We’re officially within the month window. Our close is August 10. Time to get serious about decisions, among them where to have our mail sent (a topic for a future blog) and also what to move to Vermont - and how.

The house up there is fully furnished at this point, although there are a couple of items that are more like place holders than anything permanent. Still, all the beds, the dining room table, and even screen porch furniture is good to go. We’ll eventually turn the attic (affectionately named The Bat Room) into dorm-style sleeping space; twin mattresses are welcome.

We are taking the bookshelf units we have, the floor lamps. Our favorite cozy arm chairs. Jeremy’s little desk. Rugs. This is most of it, other than the odds and ends of clothing and kitchen gear. The big undecided is the couch. Zach bought one from his in-laws last summer, an old sectional, as an emergency stop gap so we could have seating in the living room since we’d thrown the smoke-filled old ones into the dumpster in the massive clean out after Sue died.

This couch certainly can seat a number of people, which is the main positive it has going for it. Neither Zach nor I love it - but we needed seating in a pinch and this fit the bill. What comes next is a matter of much discussion.

A challenge with the OPO and the rooms is that they’re relatively small. They’re also awkwardly shaped. This one, pictured above, is the living room/dining room, with a post in the middle. The fireplace sits along one wall, more central to the entire space than to the living room section itself. Figuring out how to arrange furniture to best use the space drives us crazy.

We’ve got a great couch in Virginia. It’s comfy as heck, durable as anything, and looks good. It’s also a little low and a lot deep.

Do we sell it here? Move it to Vermont? Initially we were going to sell it. It’s a good couch, bought from Crate and Barrel. We realized we could get maybe (MAYBE) a quarter of what we paid for it. And then we might turn around and buy a piece of crap couch for Vermont that cost more than what we sold this one for.

This didn’t sit well with us. So we hashed it out with Zach, told the would-be couch buyers we’d changed our minds, and then set about making the next decision.

How the heck do we get it up there?

Make multiple trips. Bonus: Least expensive option (maybe - I have not figured out the cost of mileage). Bonus: We’re in complete control. No need to check or coordinate with anyone. Drawback: Multiple trips. It’s a 800 mile drive, one way. A round trip is 28 hours. That’s draining, time-consuming, and boring.

Rent a moving van. UHaul, Penske, Enterprise, and the like. Bonus: Maybe the second least expensive option. Bonus: Get it all up there in one trip. Drawback: Coordination required on both ends (up there, we have to drive an hour and a half to return it). Drawback: those hidden fees/taxes/insurance (which you really need to get for a rental TRUCK, since this is NOT covered by your own insurance and the credit card you use). Drawback: Driving 2 vehicles north with one EZPass.

Portable moving pod storage things. Bonus: Super practical and convenient, as they deliver to your driveway, then pick up and move it to the driveway on the other end. Drawback: Surprisingly expensive. Drawback: They actually don’t deliver to Charlottesville. Or to Averill. We’d have to lug our stuff to Harrisonburg to put it in the pod, and would have to go to Burlington to pick it up. This is considered pay-a-premium convenience?

Regular moving company. Bonus: Hassle free. They come pick up, load, take it north, and unload. Drawback: Expensive. Except . . . not. We’ve (so far) gotten quotes from 2 different companies that are actually LESS expensive than the Pod option would be, without needing to drive our stuff to or from anywhere at all. No, we’re not asking them to pack up our belongings, just to move the bigger stuff. Still.

I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but we might be hiring someone to move us. The difference in the cost of doing that as opposed to renting a truck is between $300 and $500. This is not chump change, nor is it insignificant in terms of the percentage of the cost (hiring a mover is 25%- 30% more expensive), but for the hassle factor we’re thinking it is likely worth it.

Next up? Deciding exactly WHEN we’re going to move. And like any boat project decision creep, in order to make this decision, we need the closing attorney to answer a few questions about closing and whether we need to be present for that. Which sends us down the road of scrambling to find a notary in Averill. Because we have to quarantine for 2 weeks when we get up there and so can’t go driving around to find one.

It started with a couch, turned to movers, and now a notary. It’s only Monday.