Hello adorable readers! I know you are anxiously awaiting the finished bathroom reveal as am I. April tends to be a VERY busy month for our family. There has been a birthday, an anniversary, two sets of visitors and now we are gearing up for a third guest. Did I happen to mention that our roof is also being replaced? Whew! I think it’s time to dream of Castles and Cottages A New Beginning.
Castles and Cottages A New Beginning
I am a planner by nature. So it is somewhat comical that every single home Mr. Decor and I have ever purchased has been done in a mad rush. The scramble to locate a home generally occurred as we needed to get our children settled quickly so they could register for school. You cannot enroll in a school district without an address.
So we settled.
Each and every time.
Our Current Cottage
We are currently living in a small suburb of Fort Worth. It is a lovely town that we selected because it has the highest rated public schools in the area. But we were reminded last week, with our annual property tax bill, that we pay dearly for this greatness. It is also a bit of a hairy commute for Mr. Decor.
Houses in this area sell within a few days, if not hours. Storybook Cottage had been on the market for six weeks when we bought it. The reason? Well, you know it has had its issues which we have either resolved or are currently working on. But the house is also very large. I have never even shared any of the second story, our master bathroom, and a few other areas.
Empty Nest
For the past three years, the Fashionista has been renting out most of the second story. But she will be leaving the nest in early summer. Once Sweet Guy goes off to college in a year and a half it will then truly be a ridiculously sized house for just two people.
Then there is the yard. First, there are the 16 full growth oak trees dotted around the large property. They are currently dropping strands of yellow pollen that must be swept up daily from all the walks. Because if the strands are stepped on they dissolve into a powdery mess that stains fabric and other surfaces.
Don’t even get me started on the massive amount of leaves that must be raked and bagged up in the fall.
In the past three years, we have created ten different and rather large garden beds as features within the yard. They include brick paths, dry river beds, brick wall flower bed edging, and much, much more. Despite this we can never keep up with all the weeding, planting, mowing, edging, etc.
Be Grateful and Let Go
I am tremendously grateful for this home. Despite a brush with a tornado it has kept us safe and dry. Several lovely memories have also been created here.
We do 99% of all the maintenance, housekeeping and gardening ourselves. Due to the vast size, there is always something in both the house and yard that are in need of attention. It demands all of our free time. We rarely go anywhere.
It’s not fun when your home becomes a sort of jailkeeper.
Other options such as hiring a gardener are not in our budget. I also seriously doubt that a housekeeper would ever meet my rather strict expectations.
It’s Time To Dream
So we will soon begin a new phase in our lives. Looking for a home while not under a stressful deadline. However, we’re not even sure what we are looking for. So here is where we start. By compiling a list of what we love and what we need. Once we have a better understanding of those two areas a search will commence probably next year at this time.
Let the dream begin.
I hope you’ll enjoy the journey with me.
Laura
Hi Laura, We faced the same problem after mom passed away. We were in a 5600 sf house with 2 acres and just the two of us. Plans for siblings to rent the basement and upstairs fell through, so we moved….and moved 3 more times to get where we are today! We got the location we wanted but the house has needed a lot of TLC. It will never be our dream house but it is exactly what we need in this phase of our lives. I like to think of it as a plain vanilla house! lol All the best to you. xoxo
I think it makes perfect sense to downsize!!
Funny thing is, in my story, we never upsized to begin with! 🙂 All we’ve ever had was our small 3 bedroom/2 bathroom ranch, the one that you’ve seen pictured, and while there have been times I wished for more space, I can say I’m glad we stayed small all along. It’s been paid off for years so going into retirement, all we have is the smallish property tax payment. Also, if I had gotten a bigger home, it would have just meant more stuff and believe you me, we have accumulated STUFF. That’s our current project – going through everything in the garage and shed and getting ready for the sale of a lifetime. I want to get rid of all of the clutter.
Wishing you all the best in your future endeavors ♥
Linda
So sad but so exciting at the same time too. I bet where ever you go it will be perfect once you’ve added your special touch Laura. My baby girl is moving to Canada at the end of the year to study Veterinary Sciences and then the hubby and I will have to make the same decision. The house we’re in is too big for just the two of us, so I’ll be dreamy your dreams with you all the way.
Oh friend, I can relate. While we have no plans to downsize right now (we love our home and neighborhood), we will be glad when we have sold my husband’s childhood home 800 miles away. While we love it and have great memories, it isn’t practical to keep a hold of it.
