Once we decided we weren't moving, small things became more important to fix.

Once we decided we weren't moving, small things became more important to fix.

It's amazing how easy it is to lapse into the idea the next owner will do make changes. We built the house but there were some small things that had bothered us from the start. Luckily we're healthy enough that we can do some of this stuff ourselves but it's so easy to fall back into old habits. Moving? Get rid of PS3 race chair and a bunch of stuff - including the aluminum boat that hasn't been in the water for over a decade. Now that we're not moving the boat is hanging out in the garage and it's not a priority to move out of the garage-oh well.

We let the custom home thing play with our heads. If we were going to make changes it was go big or go home. I'd say laminate floors Fred said no hardwood and we may as well do granite counters. I'm way too cheap to do that. Finally we let the house get shabby and we only recognized how badly when we put it up for sale and went looking at other homes. Ones like ours were pretty well immediately on the meh list. No nibbles in a buyers market - no wonder.

One thing that was annoying from day one was our blueprints said door swung in yet a garden door (swing out) was installed. So constant bashing against the rail, no storm door installation because of latches and just all around impractical. Now we're finally getting the door replaced and installing the storm doors ourselves. Open doors in the summer to let the breeze through and the storm door in the winter to prevent icing from letting the dogs out.

Our neighbours extended their deck to create an outside living area. Really nice but...great view into our bathroom. This has been a bug for Fred so I'm finally installing some of the privacy film on the windows. Just need to get the guts to actually cut;)

And finally the basement fireplace. We haven't been able to use it since Fred put a speaker next to it. Basement is warm enough so out it comes. Fred is doing that as a winter project. Then he'll combine all the sound systems and repurpose the 2 channel listening area, maybe a games table with a floating electric fireplace. I also replaced my desk (only 5 years overdue) since we had to move stuff around for the new floor anyway. We'll each have spaces we're happy with for those long-g-g winter months.

It's easier to understand now how retirees get into the renovation money pit. As I said, it's lucky we're young enough to make this stuff doable projects rather than having to always hire - although we are willing to hire expertise. Luckily we did our custom home as soon as we could afford it. We did choose a plan that we could grow old in and did a test run when I was on crutches for a couple months. I would still love to take out the tub under the window and put in an extra large shower. OTOH small shower keeps us motivated to stay slimmer;)