How many homes have you lived in since you were an adult? Were you always looking for bigger and better? Before you search for your next place take a look at my list of things you should consider before you move.
We’ve all been there. We’ve all asked the question and wondered what the answer is. What if we make the wrong decision? What if we make the right decision?
A few months ago, my husband and I were at our wits end. Nothing was in it’s place because nothing had a place. So we did the only logical thing, we started to look at houses. Right? When you aren’t happy with your current living situation, what do you do?
Move, apparently. But one problem. We couldn’t afford it. We knew that if we moved, we’d only be able to afford the same square footage which put us right back where we started, only house poor. No thanks.
When we moved into our house only 4 short years ago, we were planning on ripping out the very standard flooring and upgrading it to tile or laminate. However, 10 short months after signing our life away, we gave birth to our first son. So there went our new floors and all other plans to add to our home. And 17 months later, baby number two came into the world and which kept us sitting idle on all of our house plans. Which was fine with us. We had two beautiful boys that are worth more than all the flooring in the world. But 4 years of tracking in dirt, baby food fights, toys, papers and business start-ups we’d had enough.
As I was talking to my sister about our first world woes, who just happens to be a bank VP (yeah, we’re so proud), she said, “Mel, you don’t need to move. You have a whole room of wasted space in the front of your house that can be used for something useful, like a play room!” I wish you could see my face right now. She was so right! We haven’t been using our square footage wisely, at all!
We have two little boys who like to run and play, surely we do not need two living rooms! So we turned the front living room into a fabulous play room. And since it’s the first thing you see when you walk in, we made sure to add certain design elements to make it more appealing to the eye rather than Hot Wheels tracks everywhere.
3 Things to Consider Before You Move
But my point isn’t designed play rooms or flooring. My point is, if you’re thinking you’ve outgrown your space, as we surely had, ask yourself these three questions:
Am I maximizing my current square footage?
We moved the boys into the same room which has freed up a room for my work space and guest room for when my parents come. Instead of being fixated on having to have a formal living room or guest room, we decided it was more important to make our house functional for us. Not our guests who come once a year. Sorry mom and dad.
Would upgrades make your current home more functional?
We realized one thing we didn’t like about our house was the flooring. But if we moved, we wouldn’t be able to afford the flooring we wanted anyway which would leave us right back where we started. So we chose to upgrade the flooring. The upgrade was much less expensive than a whole new house.
Can you afford it?
I know this should actually be the very first thing you ask yourself. Sometimes you can and sometimes you can’t. Moving is a big deal and most definitely not one to take lightly.
Everyone has a different situation. I’m just sharing ours and what we discovered as young home owners. If the job takes you to new places and if the house is really too small, then pack up and go where God leads you. I hope our experience helps you navigate your own!
Have you found yourself in the same situation? What questions did you ask yourself?
Melodee Fiske
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