Today we got the keys to our new house. Walking through the doors, I think we both felt a mixture of relief, excitement, and absolute terror. Looking at the task ahead of us, it was difficult to build up the courage to start. So we started small.

Much of the build-up to getting the keys has been spent thinking, researching, and planning. The good thing about starting with a house from the bottom up is that you can do very nearly whatever you want. The difficulty was to decide what we might want, what we could afford, and how best to go about it.

Our first task was therefore to take stock. This involved getting into the attic to check joists, working out what sized staircase we could put in, and poking room beams to ascertain where there might be rot.

Another job was to work out what the old owners had left behind. The house had been barely occupied for the last forty years, used only as a holiday home, and a student digs at one point. However, we brought the house with the understanding any contents left would become ours.

This means we are now the proud owners of a 1980s washing machine, around 50 copies of National Geographic, and a cupboard full of baked beans, spices, and a mysteriously labelled ‘love potion’ the majority of which have best before dates from the 90s.

So, while tomorrow the real work begins, tonight I’m trying to find a collector of retro washing machines. We ate the beans, who pays attention to best before dates anymore?