Monday, January 20, 2020

Getting ready to sell our home

Since putting a contract down on a new home January 6th, we've been busy packing here and there and clearing things out to stage our current house for real estate pictures for our future sale listing. My mom was a realtor and I've read several articles so know what we need to do to get a quicker sale. The most important things are (1) the rooms need to look as bright and as big a possible and (2) your home also needs to show that you've taken care of it over the years. We have taken care of our home, maintaining the exterior, updating rooms here and there (except for the kitchen ... but our sale price will reflect that it needs a little updating!), and keeping it clean and tidy on the inside with a regular cleaning schedule.

After the pictures are taken mid-week, I will begin packing each room for our move. As I pack, I will make a note of any task that needs to be completed so that it looks good during viewings. I plan to tackle this "get ready to sell" list as I'm packing so that once we move out, we don't have too much to work on. I do know that we will be painting the basement as it hasn't been updated in 17 years. That will probably be our most time-consuming task, but it is needed.

This past weekend, even though it was cold and windy, we put down a bunch of new mulch and Jim power washed the front sidewalk making it brighter and cleaner. It made a HUGE difference in our curb appeal.


Over the past five years, we have been getting the house ready to sell ... new roof and gutters, painted the exterior and the deck, added new landscaping two years ago, painted the interior, bought new appliances, etc. All of this means that we don't have to scramble to get these tasks done in order to market our home quickly. It's nice to know that probably within a week of closing on our new home, we will be able to put up the "For Sale" sign and offer this home that has sheltered us well for the last 18+ years to another wonderful family that wants to live in this kid-friendly neighborhood with the community pool that so many enjoy each summer!

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Lessons from this week

It's been a very emotional week for me. I am so excited and happy and humbled to finally be moving into our beautiful new house. My husband and I love the town we live in and we've been doing a lot of talking about where we want to retire and we want to stay where we are. It is still 16 years away for us, but as fast as the past 30 years have flown, retirement will be here before we know it! We have lived in four houses since we married, but none of them have been the "dream" home or perfect enough to stay in forever.

I think many people know what they want in their dream home, but I'm not sure how many ever get exactly what they want. I am getting everything I want and more in this new home. I never thought it would happen and I've cried a few times this week out of sheer happiness because I can't believe our luck! Jim and I have thought of moving out of our current neighborhood many, many times over the past 6 years, but my husband doesn't like change and it's been difficult to convince him that the time was right. And, honestly, the time never felt exactly right .... until now. It only took us about 3 weeks to find our dream home. When I look back at the last few years, I can see that many choices we have made have been leading up to this point, but we just couldn't see it.

I believe in karma and that whatever you throw out into the world eventually comes back to you. Lately, it seemed like we were throwing out more good and not getting it returned. I felt that there was an imbalance that needed to be fixed. I kept saying to myself, "When are things going to go our way?" Well, all that good that we've thrown out into the world has come back to us ten-fold! We found the perfect retirement home with perfect mountain views PLUS the seller of the house is leaving a lot of the home furnishings for us because she is downsizing. Luckily, I love her decorating style and am thrilled with the pieces she is leaving in the home. Honestly, I could have moved into that house just the way it is if it had been sold totally furnished!

Yesterday, a friend of my husband gave us a huge pile of packing boxes, at no cost to us. Boxes are expensive, so it's like the stars have aligned and we are benefiting from it! I've started packing up our current home and am a bit overwhelmed by the thought of packing up 18+ years in this house, but I'll just keep plugging away, room by room, knowing that all of this hard work will be so worth it on the end when we are sitting by the fire on our gorgeous deck enjoying the views. In the meantime, I will continue to look for ways to pay the seller's kindness forward so that I can try to maintain that balance I am looking for.

The lessons I learned this week are (1) I need to continue to live my life in a positive manner looking for ways to help others without thought for getting anything in return, (2) sometimes we have to wait a long time to see the results of choices we make - never give up waiting!, and (3) it is never to late to realize a dream! I will ponder this last lesson a bit more this year. I hold back from pursuing things because I am afraid of failure. Maybe it is time to take chances and see what happens!

Monday, January 6, 2020

Our new home!!

We have finally decided it is time to move out of our busy neighborhood and into a home that is in a much quiet area. We lucked out and found a gorgeous home in a cul-de-sac and with mountain views that are to die for!! I know that I will be spending a LOT of time in the early morning enjoying a cup of coffee on the swing that is on the back deck. Here are pictures of the current inside and I will update later with the changes we make as we already know there are some things we want to do! Entire house will get painted Sherwin-Williams Natural Linen.

I cannot wait to move in .... omg, this house is a dream come true for us!

FRONT


I plan to fix that stupid cut-out above the right garage whenever we
have to do another roof. For now, I have to live with it - blech! The dormers are fake and are not open windows into the house at all.



LIVING ROOM








DINING ROOM





KITCHEN



We plan to tile the backsplashes


I plan to add pantry/coffee bar/wine fridge, desk area, etc.
 on the wall where the picture is hanging above. It will go the
length of the room, I think. 


We will be putting in a permanent HUGE island, but not sure
what we will do with the rest of the room at the moment!



PANTRY - will turn this back into a 1/2 bath



BACK DECK - the "pièce de résistance"
The fireplace and swing STAY!!















MASTER BEDROOM (king bed) - on the main floor 



MASTER BATH




MASTER CLOSET



LAUNDRY


GARAGE ENTRY


Laundry room on left, love the coat hooks!




LOFT - can see it from living room below. Will be a library/crafting area




UPSTAIRS SECOND BEDROOM for boy #1 (king bed)



UPSTAIRS THIRD BEDROOM for boy #2 (can hold king bed)



UPSTAIRS BATH with double sinks - yea!



UPSTAIRS HALL CLOSET



BONUS ROOM OVER GARAGE - future yarn room!




BASEMENT - will eventually finish this first room into a storage area


Work area for my husband!



We will probably finish this area front to back into a huge den or media room.