Just Moved, a Million New Problems, Help?

I think using stuff to make it look "filled up" will have the opposite effect.
The stove will get fixed eventually--just a few more days. Take out & go out for dinners. Lunch can be sandwiches & microwavable stuff (hit the hot foods dept at the grocery store). Breakfast: toast, cereal, toaster waffles, strudels, etc.

Sounds awesome ! Congradulations. I would too wait a year and see how you find peices to fill up space. I think Space is wonderful and airy. Who wants to start and clutter a beautiful room. Big Pots, Sticks, flowers, stuff like that will help bring the outside in and fill up corners.

Hi, Dancer:
Whew! What a challenge. Food, no clue to help.
Children and TV can become a habit to distract them from
learning to occupy their little minds with creative solutions
for boredom.
Just a thought.
Good luck.
D.

I wish I had your problems. I have live in a house 1000sq ft for a family of 5, our stove has not worked for 2 years. We crockpot, microwave, toaster oven and grill. It's not that hard to figure out. Crockpot 365 has as many receipes as you could want for a crockpot. Filling rooms in that size of house, should take time. Filling rooms with furniture just to fill them is usually met with wasting money, and making a bigger environmental footprint. As far as the TV's we have 1 for the family and don't have cable. My kids play and play hard. They dance, they do sports, we spend alot of time together. Good luck and Congrats on the huge house.

I think that you should take the TVs out. Don't let convinence change the rules for you. I'm not a fan of TVs in the bedroom. If the kids want to watch shows, they can do it where you can see them. Sometimes watching a show with the kids is the only time you'll see your teenager. Don't let that isolation start now. Further, have you been up at 2AM? Do you know what's on, even on commercials? Yeah. Get them out.

Is the oven not working or the burners on a stove or both?

If you have a microwave you can look here for food ideas: http://allrecipes.com/recipes/everyday-cooking/campus-coo...

I would settle in for a bit and then get the "feel" of the house. Add on intelligently, not just because it's cheap and you feel you need to add stuff to the space. Maybe get a new area rug and then build off it for additional furniture, drapes, etc. Shop at interesting places like World Market. Take it as an opportunity to redecorate the right way, with lasting an meaningful pieces. Go together as a family and decide "Okay, so we want a sectional now. This is how we'll save for it and this is the one we like."

Your husband is right about the TV's. Listen to him. Eat out until you get the stove fixed. Don't worry about the furniture. Leave rooms closed that you don't need to use. Close the heating vents so that you aren't paying to heat them.

7000 sq feet is huge. Good grief. I can't imagine cleaning that. I'd lock some of the bathrooms so that you aren't cleaning 10 toilets...

Dawn

You just moved! Filling a house that size takes time. Barren and simple can be advantages (less to clean, looks fresh and modern). We moved from an apartment to a house a couple years ago, and I refuse to just throw cheap junk up to fill the space, knowing that I am wasting $$. Buy pieces one at a time as you find them, but really love what you buy.

I would take the tvs out of the rooms.

The meal situation should be easy to figure out. Crockpot, toaster oven, eat out, raw food (salads, sandwiches, etc).

I'm with MamaMay on the tvs. Better to have the kids watching where everyone can see what's on (esp. the parents); I think as kids get older, the inclination to just go in their room and close the door to veg out will be too attractive and will compete with homework and healthier activities.

Also--try saying "no" to the younger kids as they age up if the oldest has a tv.
Me, personally, I will never allow my son to have a tv in his room until he is either paying rent (and graduated high school) or on his own. And I'm not buying the tv for him. Same with a computer-- stays in the common areas.

As for food: crock pot is a great idea for some things (anything from a can.... you can't sear meat or anything like that). Also, a hot plate/single burner may not be too expensive. Find a safe place for it and be sure to unplug between uses. You could do up a big pot of beans in the crock pot and make burritos. (Just get some rice, ready made from the asian take-out place to fill burritos with; you can mix it into the beans.) All other condiments can be served cold.

