BUYER'S REMORSE?

We expected leftover junk from the previous owners, but not to the degree to which we found it. We fully admit it could have been a lot worse. There are horror stories littering the internet and we don't want to add to the pile of lost faith in humanity material out there, so we wanted to share how we dealt with it and the opportunities that came from it.

Before we could even move our stuff in, Juan had to clean the garage. Practically top to bottom. Cob webs in every corner. Rodent droppings behind boxes. Hundreds of dog treat bits soaked and crusted to the floor. Broken appliances on the shelves. After three hours, it was swept and cleared of all of the left over junk. Just in time for the movers we hired to show up and unload the truck.

These guys were great. Locals making a living with their many side hustles. They made quick work of our 20' truck loaded to the ceiling. They even carried away a full truck bed of the leftover garbage to the dump for us, at no extra cost. Garrett, you rock!

One of the items left was a sound machine, which our oldest daughter quickly claimed. There was also a free-standing cabinet in the kitchen that looked like the previous owners intended to take with them, but ended up leaving it instead. It's in poor shape, but I'll repurpose it for the garage. Can't complain about extra storage, amiright?

In the backyard, it appears the previous owners didn't dispose of their dog's waste, but instead piled it behind one of the trees in the back corner. I've been told we can use it as fertilizer. Anyone have any tips on that? Is that safe for a vegetable garden or just flower beds?

Lastly, they utilized command strips for much of their wall pieces. They work rather well in not peeling off the paint when you remove them. However, the previous owners never removed them when they repainted, leaving highly noticeable unpainted strips throughout the house. This honestly made us laugh. You can see the brush strokes around each of the strips, as if special care had been taken to preserve these temporary fixtures. It would have been far less time and effort for them to simply remove the strips in the first place. People are truly silly sometimes.

Because we want to be truthful, the first day or so we felt a bit disappointed. If this is how they managed their house, what other shortcuts are we bound to find? But we quickly got over it and chose to feel blessed with what God has provided us. We knew there was a lot of work we wanted to do to make this house our own, so what's a few extra tasks on our to-do list anyways?

We don't know the situation of the previous family that lived in this home. We won't ever know the struggles they had. So why hold onto bitterness? At the end of the day, we know all of this leftover mess is trivial. Extending forgiveness and grace is what God calls us to practice, and that is just what we did.

We are truly grateful for this house—even in its current state. We're excited to start working on our projects to improve it, make it our own, and ultimately leave it better for the next family when it's time for us to move on.

Follow along with our home renovations as we tackle each project, make mistakes, and learn to trust the process.