Crown molding, those pencil marks in the doorframe of your kitchen denoting a child’s growing height, the nick in the wall from when you tried to rearrange your piano’s placement in the den: a home comprises all of these memories and more when you’ve owned it for a few years.
It isn’t always easy to pack and move, especially when you get to reminiscing about all that’s happened in your home, but you aren’t alone. Because the purchase of a house is as much an emotional investment as it is a financial one, many sellers experience some difficulty in picking up their roots and moving on after the last of the paperwork is signed, even if they’re relocating for a positive reason. But there are a few ways you can help you and your family feel more at ease with change, and therefore more open to starting over in a new home.
Making space
When you make a house your own, you end up pouring a lot of yourself into the framework: your personal tastes, family memorabilia, and even moods. As you start to pack your belongings and plan out your move, take a few moments to pick your favorite decorating choices in your current house that you want to carry over in the new one. You don’t have to recreate every room as it was, but sometimes incorporating a few characteristics can help you ease into an unfamiliar setting more comfortably. And, if you can visualize your personal items in their new homes, it stands to reason that you can picture yourself there, too.
Photographic memories
If you’ve lived somewhere for a significant amount of time, you’ve probably taken pictures of countless get-togethers, holidays, and the day-to-day moments that happened there. When the thought of leaving the actual house behind starts to wear you down, take some time to gather all of those snapshots and put them somewhere safe. This can mean arranging them in a photo album, or scanning them to a laptop, or as simple as placing them in a labeled shoebox; as long as you have them at the ready, you can always revisit your former home and those happy occasions.
Compare and contrast
And if fond memories aren’t helping to make the transition from one home to the next any easier, consider comparing the benefits and drawbacks of each to give you a little perspective. Is there a room that’s always felt small, that maybe has a larger counterpart in your new house? Perhaps you don’t get very much natural light in your living room, but you’re looking forward to a different set-up after the move. Making the moving process easier for everyone is a matter of focusing on these positive changes instead of dwelling on the aspects of your house that you will miss.
Moving somewhere new can get stressful, and it’s easy to miss a place you’ve been for some time, but the team here at Intracoastal Realty encourages you to think positively about your new experiences! Stay tuned to our blog for more tips, or contact our offices to find out more about selling your home with our agents.