The Nice People Thread, No.16: A Universe of Niceness.

Pyxis

LydiaJ wrote: »

Sounds grim. Glad they got in in the end. Hope they're able to sort his flat out in time. Don't overdo things helping with that and wreck any more of your mobility.

Wot she ^^^^^^ said.

I know it's an expense, but in the circumstances, and to save any more stress, perhaps getting a man with a van large enough to do the whole thing in one move on one day would be justified?

SingleSue

Too late, already wrecked!

I said to Josh last night they would have been better off getting a man with a van and getting everything over in one go but I suppose it was expensive enough with all the upfront costs etc that they thought they could do it fairly easily with a few trips with a large car.

I was trying very hard not to do a mother in law thing of helpfully suggesting where they could be maximising their time and trips, if it was us, we would have been constantly going between the two flats just to get things out and over to the new place whilst having someone at both ends sorting and packing/unpacking but I think scraping her dad's car upset her (as it would me!) and she needed time to settle herself again before getting back in the car and getting more things.

None of it was helped by the traffic, Ipswich may not be a city (yet) but it has city levels of traffic at rush hour and James' old flat is right in the centre on a very annoying one way system.

That said, at least the largest item was brought over, the bed. It's just the rest of James' crap (his clothes mainly - he has loads and loads) that still need to moved and then clean up ready for check out early next week.

PasturesNew

LydiaJ wrote: »

South facing master bedroom, no

.

I'm a big fan of east facing, so you get the early morning sun and are awake/up in the summer. There's something nice about stepping outside as the sun's rising between 4am and 6am, before the world's started. Just standing there and listening to the silence... followed by the slowly building traffic after 6am.

My full wish list would have: Garage alongside, drive for 2-3, good sized storm porch or at least a canopy over; utility, downstairs loo, living room at least 14'x15', wide breakfast bar, conservatory, covered outside area over patio, en-suite. S/SW garden. Modernish, say <10-15 years.

Not on a road corner, not alongside a footpath or pedestrian area, not near big trees.

PasturesNew

With houses and storage, especially when houses are "smaller" you have to work out if stuff will fit. A single person is as likely to have "most stuff" as a family of 6 as "the usual" is still required.

When looking round the place I saw, it's a bungalow, so no "under stairs glory hole" and no top landing storage cupboard/airing cupboard.

There is a very wide, full height, 2-door cupboard in the hallway - and at first you think "Ah, vacuum would go there" ... and you envisage a large space. Then you realise everything else would need to go in too ... spare lightbulbs, spare loo rolls, cordless drill, cordless screwdriver, small tools, shopping trolley, clothes airers, pegs, washing basket, dustpan/brush, indoor ladder .... and the list keeps growing .... where will towels go, spare linens, spare teatowels ... and (as the kitchen is small) excess kitchen equipment/food that won't fit in the cupboards but came home with you ... xmas tree, xmas decorations, lights, baubles, giftwrap/cards .... camping equipment, camp bed, blow up lilo .... and hobby stuff... beach stuff (little tent, windbreak, beach towel) .... sun lounger, folding chair ....

That's why a 3rd bedroom would be handy ... because that's just the start of "stuff" There's all the paperwork and a filing cabinet too...

There is also a small shed in the garden, lawnmower sized, half the size of my current shed (would need another shed).... so what's in that? Bike, lawnmower, spare flexitubs, decorating equipment, a small amount of hobby stuff, garden tools/loppers/choppers, brooms and brushes, a pop up thing for weeds, 2 new weed bags, extending window pole, hosepipe, lawnmower, parasol base (binned the parasol and am binning the table/chairs as they almost come apart in your hands and are too big)... The current shed is "full", but you can get to everything by moving just 1-2 things max).

The more I think, the more I remember things!

Pyxis

SingleSue wrote: »

Too late, already wrecked!

I said to Josh last night they would have been better off getting a man with a van and getting everything over in one go but I suppose it was expensive enough with all the upfront costs etc that they thought they could do it fairly easily with a few trips with a large car.

