S is for Storage & Snakes (A-Z Challenge 2020)

In January of this year my hubby and I decided that it was time to move on to the next stage of our lives and move house.  I deliberated long and hard about whether it was a good move to take part in the A-Z Challenge this year (pun intended) given that we could be very busy, but decided on balance that having something to focus on might not be a bad idea.  Of course the decision on a theme was much easier to make – Moving House!  

Then Covid-19 put a stop to any ideas of moving so I’ve had to regroup and rethink my posts.  Which means I’m not as prepared as I’d liked to have been but here goes:

S is for Storage & Snakes

Ok, after yesterday's reality check and pity party let's get back on track.

Storage!  So important!  Especially when you have a large house and over 30 years of gathered Stuff!  And you're trying to downsize.

Although to be fair, many of the houses we've viewed to date weren't actually that much smaller than our current house - just a better layout.  The only house we did get as far as making an offer on was actually smaller but they had been quite clever with storage ideas and, although there was no cellar they did have a loft so I think we would have been ok.

We have begun identifying stuff we want to get rid of - camping gear for starters and various other bits and pieces.  Right now though we have no means of shifting anything from the house.  We can't drive to the rubbish tip - it's closed.  Charity shops are closed.  And stuff that family members might want can't be handed over as we have to STAY HOME!

Hubby has been going through a lot of his old paperwork though and doing lots and lots of shredding.  Fortunately the council are still collecting our recycling waste so that's a blessing.  We also have the fallback of our son's garage for stuff we need to get rid of but haven't by the time we move.  (If we ever move!)  He doesn't have a car so we could put our unwanted stuff in there until we can dispose of it one way or another.

But of course I'm getting ahead of myself.  For now we're staying put.

Right I know you're all wondering about the snakes.  Well we viewed a house that was actually quite nice but the owner's son kept snakes.  In large tanks that were, fortunately, covered with blankets when we viewed the house. I thought (hoped) it might be lizards or such like but the poster on the wall showing lots of varieties of snakes rather gave it away.

I cannot bear snakes.  I can't even watch them on TV without breaking out the goosebumps and feeling strange.  Totally irrational I know.

Anyway I could not see myself moving into a house that had been home to snakes.  Eventually, when we were beginning to get a little bit desperate about finding a house before we were locked down I did reconsider.  I mean no one's going to leave a snake behind, right?  We decided to try and arrange a second viewing but we were too slow, the house was under offer.  Part of me was relieved.

The house had undergone a loft conversion so I'm sure there were lots of nooks and crannies that a snake could have stored itself away! (Don't even get me started on under floorboards.)

Could you live in a house that snakes had been in?