Countdown! When is Moving Out Not Really Moving Out?

Little did I realize, when I told you last week we had vacated the Florida house, that the vacating process would take this long. . .

We moved out, with our suitcases, dogs and laptops, one week ago. The estate sale happened on February 18. Somehow, I had visions of walking back in after the sale was over to find a completely empty house. That’s what happened when we held an estate sale after my Mom died last year, after all.

Wrong.

The company we hired managed to sell a lot of stuff. There’s also a fair amount left. They were willing to clean everything out for us — for an additional fee — but my do-it-yourselfer husband declined. So he’s spent every day since cleaning, organizing and otherwise finishing up what they started.

I slapped a few more ads up on Craigslist, and we were able to sell a large cabinet and my beloved piano for silly prices. We still have a desk and a Persian area rug we’d like to get something for. The rest has gone/is going to Goodwill and the Habitat for Humanity store.

In the meantime, the tenants have fallen through so we’re still looking for renters. Our agent’s continuing to show it and I’m hoping we’ll find someone to move in on March 1.

Then we’ll (finally) book our flights for Panama.

I’ve never moved in stages like this — always before we’ve packed everything up, traveled to our new destination, unpacked everything and been “home.” It’s a completely new experience and I can honestly say I’m not enjoying it one bit.

Since a picture’s worth 1,000 words, I thought I’d share a few with you, of our almost-empty house.