For my wife, it was hard to hear an interior decorator (a "stager," in real estate terms) explain why it was a good idea to repaint our main foyer, dining room, spare bedroom/office, and replace all our upstairs carpeting. We could understand the importance of "depersonalizing" the house, but it was still difficult to take down our wedding picture and other items that made the house our home.
That was the point: once the house went on the market, with new interior colors and carpeting and less furniture, it did not really feel like our home any longer. It seemed like it already belonged to someone else; we just needed our realtor to help find these people. Fortunately, the new owners were identified within a week after the house went on the market.
Before putting up the house for sale and again after entering into a contract with the buyers, however, my wife and I wound up reliving our past 18 years -- as well as our youth and even parts of the lives of our parents and grandparents -- through the pictures, videos, music, books, magazines, cards, school projects, artwork, toys, sports equipment, instruments, computers, clothing, souvenirs and other mementos, and various household items that were in our attic, basement, closets, shelves, garage, yard and other parts of the house built for us when our children were just seven and three years old.
Some of what we came across as we cleared out the house for our move made my wife and I smile or laugh. Other things made us sad, even cry, not because they evoked bad feelings, but because we realized they were a special part of our past but could not, for practical reasons, be part of a future in smaller living quarters. Some of these items are now in a public storage space, where they may be forgotten until we come across them again and pass them on to our sons or, gasp, try to make the difficult decision of finally just throwing them away.
Some neighbors, friends and family members have expressed admiration, even envy, for the move my wife and I made this summer. Yes, it's been a dream for the past 3-4 years to eventually simplify our life and live year-round at the Jersey shore. This year, for a variety of reasons, the timing was right. We were fortunate our house sold quickly, and had the energy and health -- and the help of our two strong sons -- to undertake the move.
My advice to those who are thinking of simplifying their lives in a smaller home: don't wait. Do it as soon as the timing is right, and not a year too late. Oh, and start getting rid of those old things now.
