Let’s get real for a minute. Moving into a new house is really, really exciting. But, it’s also a little overwhelming to figure out where to start. And, imagining that your house will one-day look put together and presentable to the outside world like it used to can feel really far away. Yeahhhh. So, here are a few questions to ask yourself to help you get started:

1. What do you need to do to make it livable? If there’s anything I’ve learned from all of our moves it’s that the best thing to start with is anything that can make your house more livable while you’re figuring out the rest. Or, anything that absolutely needs to be done to make daily life possible. For us, the major one was a washer and dryer. This house didn’t have one and there aren’t a lot of Laundromats here like in San Francisco so getting a set ASAP was a priority. Not being able to wash clothes is kind of a deal breaker for us. ;) Another thing that might not be as universally agreed upon as a washer and dryer is window coverings. This house also didn’t come with blinds, so all of our windows are bare. Buying blinds for the whole house is a bit of an investment and something we want to research more before we commit, so I needed something that could work in the mean time. We put up temporary curtains on all the important windows. They sure aren’t pretty, but I’m really weird about having something to cover the windows. Xan on the other hand could leave all the windows completely uncovered at all times of the day. He doesn’t care if people can see in, he doesn’t care about the sun in the mornings, and actually feels like he’s boxed in when the blinds are closed and thinks I’m kind of crazy. Luckily, he indulges my somewhat irrational need to have the windows covered. Phew!

2. What’s the easy stuff? What small things can you do to make the house more comfortable and more you? For me that included covering bare outlets or replacing some of the janky ones. And fixing all of the wobbly sinks. Those small things made a huge difference in my sanity. Even though there are still a lot things that need to get done I feel much better with those easy tweaks taken care of.

3. What’s the important stuff? What just really needs to get done? At our house it’s adding gutters to help prevent any water damage to the foundation and siding. But, because the house is so old it has settled a lot leaving us with some really wonky floors. We’ve been thinking about having the house leveled out. Did you know that was even possible?! I definitely didn’t. But, apparently some contractor can come out, put a jack under one corner a just lift it up. I mean, I’m sure it’s not quite that easy. Right? Anyway, If we do want to level the house we need to do it first thing. If not, we will start making new things level with the current wonky level of the house and then when it’s actually level all the new stuff would be crooked. Soooo, if we want to level the house it’s important that we do it first. That’s why we had a contractor come and take a look this past weekend. Though, we’re still deciding if it makes the most sense for us right now.

And that’s a wrap. My tips for a little more sanity in the middle of your chaos!