How to set up a house in a week

System Requirements: Make sure you have a HEALTHY MARRIAGE before you attempt to set up a new house in one week. If you detect a problem in your connection, go to your Travel Agent and plan a nice vacation instead.

User Agreement:

1. We agree that it is a good idea to go to the desert in July while the country is in a heat wave and the desert dwellers have largely vacated to the Northwest.
2. We have learned from every mistake we ever made setting up houses in the past and are EAGER TO GET IT RIGHT this time.
3. We are ON THE SAME PAGE about why we bought this house and how we plan to use it.
4. We have determined this will be FUN for BOTH OF US.

Sancho--a housewarming gift from the kids

Surprisingly, we did set up our desert getaway in one week and it has been fun, except for the part where I got dehydrated, my Windows went into a blue screen funk from which it has not fully recovered, and a garage door repairman stood in the long line of people we are shelling money out to so we can get this thing done.

We feel like newlyweds again, back in the desert where we set up our first place, a studio apartment above our landlady’s house on a street lined with date palms. She insisted we subscribe to cable TV (which we didn’t want) but told us we could pick all the grapefruit we wanted for free off the tree in front. Now we have TV that connects to the internet and delivers almost any form of entertainment you can imagine.

Patio furniture is a good stand-in while we wait for a delivery

We finish each others’ sentences.  “I was thinking...” I say. “We could put the patio set in the living room until the sofas arrive,” he says.  It’s been a long time since we were both so focused on the same thing—the delivery of the children, I’m thinking.

Because my girls have asked, here are some photos. No matter how often we’ve done this, we always  learn something new. For the record, we’ve established 14 homes over 43 years in two different countries and six different states. Two were rentals, five were courtesy of Uncle Sam and seven were owner occupied.

Seating: We can seat 18 people for a meal, 12 inside where there is air conditioning and 6 outside under the mesquite trees, where God blows gently on the back of your neck.

Counter height--good dining space and handy place to assemble the BBQ

Sleeping: Before you get excited, we can only sleep four comfortably and we comprise two of the four. We have corners where we can tuck grand kids. For overflow, the Hampton Inn is nearby.

slim, lightweight design

Sourcing: My bottom line is a comfortable bed, a good desk and a decent place to flop at the end of the day. We spent our money on beds and a desk from Ethan Allen. Living room furniture is midrange from a local furniture store. We no longer have to worry about how long it will last; it will last longer than we will! 

A liquidator is a great place to get items you would find in a hotel, like this ironing board for $5 that would cost $30 at a minimum anywhere else.

Style: He designed the living room with a “time to spare, go by air” theme. When the furniture comes, it will be mission style with brown leather upholstery. 

I designed the bedroom; a cooling ocean oasis 

Note his night table, a sea grass hamper I topped with a mango wood tray from Pier 1.  High fives for that!