Packing the POD

So, Michael and I really put off packing up our place. We started packing on Sunday, planned on moving almost everything into the PODS container on Monday and finish up packing/cleaning on Tuesday. So, we pack pack pack on Sunday and go to sleep that night knowing that we didn't get as much packed as we wanted.

So here is our good news/ bad news situation on Monday: Michael gets to stay home from work and help me pack because base is closed due to the weather. Oh yes, the weather. The unexpected snow we woke up to on Monday and watched fall ALL DAY LONG.

I love snow. I really do. But when you have to move a couch into a PODS container through a few inches of it... well let's just say it makes you love it just a little less. We actually have two couches and neither of them fit through the front door, so we have to use the back door, all the way around to the front and then put it in the container. We were going to ask friends to help us, but the roads were bad.

So we get the couches in first, then a few boxes, and then it starts raining. Wait a minute, what do you mean, rain? I thought it was snowing and freezing outside. Let me specify: freezing rain. I've never really experienced it before, but it basically turns everything into a sheet of ice. Including our driveway:

It also makes some pretty menacing looking icicles.

By Monday night (or really really early on Tuesday morning) we were able to get everything off the carpet and pack up for the carpet cleaners, who surprisingly made it to our house. Go Stanley Steemers! And go Michael for basically moving most of our stuff into the POD by himself because I really wasn't much help at all. :)

On Tuesday we spent the rest of the day cleaning and packing up the kitchen. Our friend, Dylan, came over and helped Michael put the washer and dryer into the POD.

We cleaned until the wee hours of the morning. We cleaned until we couldn't clean any more. We wiped all of the base boards and dusted and vacuumed and mopped and scrubbed the bathrooms and Windexed the windows and cleaned the oven and cleared out the fridge and Magic Erasered all the marks on the walls and replaced the stove drip pans and cleaned the oven again and swept the patio and swept the porch and replaced the air filter and wiped out all the cabinets/drawers.

!

We were sure that the realtor inspecting the place would find something to keep us from getting all of our deposit back. They haven't been kind to us the whole time we've dealt with them. And surprise surprise! They did find dust on the range hood and on some of the light switch covers. I wonder how much they'll decide to take off for that. I mean, we did leave the place cleaner than when we got it. Oh and we installed blinds throughout and towel bars/ toilet paper holders in the bathrooms. Ha! Whatever. We handed over our keys and left Richlands.

Goodbye first home! We hope our next place was built with love and not exclusively for rental purposes. We hope our next landlord is polite and helpful. Goodbye Richlands! You were good to us. We enjoyed your small town charm, scenic drives, C-bo's barber shop, and ice cream stands.