This Force is Spent

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Hard to believe but a week ago today removers arrived to pack for us and then the next day return our furniture and belongings to our own home. Since then I have been living in a state of total chaos and non-stop cleaning, although finally, after a 12 day sabbatical, I returned to the gym on Wednesday for a rest!

I know moving is reputed to be one of life's stressors but this time around both Mister E and I have really suffered. I thought returning to our own home would be a breeze but when you are surrounded by every room full of boxes to unpack, it would take more than hypnosis to convince you that unwrapping the contents is like all your Christmases coming at once. Couple that with having to clean both properties and I'm now paying the price with muscle strain in my lower back.

To be fair the contractor had arranged for a professional clean at our own home, but as the cleaners were unable to access the parts that have been remediated there was plenty of dirt and grime for me to spend the whole of Saturday on my knees. The windows in the area of the house that had been dug out presented their own challenge, if you enjoy removing 15 months of crud that is.

Then there's the confusion of unpacking and not remembering where anything goes; searching endlessly for specific items that aren't in the box you expected; losing things immediately you find them when you put them down amidst the pandemonium. Constantly looking for the time from a spot on the wall where a clock that is languishing in storage somewhere should be but being incapable of recalling where exactly the light switches are every time I venture into a darkened room. We've lived here 25 years and been away 11 months, why is it so difficult?

As anticipated the work on the house was continuing even as the removal vans were being unpacked. Whilst the boiler had been commissioned only the day before, the hot water system currently fails to feed to our downstairs cloakroom or shower in the main bathroom and we are still awaiting the return of the electrician to complete a connection to the remote boiler controls. We have a gnawing fear that freshly laid tiles and newly installed cabinets in the utility room are going to have to be pulled up to fix the water problem which, from photographs, we suspect relates to a failure to reinstate a length of piping, capping it off instead. Par for the course, I guess, based on our ongoing experience.

I'm not sure how long everything is going to take to sort. I've always had a vague idea that one day we shall downsize into a property that may be more suitable in size and location for our dotage. Spent force that I am, I'm now anticipating seeing out retirement in situ.

(Image by MIGUEL ANGEL CASTELAN from Pixabay)


 

Comments

Treaders said…
I'm just coming up for air as my force has been spent too, even though my situation is nowhere near as bad as yours!!! Oddly enough I was actually thinking the other day that I've always quite enjoyed unpacking after a move, although of course the "thing that you know you will need immediately so you pack it somewhere you won't forget" (which of course you still can't find) is frustrating. So nope I don't mind unpacking - but add all that extra cleaning on top and I would be spent too! And like you, I'm now thinking of just staying put here, even though the house isn't entirely suitable (no downstairs bathroom). I'll just use a potty when the time comes!
28 March 2025 at 08:52
Caree Risover said…
Haha. I was thinking of a stairlift!
28 March 2025 at 09:30
Jennyff said…
I like unpacking too, having had 7 different properties and at stages everything in storage I enjoy the voyage of rediscovery, So I am sorry your experience has been so draining, as has the whole house saga. I hope you will get sorted and settled soon and have some strength left to enjoy being back, you certainly deserve that.
28 March 2025 at 14:00
Caree Risover said…
Thanks for that. Sometimes, it’s hard to remember the positives but top of the list is definitely overlooking open countryside and being so much more in touch with nature.
28 March 2025 at 16:29
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