entire couch anywhere else. The couch, however, can be split into two sections - even if it looks funny - so we can divide it if need be. Initially, the couch will go in the library. If the couch doesn't really feel right to us in the library, we can split and move it. This is going to be true for probably 95% of our furniture in communal space. We will all need to be flexible and work together to figure out what works for all of us.

As we move forward, we will keep you all posted! We are so excited to start this new chapter in our lives!