As we prepared for one of our moves to another state years ago, having to commute to house-hunt, I came across this verse that encouraged me: “The Lord your God…went before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go” (Deuteronomy 1:32b-33). When I showed my husband, he laughed and said, “Does that mean we’re going to live in a tent?” 🙂 Thankfully, no. And though I sometimes wished we had something visible like a pillar of cloud to follow, it blessed me to know that God knew where He wanted us to “pitch our tent.” I’m trusting His guidance for you, too. Finding a new house is both exciting and exhausting – I hope you have more excitement than exhaustion. 🙂
I live in the Mid-Cities area of FW and am facing your same decision but maybe in a different way….I have a too large house that I shared with my late mother….and it is eating up my rainy day fund….as a senior it is the decision of should I stay or should I go….and where??? And right now the housing market in our area is hot so selling makes sense!!! Now to find a place where I and the : hounds can age maybe not so gracefully….good luck on your decisions and your to-do plan!! Downsize now!!!
Beautiful post! Dream, dream, dream friend!
Hi Laura! What a beautiful home you have. But I understand the work involved in keeping up the “family home”. When we became empty nesters we found we were constantly working on the house or lawn or flower beds. We sold our home several years ago to downsize to a condo. We thought we would be devastated but actually we never looked back. We had wonderful memories of raising our family there but knew our home needed a new young family to keep it alive. It made us happy that just such a family purchased our home to be their home. We are friends on FB so I get to catch glimpses of their home & how it’s evolved. As far as the “things”, all the things I had acquired through the years, I kept my most favorite & loved things and let the rest go, a great feeling of not being burdened with too many whatevers. It’s been a new adventure and we’re enjoying it and all the things we have time for now. You will be so glad to have this change in your lives Laura!
Blessings for a great new adventure, Edie Marie
About once a week my husband and I talk about downsizing. Unlike you we did not move to our area for schools and though we are in the best area for the best schools, we moved here for proximity to the airport. My husband travels a lot and we did not want to drive 45 minutes one way as we had in the last state we lived in. We have a house that is way to big for us and the scary thing is that we have filled every room, and closet with our stuff that we have collected from years of travel.
When we downsize we want to live closer to family, the problem is that most of the family is in the Midwest and we do not want to go back to the cold. We like the East coast. So for now we just talk about it.
Will you be staying in Fort Worth or would you like to move somewhere else? When you downsize would you like to live in the city for something new?
Take care and have a great day!
That IS an exciting journey, Laura — and a bit of a scary one. It’s always hard to leave a place you love — and a lot of work, both in the prepping to leave, the moving, whatever has to be done when moved. But exciting, yes. And on your schedule (important) and specifications. It’s always good when you know you don’t HAVE to — you want to and are ready. It will be fun to follow along!
And, as you probably know — it’s a BOY! A little prince! Betting on the name?
Oh, those photographs! Yes, I can see the work involved with all of them, but if gardening is something that a person loves to do and has the time, then I want a garden. My mom is 89 and she loves to garden. Besides walking 6-8 miles a day, she also takes care of her yard in Sarasota. The last time I spoke to her she said that there wasn’t enough to do in the yard. I want to dream along with you,. The large cottage that is first on the page, has the convenience of never needing to be painted. The adorable small house with the green front door is growing perennials that negate the need to plant annuals every year. I take care of three gardens for the village here, so I have a lot of opinions about plants that grow in Illinois. They have to bloom all summer or at least for months and not be messy. I don’t care for daylilies, at all, a one day bloom and then the stalk has to be cut off…blah.
Looking forward to seeing what unfolds for you. We recently downsized to a little cottage built in 1950. We are making it our own and loving our adventure! God bless your possibilities.
I have 16 oak trees in a ring around the front of my house, I kid you not.
I look forward to hearing the story of you r next move.
Laura, I think this next phase of life is a lot about dreaming together. Dreaming of where you want to be and what you want to do without kids in the house. We moved here to this house, which is still large by some standards, because we wanted the outdoor space. We love working out there but we are trying to keep things simple. I still want room for our boys to come home and hopefully bring their future families with them…that’s part of my dream. 🙂 Can’t wait to see what you come up with in the next couple of years.
Wow Laura-how exciting. I downsized before retirement almost 3 years ago and now I rent a house for my brother and I. I wish I had done that even sooner. My old condo was a money pit. I love calling the landlord if there is a problem. No stress or expense. I realize not everyone can rent, tho. Have fun!
mary
I’m eager to see where your search leads you!
So you are joining me in the adventure of selling and buying. Sounds like you have some good goals for the “next stage”. We are selling in a higher taxed area and moving to a lower taxed area for sure. Hope all works out well for you.