So things are going to be a bit different around here. He'll be in Champaign all week working while I'm here. And then he'll be home on the weekends. We did this about 15 years ago - only in the opposite direction. Then, I was down in the Champaign area, and he was spending his weeks up here working. Back then I had two little kids, too. So this will be easier, right?
Jeffrey is staying in a hotel this week, and then he'll go and sign a short-term lease on an apartment somewhere near the end of the week and be able to move into the apartment next Sunday when he goes back. He was thinking of staying in an extended-stay hotel - and he got a decent rate on that at $40/night - but by getting an apartment he'll be able to stay there for 4 months and only spend about as much as he would have for 2 months in the hotel.
First he's going to be taking stuff for the apartment - which, by the way, is directly across the street from where he'll be working and also the same apartment complex we used to live in way back when we were first married and when both kids were born. We have plenty of 'extra' stuff around here so he shouldn't need to buy anything to furnish an apartment. It might not be perfect, but it will do. He's already got a bed, dresser, futon, tv stand, coffee table, and more loaded into the trailer. Getting some of the stuff out of the house is hopefully helping it to look better when people come to look at it, so that's another benefit.
After he gets moved into the apartment, we'll start loading the trailer with all kinds of other stuff - from the basement, the garage, the shed, etc. - and he'll rent a storage unit to store it all down there. And we'll be getting rid of stuff as we go. We have already - donated to Goodwill, recycled, thrown away - and I'm sure we'll do more of that, too, but there's still a lot of stuff that needs to be moved - and he's going that way anyway! I just have to stay busy and pack things up so he'll have a trailer-full to move, if not every week, at least every other week.
This week I've got to pack him up all the little things he's going to need in the apartment, like dishes, pots & pans, towels, etc. Getting some of the dishes and stuff out of cabinets, closets and drawers is also going to help them all look better here, and even though I really do use most of the stuff in my kitchen, I really can make do with less for a while. I really need to make a list! I already got him some sheets, blankets and a comforter for the bed, and a shower curtain, and some other things as I thought of them, but I'm really going to have to get organized and make sure I get all the important things packed up. I'll also be packing and cooking him some food and meals, so he won't have to go out all the time. And so I can start cleaning out the freezer and the pantry - so we don't just have to pack it all up and move it when the time comes. Yes, he could go shopping for all the basics, but we might as well take it out of what we already have. This week I just sent him some sandwiches, cheese & crackers, boiled eggs, and stuff like that because he just has a mini fridge in the hotel room and no way to cook anything. Next week he'll have a stove. And the microwave from the basement - the one we got when we were first married, the one we had when we lived in that same apartment complex. And a whole apartment.
And you wonder why I don't have time to blog...
