Blog

I have been retired from “Corporate America” for almost seven years.  Wow, how time flies!  My husband, Todd, retired a year ago. That, in itself, has been an adjustment for both of us.  But, that’s a story for another day.  

Getting Back on Track

For the last several years, we have traveled extensively and discussed where we would like to retire.  Our closest friends would tell you that we would retire to Puerto Morelos, Mexico because we travel there so often. It’s a wonderfully quiet and quaint fishing village located along the coast, midway between Cancun and Playa del Carmen.  And, it is our favorite peaceful private place! Moving to Mexico has crossed our minds quite often, as has the option of moving to the coast in Florida or Texas.  

A Few Snags

Our children and grandchildren live in Texas.  Not Florida, not Galveston, and definitely not in Mexico.  That is a huge problem for me, as they are such a big part of our lives. I love watching them grow up and experience new things.  Also, seeing them go through their various stages of life is a miraculous thing to witness. And, I cannot or will not be able to be so far away from them.

I Digress

With all that said, we talked about living on a golf course very near to us that we play on frequently.  Okay, Todd plays frequently, I play when I can. Several months ago, I finally had an opportunity to get out and play a few rounds with Todd.  Being out there, in the community, with the water and the beautiful trees, I realized that this was my “happy place”.  

Although we had been casually looking for a house on the golf course, we hadn’t found one that we liked, until recently. We found a house on a Golf course lot, with a yard large enough for a pool. This is Texas folks, and it gets HOT in the summer, so it is really a necessity for us, The house is smaller than our current house, has a much lower price tag, and a little bit of privacy, or “protection” from the random stray balls via some large leafy trees.  

Honey, Call the Realtor

Once we spotted this house, we ran some numbers, called our realtor, and within a week and a half, listed our house for sale.  Oh, and did I mention that we had a pre-planned, 4500-mile driving trip to Colorado, Utah, Montana, Idaho and Washington State?   As it turned out, it was perfect timing to be away from our house while our realtors staged the property, listed and showed our home.

Setting the Stage to Sell

Our realtor, Linda Jackson with Ebby Halliday was amazing! She and her stager, Elizabeth, walked through the house and made a list of what we needed to do to prepare for staging. Then, they staged the house for us – all included in her services at no extra charge. Just take a look at the before and after photos!

Folks, We Got an Offer!

Within the first 30 days, we had an offer on our house, Thank goodness! And, we put an offer on the other house. Typically, the deals close within 30 days, but our buyers were traveling and wanted to close mid-September. Fortunately, the sellers of our new house were building a home and the closing date worked out for them as well. This gave us a little more time to move our things out of our current home and place them into storage. It was also a great opportunity to lighten our load of “stuff”.

Garage Sale Time!

So, we held a garage sale and waited for the buyers to arrive. Well, that was a little bit of a bust, I believe the Texas heat was responsible for that. However, while sitting in my garage “store”, I started snapping photos of the sale items and posting them for sale on “NextDoor“. Suddenly, I started selling things like crazy!

NextDoor is a neighborhood application that allows you to share information, concerns, referrals, and sell items, etc. NextDoor is also an excellent way to connect with your neighbors and get involved in your community.

Items that did not sell were donated to “Arms of Hope” a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit Christian care organization that assists children and single-mother families in need. It’s a great way to help others while freeing up some space in your home. Simply call and schedule a pickup. A win-win!

Strategy is Everything

We had to really strategize about how to accomplish this move. We knew we were going to have to store our furniture and goods. And, at one point, all of our things would be in storage. That was a little bit unsettling for me, and I had to learn to let go of control.

We decided to start with the second story. We gave a few items to our kids for their houses. Some were happy, others were not! But, since we were downsizing, it was a great opportunity to give the kids some furniture, and the belongings they had left when they moved out. Finally!

Let the Moving Begin

We used a local “Cube Smart” to store our belongings. It was located halfway between our old house and our new house. That made for a very convenient way to move over a couple of months. We started out with one of their largest cubes and quickly filled it up. Luckily, they had some rental deals that we were able to take advantage of. So, we rented a second cube; 10′ by 15′ that we used mostly for furniture. And finally, we rented a third cube that was “climate-controlled” and larger. This is where we stored the items we needed first, refrigerator, washer, dryer, food, mattresses, computers, tool chest, plants, and outdoor living furniture.

Since this is such a huge move and project, I decided to break it into several parts. Part 2 is coming soon!

Enjoy,