It's About That Time

....Yes, it's about time I wrote a new post.  AND, it's about time I explain just why I haven't posted in way too long.  This holiday season is a culmination of so many of life's events--the end of my cookie-eating, belt-busting season, the end of another great (and busy!) year, and the end of running around like crazy people attempting to start a new chapter in our lives.

We have been debating since September what to do about our lovely, though overly-large home and what it means for our lifestyle and sense of emotional and financial security.  Let's face it, we have the luxury of being in the middle class and having a choice in this matter, but that does not belittle that it was a difficult decision to make.  We have, indeed, decided to put our house on the market.  The fact is, that what we had assumed was our "dream home" does not fit our changing vision of what we want in our life.

What do we want, you ask?  Well, we want to maximize our savings while reducing debt (aka mortgage).  We want to decrease spending on outlandish energy bills required by soaring ceilings and two mammoth air conditioning units.  We want to decrease the time and energy required by cleaning and maintaining such a large property ourselves.  We want to minimize the spending on huge windstorm insurance bills and property taxes.  In other words, we want to downsize our home to upgrade our lifestyle.

We may come across as being insane.  Who wouldn't want a home with bedrooms for all, a guest room, a great location, a big back yard, a giant kitchen with granite countertops, lovely flooring, etc, etc, etc? Well, we are reaching the conclusion that we just don't.  We want to teach our kids that there is more to life than living in a beautiful home.  A home should work for you, not make you work more.  A home should bring us together rather than spread us apart and make us yell to be heard from one room to the next.  A home should be about the people in it rather than the stuff we fill it with.

We are working hard to make this house look like a home to someone else.  If it needs repairing, we're doing it now, and I'm not just cleaning, I'm detailing my abode.  I've moved past decluttering to donating, distributing, and selling the stuff that weighs us down. I'm desperately trying to remind myself with everything I touch, "You're going to have to pack and move that, you know.  This time, no movers to do it for you."  Funny how stuff seems way less important when you think about whether you want to pack and haul it yourself.  Then you realize how much stuff does, literally, weigh you down.

Every night (and throughout the day!) I say a little prayer that when our house does sell.  I just pray that when it does, there is a real home waiting for us nearby.