We are home.
We moved home two and half weeks ago and it is more fantastic then we ever imagined; both the house and the being home bit. Our house is so quiet now, thanks to all the double glazing and sound insulation in as many walls as we could manage. A balm to the soul after seven months of living in the non-stop hum of Carlton.
Everything is just slotting together so easily and effortlessly – well, effortless apart from the unpacking and cleaning and organising! But even with all that, day-to-day life is feeling so much smoother, like I don’t have to struggle and fight for every minute, to do any single thing. Since returning home, the washing machine has been running hot, and I am more up to date with our washing than I have been in well, forever. Or so it seems. Really just since Monsieur was born. I’m actually tackling all the bottom-of-the-washing-basket tasks. The sarongs which need separate washing just in case their colours run, the hand-wash only (read: gentle cycle) garments, the fragile, *really* hand wash only alpaca rug, the silk sari undergarment which has sat in the basket since *ahem* my baby shower – it’s not like I’ve had a desperate urge to wear the sari recently, so the top just never made it to the list of “you’re getting done next cycle” as there was always something more pressing, something which needed to be worn the next day. And in all this washing binge, not once have we lost the couch under a mound of clean, waiting-to-be-folded clothes. Nor have we had to move clothes horses around the living room, repositioning them according to which activity we wish to do – sit at the table or watch TV. Moving them outside for sun, cursing the rain when it comes. Re-doing a load because it took too long to dry (3 days) and smelled mouldy. Nope. None of that. Clothes go in to the laundry, get washed, dried, folded and put away. What is this strange new world?! Having a laundry is even MORE awesome than I thought it was going to be. And I was pretty darned excited about it before.
The kitchen is coming together, with nearly all the cupboards being completely rearranged. Our plan of just putting stuff in cupboards and organising later hit a snag when it came to the kitchen. There just wasn’t room to put all the new Tupperware without pulling out everything and rearranging it all. It has been fun though. I’ve started to get on top of things like shopping, cooking, preparing food. Our fridge is looking deliciously organised and I’m enjoying having a store of food on hand, knowing that it will last so it doesn’t matter if I don’t get around to eating it straight away. Tonight, we totally had someone over for dinner. It was our standard dinner of steamed veggies, but still, it is progress. I could count on half a hand the number of times this year we’ve had someone over for dinner and actually supplied a home cooked meal for them to eat, instead of pizza.
I am so relieved. I am feeling capable again, like I can totally do this stuff. Be a mum. Cook. Shop. Keep us all in clean (until breakfast,) clothes. Do the stuff that everyone else manages to do but I have struggled with. It is nice to see that it wasn’t all just excuses. A small part of me was worried that we would move in, we would have all the storage space and kitchen organisational tools and places to put things and I still wouldn’t manage. That I was just deep down messy, disorganised and incapable. Already areas of the house are staying tidy and organised, because I have places to put things. It’s great!
Obviously there’s still a way to go. Plenty of cupboards yet to be organised properly. More boxes to unpack – though as of today our living area is almost box-free, and we can see the entire table, not just the tiny, cleared corner where we’ve been having our meals for the past week. It’s work, but it’s enjoyable, satisfying work. As each little part of the house comes together, I feel just a bit more contented and relaxed and happy. I love our home so much I want to hug it! A great, big, squeezy bear hug. For the best house ever. I’m sure it feels the same, after all the TLC it has just received.