I was trying very hard not to do a mother in law thing of helpfully suggesting where they could be maximising their time and trips, if it was us, we would have been constantly going between the two flats just to get things out and over to the new place whilst having someone at both ends sorting and packing/unpacking but I think scraping her dad's car upset her (as it would me!) and she needed time to settle herself again before getting back in the car and getting more things.

None of it was helped by the traffic, Ipswich may not be a city (yet) but it has city levels of traffic at rush hour and James' old flat is right in the centre on a very annoying one way system.

That said, at least the largest item was brought over, the bed. It's just the rest of James' crap (his clothes mainly - he has loads and loads) that still need to moved and then clean up ready for check out early next week.

It's a bit late now, then, but the other consideration is the cost of the petrol used by multiple cars doing multiple trips, especially in rush-hour situations.
Hidden costs like that tend to get overlooked.
Commiserations over the scratched car. as that just bumps the costs up to a different level. :A





My wish list for a house, as well as a garage, (preferably a double-ish one, so that there's room for stuff as well!) would include a light and airy room with French windows opening onto the garden, a room big enough to have a baby grand piano in front of the French windows.
Sigh.

Would also love a utility room.

If I was going to go really bonkers with money, (:D), a large entrance hall with a wide staircase that doglegs would be yummy!

What would probably fit all those bills would be a detached Arts and Crafts house!
Either that, or an ultramodern one!
Sigh.


Keep doing the lottery, Pyxis, and don't sell the preminum bombs!

PasturesNew

Here, for the first time ever, I've had the enjoyment of a 1½ bowl sink.... that's been invaluable to those quick rinse outs and tipping things away. I'll miss that.

I use the half bit 50% of the time for a variety of sink jobs not suitable for using the full sink.

e.g. if the SC is in soak and full of water/debris, it's easy to lift that up and tip it down the half sink side.... or if I've a whole raft of washing up in the bowl and simply want to rinse out my mug to make another coffee. Or if the sink's got washing up in and I've just emptied a can of beans I need to rinse that can out to go into recycling.

PasturesNew

Pyxis wrote: »

My wish list for a house, as well as a garage, (preferably a double-ish one, so that there's room for stuff as well!) would include a light and airy room with French windows opening onto the garden, a room big enough to have a baby grand piano in front of the French windows.
Sigh.

Would also love a utility room.

If I was going to go really bonkers with money, (:D), a large entrance hall with a wide staircase that doglegs would be yummy!

What would probably fit all those bills would be a detached Arts and Crafts house!
Either that, or an ultramodern one!
Sigh.


Keep doing the lottery, Pyxis, and don't sell the preminum bombs!

What've you got now?

PasturesNew

When I moved into here I got a man and a van, quote was £60. Distance was 2 miles, parking right outside door at both ends, flat approach.

A man and gf turned up - packing, driving, unpacking, took about 2-2½ hours.

By the price they either "fitted it in handily" so it was just extra money that day ... or they underestimated the time and assumed it'd take them an hour.

I put in the job on some van quote website and saw what prices I got back.

For my next move I've now "more furniture" - and more stuff ... so I plan on going with a "proper firm" so to speak.

GDB2222

PasturesNew wrote: »

When I moved into here I got a man and a van, quote was £60. Distance was 2 miles, parking right outside door at both ends, flat approach.

A man and gf turned up - packing, driving, unpacking, took about 2-2½ hours.

By the price they either "fitted it in handily" so it was just extra money that day ... or they underestimated the time and assumed it'd take them an hour.

I put in the job on some van quote website and saw what prices I got back.

For my next move I've now "more furniture" - and more stuff ... so I plan on going with a "proper firm" so to speak.

I'd get the man and his gf to quote again. They sound v cheap.

chris_m

PasturesNew wrote: »

For my next move I've now "more furniture" - and more stuff ... so I plan on going with a "proper firm" so to speak.

Even so, it should be cheaper than mine was - £2700 for a team of two/three men (three to load, two to unload) and a big wagon to move all my stuff from Southampton to South Cumbria, excluding the stuff I brought myself in several car trips.