Almost carpet-less Acres

Almost Carpet-less Acres

This weekend I made a choice. A very grown up choice if you ask me. When we first went out to the house, got the electric on, and started cleaning up, we had a plan. I was going to paint, and replace the carpet in the living room and hall way. This is a good house, just needed some cosmetic help. Then came the brilliant idea to tear out the carpet in the bedroom, and well you, know how that turned out.

So in order to properly seal my house against rain, wind, and critters of the night, I had to give up replacing my carpet right away. I see plywood sub floors for a few months in my future. I am okay with it. My master bath with the large Jacuzzi tub will be completely done by the time we move in. It just needed some paint and a deep cleaning. My plan is to hide from the construction zone in my tub.

Good news is, the lady we are renting/going to buy from is pitching in for the carpet. The arrangement is, we do the work and she is going to take it off of our rent. But that was before we realized just how much upfront money we were going to need. So I get to go carpet shopping this week, and see if I can have it installed before we move in. Nothing like waiting till the last second. 

Another issue in this house is electric. When we went to get it turned on they told us the highest bill was $375 for a month in the middle of the winter. WTF man WTF. I pay $100 for my apartment. 

There is no way I am paying that much more. So our highest priority was to get a wood stove. Paul and I found an adorable one for $100. I have tile in the barn that I am going to lay out under the stove and behind it on the wall. We are sealing every crack we can find in an effort to make this leaky ship, air tight. Because “winter is coming.”

Our electric company has a cool feature. They text me every day to tell me what the prior day’s usage was. I LOVE this. I can micromanage every kilowatt we use now. And as you will soon find out, I like to plan and know. Not that my plans ever work out the way I would expect. But the act of planning relaxes me. It’s like a hobby. And even if it requires sleeping in the living room next to my woodstove, we will NOT have a $400 electric bill EVER.

I am just so ready for country living. We officially move in this weekend, and I can’t seem to tear myself away from blogs about all aspects of homesteading and farming. I can’t wait to have a tractor, and pigs, and chickens. I want to buy seeds and start my garden right away, but I don’t know what to plant when. There is so much to learn, and I just want to get started. My, sitting in an office, job holds less appeal than ever as I learn more and more about the daily chores I could be doing on my own little farm.