Please Don't Tell My Husband, But We're Moving

It all started about 3 years ago when our son graduated from high school and left home, college bound.  I came to the realization that it was time for us to move.  It wasn't so much that we needed to downsize, as we both have home offices and require additional space, but we needed a rearrangement of space.  (Helpful hint:  if both husband and wife work out of the home and you want to have a successful marriage, make sure your home offices are on separate floors.  You can always text each other mid-morning and meet in the kitchen for a coffee break.)  The main thing I wanted to accomplish with the move was to buy a home with the master on the main.  After all, we're not getting any younger and the steps in a 2 story with a finished basement will be a problem at some point.  All very logical, right?

Not quite.  "Hubby" was not the least bit interested in moving.  Have I mentioned that he and I are very different?  I get bored very easily and absolutely love change.  He hates change.  Of course, we've been in our home for 19 years now, so it's not like we haven't put in our time here, but he sees no reason to move.  ("Honey, when I can't navigate the steps, I'll sleep on the sofa in the family room.  Don't worry about not having a full bath down there.  I can wash in the sink.  When I get sick and can no longer get out of bed, we'll just set up a hospital bed in the dining room.  Not a problem."  Get the idea?

I was drowning very quickly and needed to change my strategy.  I had it!  "Honey, you know we really should start updating our home.  We need to make changes whether we move or stay, so let's begin making home improvements so that when we are ready to move, the house will be in great shape."  It worked.  In December of 2008 we began updating our home.

We had the deck refinished and stained, had hardwoods installed on the main floor, and replaced our ugly white laminate with granite counters in the kitchen.  We were on our way!  The only problem was that when we stopped to take a breather, my husband couldn't get over how much better the house looked and how great it would be to remain in it a long, long time while we enjoyed the updates.  Uh, oh.

(This is getting too long so I need to move the story along.  Back to updating our home.)

Since I am a home stager in Atlanta, I take it as a personal challenge to do everything right and make all the necessary changes so that when our home goes on the market it will sell quickly.  If I can't do this for my own home, then I need to get out of the home staging business.  We have made many changes since December of 2008 and I'll write several posts in a series on "Updating My Own Home."  This is the first. 

In the meantime, I have an important tip to pass along to those preparing to sell their homes:  START EARLY!!!  There are always surprises along the way to slow you down.  Here was our first:

One day I noticed that there was buckling of the front door frame at the floor board.  When I investigated, I saw that I could move the wall beside the door by 2-3 inches with my own hand.  (No, I'm not a bodybuilder.)  Long story short, we had to have the front door, door frame and rotten wood replaced.  Surprise!  This was not in our budget.  I'm guessing there will be more surprises to come.

For now, just know that this Atlanta home stager and her husband are updating our home for the spring market, but please don't tell him.