You can buy one of those 2-burner stove top things to cook on. Or use your microwave. Also as far as filling up the empty....don't get cheap stuff....after awhile of being lived in...it will be all filled up!!!

Go pick up some electric skillets. You can make a ton of stuff in them. Tacos, soups, chili, hot dogs, chili dogs, sloppy Joes,

Grilled cheese sandwiches.

Frozen lasagnas cooked in the microwave, bags of salad and bread,
Big stuffed Baked potatoes, purchase a Ham and eat it with frozen veggies and instant mashed potatoes.

Order in Chinese Food, Pizza, burgers, BBQ,

TV's causing suicide?I do not think so...... People that are going to commit suicide have mental and or emotional problems already.. ..

If you are going to keep the TV's in any room. There need to be rules. When and what can be watched.

Our daughter had a TV in her room since she was about 5. It had a video player in it. She watched it every once in a while mostly as sound while she played n her room.. Lots of Disney and children's videos.

She graduated with honors and seems pretty sane, We probably did more emotional and intellectual harm to her than the TV. .She pretty much respects TV for what it is. She does not even have one up at college and she is now a Senior. . so I think as long as you do not hook it up to fancy cable and monitor what they are allowed to watch, should not be a problem .

I would take the tvs out! Studies show that kids that have tvs in their room have all sorts of issues from depression to ADHD and even higher likelihood of suicide. (this is based on the studies that show how many hours kids watch tv if it is their room and how screen time effects people, not just kids, at those levels)

Do you have a crock pot? There are plenty of things you can cook in a crock pot without a stove or oven...

Congratulations!!

We we moved to our much larger home, we didn't have it full of furniture right away. i suggest NOT trying to fill it up with cheap furniture, etc. We bought QUALITY pieces, some one at a time over time. Don't go to the box stores and buy by the room and get sucked into the no interest plans, that is a croc. Stay out of debt while furnishing wisely.

As for the TV's I personally don't see the big deal with it. We have TV's in every room and it has not separated our family or kept any of us holed up in our rooms. You can only be sucked into the habit of TV all the time if you allow it. I would let my daughter keep her TV. GEES.... watching TV causing suicide.... wow, a little absurd and "out there" in my mind. BUT... it is your family not mine.

Plants are economical and can fill spaces nicely, a nice rug, indirect lighting, etc.

I agree with not closing off rooms. You need to occasionally run water in a bathroom not being used so you keep things in working order.

As for your stove. When we were in a construction phase a few years ago, Ib bought a hot plate that had 2 units on it. I used that thing at least 6 months and to this day if we have a crowd and I need extra stove eyes, I pull it out to keep things warm, etc. I made homemade dinners with it and it all turned out fine.

We also have an extra microwave that is not installed, a kitchen top model that we keep upstairs. It came in handy when our microwave went out.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Kitchen Aid toaster oven. I use that a lot instead of heating up the oven. It was only $150ish and one of the best kitchen appliances I own.

I have a crock pot but I am not a crock pot user. I like to cook from scratch and prepare my meals vs letting them cook themselves in a crock pot. I appreciate that many people rely on the crock pot, especially if they are working outside the home, have a lot of children, or just don't like to cook.

Just move slowly, don't rush into filling up your space. It will fill over time. Enjoy the space while you have it now!

