Saying Goodbye to Your Home

Home Stagers help get homes sold, but emotional part of home selling is much more difficult.  

Leaving your home, especially one you've lived in for many years, can be hard- and so can getting settled into a new house that doesn't really feel like home yet.  Whether you are downsizing or moving into your dream home, these ideas should help ease the transition.

Saying Goodbye to Your Old Home:

Take photos of your old home before you pack your stuff.  Part of what's hard about leaving a place is knowing you're also leaving the time you inhabited it.  Little ones will be growing bigger in the next home, and everyone will be on to new things.  Documenting your old house is just as much about treasuring where you are at this moment in life as it is about those hardwood floors and great light.  If you have kids, be sure to included a few photos of them in your old home doing what they do best: playing, building, drawing on the table, dropping cereal on the floor; you'll appreciate it later.

Take pictures of your rooms on a normal untidy day.  The snapshot of life as you live it is far more meaningful than tidiness.  If you want, collect the photos into a small album with a photo of the home and the address on the front.  This has a dual purpose - it's good for working through emotions you may have about leaving a beloved home, and it acts as a realistic record to look back on when you find yourself nostalgic.

Leave your mark.  Carve your initials into a secret spot such as an attic or on the ceiling of a closet.  You deserve to have a permanent connection!

Have a "goodbye, house" party.  Invite your friends and family to celebrate at your old place one last time.  There's no need to clean up- partying amid the moving boxes is totally acceptable.  If you can, have music playing and ask friends to bring paper plates and takeout snack.  And if you've made friends with some of the neighbors, don't forget to invite them, too.

Toast your old home.  Raise a glass of champagne or cider, and toast your old house before you go.  If one toast doesn't seem like enough, invite friends and family to share stories about things that happened at this house, and end each story with a hearty "To the house!"

written by Laura Gaskill, Houzz.com