Over the last couple of months I’ve asked myself a number of times, “Why do we do this to people? Moving is HARD!” There’s no way around it... leaving a home you’ve loved for months, years, or decades to uproot, find all those boxes you never unpacked, and plant back into a new foreign space is treacherous. Most of my clients only see their homes two times (showing & inspection) before they close, receive the keys and begin creating a new life in a new home. Thinking about that now, I realize how much faith and trust in the process they must have! I was lucky enough to enjoy many glasses of wine, laughs, and conversation in our new home before we moved in, and for that I am so grateful.
When I started a walk-through for one of my repeat clients/friends in May, I abruptly stopped my standard listing appointment protocol, began taking pics and vids to send to my fiance’, and instantly imagined OUR lives in the home! This place could not be listed I thought to myself!
Graciously enough, these wonderful humans exempted themselves from one of the hottest markets I’ve seen and moved forward with selling their home to us, passing along their baby (then home) to people they knew and trusted.
So, 4 months later after a long closing process and some post-close possession, we embarked on the worst part of it all – the move. I cried A LOT. It was finally time to let go of that garage sale dresser I bought in college and painted twice. The décor I’d accumulated over time that no longer fit our vibe. The awesome vintage teacher’s desk we lugged home from a Craigslist exchange. The space within the walls that I’d shared so many laughs, tears, hugs, and love from all my favorite people. It was time to let go of it all and start our journey together in OUR first home together. I had no idea where to start.
Letting go of home and what makes ‘home’ is hard. I had faith that we were building something new, so it got easier. The purging picked up, the boxes started to pack, and the stress began to compile.
In the midst of packing to move to our new home (a 4 unit compound in Ohio City – I’ll share more on this soon), we also had to secure a new tenant for our current home (a side-by-side duplex in Edgewater), finish all the repairs and improvements we never got to (now I wonder how we lived like we did for so long!), manage two super high demanding full time careers, and somehow keep from tearing each other apart in the process. Sound familiar? Well, I forgot about this part. I don’t see this part. I help clients find the home, we consult throughout the whole process and get all the ducks in a row to create the need to move, and only sometimes the overwhelming stress and emotion my clients face slips through the cracks into my sphere. This stress, this exhaustion, this mixture of excitement and sadness doesn’t cross my desk too often - and honestly, I am so impressed with how you all hold it all in!
We still have boxes to unpack, but I purged pretty much everything without some sort of familial sentiment. We are building our home together. Three weeks in and I’m finally feeling more grounded, comfortable, and rested.
Friends, clients, family who are going through a move, just try to remember that this TOO shall pass, and if you’re leaving a place you know and love very well, just remember that you built that, and you will do it again - creating even more new memories and happiness. I see you, and am here for you in a bigger, more compassionate way than I’ve been able to before.
Making Moves,
Lindsay