Remember how I picked “refresh and renew” as my phrase for the year? Well, it’s time to fess up the reason behind that motto. We will be putting our house up for sale in about 6 weeks or so. We are currently in the process of building a new home (not too far away) and also getting this home ready to hit the market. It’s all pretty overwhelming some days because we’ve been here almost 9 years now. When one of my readers asked me a few weeks ago if I have more time now that Riley is in school, I realized that I probably would, if it weren’t for these huge projects! lol!
It’s funny that you spend years making a house into a home and then when it’s time to move, you have to reverse the process and make a home into a house. You need to put away the personal stuff and present the house as livable for anyone who might want to purchase it. You have to detach yourself emotionally from the place and that has been really hard for several of the people residing in this place. Not to mention how much people with autism do NOT like change in general. My poor son told me the other day that he needs a few weeks without any changes. I’m trying to honor his feelings, but also accomplish the things that need to happen. It’s a balancing act. I can also understand where he’s coming from because I have been working like a crazy woman this month and we had some big things done like a wood floor refinish and some painting that meant he had to move out of his room for a bit.
Here are some of the projects I’ve gotten done this month. This was a HUGE undertaking – I took down our “hall of fame” and had the stairway patched and repainted. We went from this:
to this…
I have to say that was the hardest change we have made. I really miss all the photos and my kids and husband have regularly commented on how empty it feels now.
Alex’s room was another enormous project and his room is the one place in the house where I just really can’t put away all the personal stuff. He NEEDS his books and certain belongings like his stuffed animals. His room has been covered in maps and postcards for 8+ years so we went from this:
to this…
The fleece blanket was a Christmas gift made by Riley (with some help from me). The print on the dresser is from Pottery Barn Teen and will go in his next room which will have a rock and roll music theme.
I asked him if there were any books he would be ok to have packed away for a few months and he picked out 3 for me to pack. Is that cute or what?! I can’t take his books away from him because he reads them all the time! I’m not going to take everything out of kids’ rooms because I don’t want to make their life completely barren for the next few months. I have done some major de-cluttering though and we’ve all agreed to pack some stuff away in boxes for awhile. However, I have to say that there has been some grumbling about those boxes when someone realizes they want to access something that has been packed away. *Sigh*
The living room didn’t change much, but I did pack away the photographs and personal things we had on display. I also took down most of the wall art and had all the paint freshened up. I have to say that I love this space and all the wonderful natural light that the north facing windows give me.
We went from this:
to this…
Our office (which can also be used as a formal living room or dining room) has been the hub of our home for many years while we’ve homeschooled. I can’t think of a room that has worked harder!
We went from this:
to this…
I’m feeling pretty pleased with all the progress that has been made! The house is feeling really nice right now and I’m wishing I had made some of these changes a little sooner. We have loved this home and have so many wonderful memories that have happened here. We also really like our neighbors and the area that we live in. So you might ask why we are moving? Sometimes we ask ourselves that same question. It’s funny how things change though. While we don’t necessarily need more space, we need different space. As our kids have grown and our family needs have evolved, we needed some things that we just couldn’t get if we stayed. We are happy that we will be staying close enough to keep in touch with so many good friends. It will still be a big change though! Actually, it’s been a long series of little changes already. That’s just going to get worse before it gets better. Wish me luck!
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