Small steps & breathe… (just maybe not too deep.)

It was with a mixture of excitement and trepidation that we picked up the keys to our new house yesterday.

The stench (that we always knew was there but hadn’t really realised how bad it really was) hit us as soon as we opened the front door. I’d been joking that we needed gas masks, but the reality of a 36 degree day and a closed up house meant we really did need them.

Instead of celebrating our new home, we both freaked out a little bit, feeling totally overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work that lays before us.  And promptly started ripping up the carpet and throwing it out the windows (as you do).

This house is literally unliveable.  Many animals have called it a home and whilst the bones of the house are beautiful, she has not been cared for at all.

Why have we bought a house in this condition I hear you ask? Excellent question and one we have both been angsting over for the last couple of months.

It came down to the fact that we can stand on the balcony of our house and hear the beach.  We can dip our feet in the ocean after a short 10 minute walk from our front door.  It’s big enough for all our family and friends to visit and stay.  All of this and within our price range.

It is exactly the house we had been asking the universe for.  Apparently the universe has a sense of humour though and decided to deliver said house in a condition 1000 times worse than our last renovation project.  (Or maybe we just weren’t specific enough when we put it ‘out there’. Next time I’ll be sure to include “house without animal stench and urine stained carpets” on my list).

So here we are…with only one choice.

To go forward and work our arses off to get this place to a point where we can move in without catching some sort of disease (and preferably before we get kicked out of our current place.)

If I think too much about everything ahead of us I want to bury my head in the pillow and pretend it’s not happening.  But we all know that’s not going to work.

So instead, we’ll put one foot in front of the other and just take small steps every day.  And when we start to freak out that we’ve only made the tiniest dent in the job we’ll take a breath in and … put our gas masks on.