I remember when our house was more empty than filled - I miss it.
It sure was easier to vacuum and dust.
Give yourself some time to learn to appreciate the open spaces.
I've got a solar powered rainbow maker (sticks on a window with a suction cup and sunshine spins 2 crystals) which throw rainbows all over my dining/kitchen area.
I'm not thrilled with tv's in any bedroom, so I'm with your husband on that one.
Do you have a propane grill?
You can do a lot of cooking on a grill.
If you have a microwave you can warm things up or thaw things from the freezer.
I wouldn't close off rooms completely.
Toilets will get moldy even if they are not used and traps to sinks/tubs/etc need water in them about once a week to keep them filled and block sewer/septic gas from entering the house.
We closed off one room in our old house (and didn't heat it) and the plaster cracked.
If you have water pipes going through a section of house you don't want them to freeze (although we're having a mild winter so far - Moyock is only 10 miles from where I am).
You don't have to keep it as warm/cold as your main living areas but don't close things off altogether.

personally I would keep the tv's in thier rooms. Just don't hook up cable. Hook up thier dvd players. That way its more controlled on what is being watched. If they break the rules on having it on when not suppose to then take them out.

We haven't had a stove/ oven for almost 9 months. We have an electric skillet for the fried foods and use the crock pot alot! Also its amazing what you can cook and tastes good in a microwave!

I wouldn't try to fill up your space, you will realize how quickly you will fill it up! Then if your like me you will wish you had some of that empty space back lol

Congrats on your new home!

Yes, I would ditch the TVs. Maybe you could set up a kid's area and put one or two TVs in there, one to watch and one to game.

If you have lots of hardwoods, rather than buying an expensive area rug, get a large carpet remnant and have the edges bound. Significantly less cost and there are alot of cool carpets out there. I think rugs help cozy-up a home and reduce the echo factor.

My other suggestion is lamps. Overhead lighting in a large home is so harsh. A few well-placed lamps with make a big difference.

I also think it's fun to watch your home grow with time. Like you, our house felt so big when we first moved in - now it just feels like home!

Congrats!!!

Don't worry about the emptiness... the house will fill itself fairly quickly, and the if you move down, you'll be trying to figure out how on earth to deal :) BTDT. There are tricks to living in enourmous houses (it's where I first learned to "skate dust" as a kid... but getting the kids involved -who usually love things like dusting and washing windows- it pretty key. So, too, what I miss the MOST is dedicated rooms. I was reeeeeally hoping to move into a big old victorian house sometime in the next couple years with aside from the bedrooms kitchen and bath would also have rooms for:

- His room
- My room
((Not bedrooms, but "personal spaces" or "offices". Mine would be full of books and camera stuff and art stuff, his would have been filled with tech stuff and a few guitars and things. Where our projects and personal stuff could be kept))
- Play room
- Physical studio (dance, gymnastics, martial arts)
- Music studio
- Pool room (we're talking billiard type, but in my dreams I could imagine both kinds of pool ;)
- Home Theatre
- Gym

Anyhow... that just "my" house... being able to separate the house by activity keeps things sooooo fun/clean/orderly.
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DO think seriously about removing the TVs. Fine for "moving rules", but they really are a LOT of borrowed trouble. Have one or two places with a TV... but having them in the kids' bedrooms guarantees a lot of fights about them in the future. I won't tell you to toss them, heck, we bring our laptops up for "mommy movie nights" once a week and watch movies... but even that can cause problems from time to time. Fortunately, since it's a laptop my son can just say "Busted", as I roll my eyes and bring it downstairs, and it's not a big drama filled production of taking the whole durn TV down! The vast majority of people I know grow to despise tvs in kids' rooms for just that reason. It's nice from time to time, but not ALL the time!

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It sounds like you're doing pretty good on food for now.... but.... Don't forget the BBQ!!! You can cook tons food ahead of time (like 6 chickens, carne asada, veggies for days, etc.) and just keep them in the fridge or freezer. LOVE winter Q'ing. As long as it's not raining!!!

When we remodeled our kitchen several years ago we lived for 6 weeks on either food we bought ready made or food that could be microwaved or cooked in an electric frying pan. I didn't have a crock pot either, but I did have a one-burner Corning unit. With the electric pan or the burner unit you can fix homemade chili or spaghetti sauce. I used the burner to heat the water for the noodles. There also are all kinds of "pre-made" frozen meals in bags you just heat up that could be made in the frying pan, such as Bird's Eye, etc.

