Home Ownership: 16 Lessons Learned
We have now been in our house for 3 weeks. We were gone for part of that time at a family reunion and I was gone for a few days while taking a state class I needed for work. When we have been here, we have been working hard at getting settled in. Here are a few things we have learned:
1. Have your father come stay with you right after you move in. He'll help you fix lots of things! Thanks Dad!
2. Before replacing the hot water heater, make sure that the gas company didn't just turn off the gas.
3. After replacing the hot water heater for no reason, look to see how corroded the inside was and be grateful that you did actually replace it while Dad was in town. It wouldn't have lasted long at all.
4. There are lots of things that you need for a house that you don't need for an apartment-yard tools especially.
5. Take a good look at the backyard. You may find 8 ft pine trees buried under lots of vines. Yep, we had three of them (one is about 5 ft, the other two are about 8 ft) and didn't even know it until after we bought the house. We dug them out yesterday because the vines were killing them. They sit right along our back fence line and one of the trees had been bent over the top of the fence by the vine. I had already spent some time working on pulling off the vines earlier in the week and didn't realize that the tree had been pulled over like that. I thought it was a good 2-3 ft shorter than it actually is.
6. Snails are abundant in Utah gardens-and I don't like them. I pulled probably 50 from our front yard when weeding the "forest" that had developed.
7. It takes a long time to weed when no one has done it for the last few years.
8. Quadruple check the sprinkler system because you still might not have it right (yep, 3 different people and four different checks). You actually have to water the grass for more than 5 minutes every couple of days to keep it alive.
9. The sprinkler system resets itself to 5 minutes when the power goes out. (Thanks to our nice neighbor for that tidbit of knowledge!)
10. Circuit breaker boxes can be outside.
11. Utah has giant Daddy Long Leg Spiders. The record of the week was about 4 inches across.
12. It's easy to spend lots of money-especially at furniture stores, Hobby Lobby, and Thai Pan Trading.
13. You must have a Home Depot or Lowes close by. I think we made three trips the first day we moved in...and we've made many others since then.
14. If you have family come stay with you right after you move in, the neighbors will think they moved in and not you. (Some of our neighbors thought we had two children because my brother and his wife stayed with us with their two kids. Their teenage daughter was slightly disappointed. I am sure others thought my parents moved in because they were with us for several days.)
15. Our neighborhood is a great one! The family next door has a teenage son who is autistic. He loves to sit and spin on their tire swing and loudly sing/yell Beetles songs. Usually we can't quite understand him, but every once in a while I do pick up something I recognize. According to the other neighbors and from what we have observed, he is the most unusual aspect of the neighborhood. If that's as bad as it gets (and its really not bad-it makes me laugh most of the time) then this neighborhood is a keeper!
16. We have great neighbors! We have had several bring us cookies and many others offer to help with what they can-including the use of any tools.
We are excited to own our own house and grateful to be where we are at. We have a wonderful neighborhood and a great ward. We have a lot to learn, but plenty of time to learn it in!
1. Have your father come stay with you right after you move in. He'll help you fix lots of things! Thanks Dad!
2. Before replacing the hot water heater, make sure that the gas company didn't just turn off the gas.
3. After replacing the hot water heater for no reason, look to see how corroded the inside was and be grateful that you did actually replace it while Dad was in town. It wouldn't have lasted long at all.
4. There are lots of things that you need for a house that you don't need for an apartment-yard tools especially.
5. Take a good look at the backyard. You may find 8 ft pine trees buried under lots of vines. Yep, we had three of them (one is about 5 ft, the other two are about 8 ft) and didn't even know it until after we bought the house. We dug them out yesterday because the vines were killing them. They sit right along our back fence line and one of the trees had been bent over the top of the fence by the vine. I had already spent some time working on pulling off the vines earlier in the week and didn't realize that the tree had been pulled over like that. I thought it was a good 2-3 ft shorter than it actually is.
6. Snails are abundant in Utah gardens-and I don't like them. I pulled probably 50 from our front yard when weeding the "forest" that had developed.
7. It takes a long time to weed when no one has done it for the last few years.
8. Quadruple check the sprinkler system because you still might not have it right (yep, 3 different people and four different checks). You actually have to water the grass for more than 5 minutes every couple of days to keep it alive.
9. The sprinkler system resets itself to 5 minutes when the power goes out. (Thanks to our nice neighbor for that tidbit of knowledge!)
10. Circuit breaker boxes can be outside.
11. Utah has giant Daddy Long Leg Spiders. The record of the week was about 4 inches across.
12. It's easy to spend lots of money-especially at furniture stores, Hobby Lobby, and Thai Pan Trading.
13. You must have a Home Depot or Lowes close by. I think we made three trips the first day we moved in...and we've made many others since then.
14. If you have family come stay with you right after you move in, the neighbors will think they moved in and not you. (Some of our neighbors thought we had two children because my brother and his wife stayed with us with their two kids. Their teenage daughter was slightly disappointed. I am sure others thought my parents moved in because they were with us for several days.)
15. Our neighborhood is a great one! The family next door has a teenage son who is autistic. He loves to sit and spin on their tire swing and loudly sing/yell Beetles songs. Usually we can't quite understand him, but every once in a while I do pick up something I recognize. According to the other neighbors and from what we have observed, he is the most unusual aspect of the neighborhood. If that's as bad as it gets (and its really not bad-it makes me laugh most of the time) then this neighborhood is a keeper!
16. We have great neighbors! We have had several bring us cookies and many others offer to help with what they can-including the use of any tools.
We are excited to own our own house and grateful to be where we are at. We have a wonderful neighborhood and a great ward. We have a lot to learn, but plenty of time to learn it in!
Wonderful! I'm glad things are working out so well. I remember learning that about the need for yard tools (including a lawn mower)! Good thing you replaced the water heater, it sounds like! Oh, and our circuit breaker is outside, too (which my dad thinks is so weird). We look forward to visiting you sometime and seeing your new place. :)
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