house shuffle

It looks like around the middle of May, there is going to be a house shuffle. One of our housemates is moving out (to what sounds like a really cool place near one of our favorite food joints, Geta), the other housemate is going to move downstairs to our current room, and we are going to move into two of the smaller bedrooms upstairs. Joe is going to move into the big bedroom upstairs as well.

It looks like Mobi enjoys the upstairs. We’ve always kept the door closed between the upstairs and the downstairs so that the dog wouldn’t bother the upstairs housemates, but after the shuffle, it looks like it’s going to be ok with everyone to let him go where he wants (except bedrooms). He seems to like the upstairs a lot because there is more sunlight, and the windows are lower so he can look outside without “standing”. I’ve been mindful of the fact that this means that more of the house will be susceptible to the dreaded dog-hair-over-everything syndrome, so I have been trying to make a conscious effort to sweep up little areas more often, so that I get into a habit of it.

It was kind of a bummer because I thought Seppo and I had been making quite a bit more of conscious effort into keeping the kitchen tidy when we use it nowadays, but it was made clear to us — albeit in a completely not unkind way — that the fruits of our labor were not noticeable. It’s always a bummer when you think you are making a difference for the better and really trying to change your habits to be more accomodating, only to find that all the effort really isn’t paying off. I hope it will be better when we move upstairs. It’s kind of weird because right now, I feel sort of like I’m not “in my space” when I go upstairs, so I try to get in, cook some food, and get out, so I often forget to go back to clean up right away, but I think once we are upstairs, and the upstairs/downstairs door remains open, this feeling will go away and we’ll be able to care for the spaces more naturally. This also extends to the rodent situation.

In the next few weeks, we’ll be compressing some of our stuff and really trying to make an effort to throw some things away and sell some stuff. I really like living upstairs. I love the view from the back windows and how lovely the backyard looks in the springtime. It’s just breathtaking at times. Also, I used to pay more attention to what was going on in the backyard when we lived upstairs. I put in a fair amount of time to container gardening, which I had discontinued in the time I have been living downstairs.

I think, overall, this will be a good move for everyone. Our housemate who is moving out was clearly unhappy with the situation, so I think it is good that she is going somewhere where she’ll be happy. Our other roommate will be happy to live in the finished downstairs, after a long while of living in a half-done room. I’ll be happy to be upstairs with the sunshine and easier access to public areas. I think Seppo will be happy for the same reasons too. I think our new housemate will be happy to get out from his house. Mobi will enjoy having the run of the house.