Boxes with pretty pieces of fabric or scarves over them to fill the space. I have a friend that does a lot of stuff like that and her house looks great.
I agree with your husband about the tv's. Kids do NOT need their own tv's in their room.
And for heaven's sake - just get a crockpot! :) You obviously need one, and it's not like you'll never use it again. You can buy one for the same amount of money that it takes to feed your family on takeout for two nights!

The only thing I can help with is the food. I would go get a rotisserie chicken or 2 from the grocery store because you can do so much with it. One of our favorites is Asian Chicken Salad. Here's a link to the recipe:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/asian-chicken-noodle-salad/d...

Personally, I would leave the tvs in the rooms. If you want to hook cable up, that's up to you. I would hook up a dvd player if you have one they can use. I wouldn't go out and buy one if you don't. Use it as a reward/privilege type thing. If grades start to slip and they are watching tv in their room, it gets unhooked, etc.

My children are 4 and 6 and have had a tv in their (shared) room since birth. It is on about 60% of the time they are home. Funny thing is....they prefer to watch tv in the living room since that's where Dad and I are. The tv is on mostly for noise. I guess I should probably just use the radio then. The remote generally stays on top of the tv where they can't reach it, but it stays on Boomerang, Nick Jr or Sprout. They will sometimes grab the other remotes and change it among the three channels or to CMT and listen to music.

As for the furniture concern...I would wait and see how things fill in on their own. Try rearranging the furniture to see if it would work better in a different position. I wouldn't rush out to buy furniture just yet. I have heard that stuff seems to grow as you have more room. The Dump is an awesome place to get good furniture for decent prices. There is also a Home Emporium in Chesapeake that we found some really nice rugs. What I wouldnt give for an extra 1000 square feet right now!! (4 of us plus a golden retriever in a 1200 sq foot, 2 bedroom apartment).

The stove issue...I love my grill, yes even during the winter. You can cook just about anything on a grill. I have issues with microwaved meats, so that would be out for me. If you have a toaster oven, you can do baked chicken or chops, steaks, burgers. Good luck. If you are close to Mr Jims sub shop, they are AWESOME!!!

I really think you can have the TVs in there and have rules regarding them. If you say "no" then they can't use them. I have things in my house my daughter isn't allowed to use, that's just life.

A crock pot is a great idea but I think you will survive if you need to continue the way you have been.

Plants can make a room feel fuller - also pulling the furniture in away from the walls can make a room feel cozier and less spacious. You can set up 2 areas in a big room - a TV viewing area and a reading/sitting area. A couple of cheap chairs will take care of that. Don't fret - it has been my experience that we fill our homes all too quickly! There's nothing wrong with space and minimalism. The kids will have room to play - I would love to have that "problem!"

As for food, do you have a toaster oven or a grill? You can prep meat in both. What about a rice cooker and/or steamer (I have a unit that does both) so you can make some rice and steam some veggies. If all else fails, spend a few $s on a cheap crockpot. You can make roasts, chili, chicken, casseroles, etc. Just about everything can go in a crockpot!

As for the TVs, I would probably take them out but it depends on the maturity of your children. Our 15 yo would stay up all night if he had a TV in his room but I have friends whose children have been very responsible with their TVs. You have to consider your children's personalities. Keep in mind, if a problem arises, you can always take them out later!

big potted plants and trees fill space nicely.

as to the TVs in the rooms? I would agree - it's trouble. my boys don't have one in their rooms. I didn't get a TV in my room until I was 16!! LOL!!! However, I would allow them in their rooms until everything is unpacked.

I would go out and invest in a crock pot - $40 and good meals at home. No more TV dinners or take out.

Congrats on the new home. Sounds like you need to go furniture shopping anyway!!! that's twice the house!!! My house is 3K sq ft - my gfs is 7500 - it's big and lots to clean!!!

I think the tvs should be removed from the bedroom.