An Illinois 'stead

[pa_friendly_guy]

Congrats, That is Great News.

[Myrth]

Yes it is good news. I try to live green. With my mega commute since I took this job my carbon footprint is HUGE. This move will allow me to resume trying to do my part in trying to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

This property has a smaller house than our current house, but there is room for family to come for visits. It isn't the tiny house that I have fantasized about, but it I think it is a greener choice.

It will mean downsizing. We will need to sell off or re-home much of our accumulated ... junk. I am dreading the work of the big purge, but if we can do it, it should be liberating.

There is plenty of room for a garden and orchard as well as livestock. We'll gain land compared with our current place. Oh the fun of planting that lies ahead!

It is not perfect, but close enough for me.

[pa_friendly_guy]

Mrth, it sounds wonderful. Holding out for the " Perfect " spot could take years, better to get moving a head with what you have. I am pleased for you. Lowering your carbon foot print is always a good thing for the planet. Down sizing is never easy. I am a Hoarder and Love my stuff. It makes me feel good to look at it. But do I NEED it, no, does it complete me, no, it is a hard bullet to bite, but you can do it. Much of the stuff in my basement has been there for low these many years not. I still have books from college that I have never looked at in 30 years, there is stuff from High School for goodness sakes, I keep them to trigger memories I guess. You will find that once you get started down sizing it will be easier than you think. It is amazing how little we actually Need to get by. Good Luck.

[Myrth]

We have too much stuff. I have previously purged an entire pick up truck load of books along with old clothes, un-needed furniture, etc. But my DH is less inclined to purge. My fear is that we move it all only to stuff it in the big barn. I really don't want to move it all! We shall see if a purge of junk really is possible!!

[pa_friendly_guy]

When I was 1st married we moved 5 times in 5 years. I understand about moving junk just to move it, lol. When we got to this place we had the time to actually unpack some of the boxes and try and put things away. We actually found a box of garbage that should have been thrown out at the 1st house but was somehow was closed up and moved with us 5 times. Five times I moved that box of sweepings from the floor and papers and garbage that should have been thrown away the 1st time. If you have not used it or needed it in 3 years its time to think about giving it a pitch,

[Myrth]

I am nervously awaiting the appraisal on the new homestead. Everyone else says it will be fine, but I am one to always think about worst case scenarios. It's an occupational hazard.

Meanwhile we have the current place listed. We've had one showing so far and another scheduled tomorrow. I would like to be able to start packing, but keeping the current house ready to show makes it difficult. I can't make messes!

After the closing, if all goes well, our first project will be fence building. While the place is partially fenced, it needs fencing between the barns and across the front for the animals.

[boo]

Hang in there Myrth - it will be wonderful when everything is sorted and you can play in the garden

[Myrth]

Tentatively, we have a closing this coming week. The house appraised as it needed to. And it passed inspection.

But the well failed its test due to bacteria. The seller wanted to just shock it with chlorine. I pointed out that wells with above ground cement caps are no longer allowed to be installed because of contamination issues. We ended up agreeing on a solution, though, and we will need to install a filtration system after closing. We are considering a UV light filter and a RO filter for drinking water.

We have been out pricing fence materials. I am feeling a little overwhelmed by the scope of our upcoming projects! But we can do it. One step at a time.

[matt walker]

I'm happy to hear that it's moving forward. I have a UV filter on a surface water source, and I've been fairly happy with it. It still may be a good idea to shock it once in a while if there is a lot of activity in the water. Certainly shock the system downstream of the new filters before you start using it. The house plumbing and all that.

[Myrth]

Yes it has been shocked so it can pass the pre-sale test. Glad to hear you have had good experience with a UV filter. I previously had a well chlorinator and an RO to remove the chlorine and other contaminants. I never liked the chlorinator though. So this time I am leaning towards the UV. Thanks for the input.