Selling your home is more than just a business transaction. In between the hecticness of doing repairs in preparation for listing, finding an agent, running in and out for open houses and showings, and all the activity that comes from being under contract, you can lose sight of the fact that you are giving up the place where you planted your roots. Your home is filled with memories that you have built up over the years, and the loss of that comfort can hit you like a ton of bricks at some point in the selling process. If you are a sentimental person, it can be a very difficult transition. How do you say goodbye to a home you have loved? Here are some suggestions.
One idea is to have a painting or drawing made of your home by a professional artist. Artists on Etsy and similar websites take commissions for projects like these. For a moderate investment, you will have a keepsake of the place you called home that you can hang up in your new residence. With a look, you will always be reminded of your old home.
If you have a green thumb, taking seeds or cuttings from beloved plants and trees on your property can be one way of bringing part of your old home into your new one. If you have a garden that you have lovingly tended over the years, or simply a plant or tree that you think of fondly, you can take a bit of it and replant it. Even if you have to move several times - if, say, you are a military family - this can be a continual way of preserving part of what makes home, home.
This one’s a simple tip that a lot of homeowners forget to do: take pictures and video of your home. Before you start packing, go from room to room and take shots of your home as you have known it, from every angle. Sit in your favorite chair and capture a shot of your living room wall as you see it every evening. Capture your kids’ rooms to freeze this stage of their lives as they are, even if there is a mess. Then break out the video camera and shoot yourself taking a tour of your home. A visual aid is so much better than memories, which can fade over time. Twenty years down the road, you will be grateful for these remembrances of your home.
How did you say goodbye to your home? How would you do so if you were moving tomorrow? It’s a good question to ask before you close and hand over the keys.
