Since we began house hunting in February, our approach to renovating this new house from afar has shifted a lot. At one point we thought we might avoid big projects altogether, but plans evolved several times. Many of you have asked what we’re doing now, what remains, and how long the renovation might take. Today we’ll walk through how our plans changed, where we landed, why packing up our life felt more intense than expected, and an update on our move date. Also: what makes a kitchen feel “adult”?

You can also find this episode on your favorite podcast app, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn Radio, Stitcher, and Spotify.

What’s New

• Here’s our office right now: most of our belongings are packed and already on their way to Florida in a POD. What’s left are a few items we sold to the new owners, like the floating desk and chair. The computers and as many plants as Sherry can fit in the car will travel with us on moving day.

• We’ll post a full video walkthrough soon so you can see what stayed and what’s in the POD, plus a final house tour we filmed just before the early March showings.
• If you missed our podcast episode about how we decided what furniture to bring and what to leave, check out “How Exactly Do You Downsize Your Stuff?” (Episode #169). We asked ourselves four simple questions that made downsizing much easier, and it felt great to get our keepers into a single POD.

• Here’s what our POD looked like as we finished packing. It was a real puzzle to fit everything in.
• We heard horror stories of items shifting in transit and even jamming the door, so we made a cardboard barrier at the back of the POD to help prevent sliding. Fingers crossed it helped.

• We were probably more meticulous about packing than necessary, but we followed the official PODS packing guidance to feel confident everything was secure.
• For anyone moving soon, here are a few supplies we found especially helpful:
  • Forearm forklift straps to help lift heavy pieces.
  • Ratchet straps to secure boxes and furniture in the POD.
  • Moving blankets to protect furniture from scratches—we used a couple of packs.
  • Small and medium moving boxes for most items, with a few large boxes for oversized pieces like lampshades.
  • Furniture stretch wrap to hold blankets and bubble wrap in place and to convert open bins into closed packages.
• And if you missed our inspiration photos for the Florida house, we shared a collection of ideas that guided our style choices.

What’s In An “Adult” Kitchen?

• Sherry and I debated this after reading a recent piece outlining what stagers call an “adult” kitchen. We don’t believe a kitchen needs any particular items to qualify, but it was interesting to see what pros recommend. The article highlighted elements like functional storage, a clear prep area, and durable finishes—things that make daily life easier and the space feel intentional.

• We also used a large acacia cutting board in both duplex kitchens. It’s an excellent, practical size and was an inexpensive, useful piece for staging and everyday cooking.

Our 4 Phases Of Changing Renovation Expectations

• If you missed last week’s post with before photos of the Florida house, check it out to see why the property didn’t match our initial goal of minimal renovation—there were missing floorboards and a rundown bathroom, among other issues.
• We shared a series of Instagram Stories that many readers found helpful for understanding room sizes and our plans. It’s often hard to grasp scale without furniture in the space.

• Although we went back and forth about how to handle the renovation from a distance, we’re happy with the plan we settled on. We’ll have a comfortable, livable home when we arrive, and there will still be plenty to do once we’re on site. The first project will be a phase one refresh of the mauve-countered kitchen so it feels more modern and functional.

We’re Digging

• One book my son and I have enjoyed is The 50 States. We read one spread per night and recently reached Hawaii—it’s been a fun routine. There’s an activity book companion that we noticed, too, for more hands-on learning.

If you ever want to revisit topics we’ve covered in past episodes, we keep a master list of everything “we’re digging” in our show notes, plus a Book Club page with all the titles we’ve recommended.

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