Happy Top-Five Tuesday!! I checked my inbox this morning, and had an offer waiting for me from one of the gardening companies I receive a catalog for, and it made me really, really wish we were a little closer to home ownership. Here’s why:
- For the amount of money I spend every year on fresh produce, I could purchase my own fruit trees, berry bushes, and vegetable seeds, and just grow my own. I say that optimistically– I haven’t been able to keep house plants alive, ever. But maybe if the plants are outside, they’ll take a little less work? And maybe I will be less likely to kill them through proximity.
- Working appliances. I love that we have a washer, dryer and dishwasher in our apartment. I don’t love how horribly they all work. The dishwasher works the best, but it has a weird smell (yes, we’ve cleaned it–multiple times). The washer doesn’t get things that clean. I have a coat of Becca’s that I’ve been trying to clean since before Christmas. I’m about to take it to the laundromat, because it’s just not working. And the dryer takes well over an hour to dry even small loads. Fortunately, we are planning on purchasing a new washer and dryer this year. The dishwasher, we’re pretty much stuck with.
- The right to paint. We could paint here, and we have (a little), but I’d like to be able to really do what I’d like with the walls. The landlords prefer lighter, neutral colors that go with everything. I prefer colors that go with our stuff. And if I did paint here, it’d be with the knowledge that I have to leave all that hard work behind when we move.
- A yard of our own. We have outdoor toys for the girls. And I’d love to get a swing set and kiddie pool for Becca. Unfortunately, there’s no space for it here. And even if there was, there’d be no way to keep anyone else off of it. Which would be fine, until someone got hurt. It’d also be nice to have a yard that wasn’t right next to the yard, so Becca could play outside without us having to go to the park.
- Not having to worry about the neighbors. When we get a home, we’re getting one in the country, out in the middle of nowhere. After years of having to worry about how loud the music is (ours or our neighbors, in some cases), or who will be waking Becca up by stomping up the stairs near her room all hours of the night, I am ready to be done with people living above, below or beside us. Not that the neighbors aren’t nice, I’d just rather they weren’t here.
We’re going to start saving for a home once we get a few other things taken care of, and a decent emergency savings built up. Our goal is to be homeowners within the next five years. Which really isn’t that long, but feels like FOREVER. In the mean time, we are going to be looking for a home to rent sometime this year, which is pretty close to the real thing.