HOW TO LOVE YOUR NEW HOME

We’ve all felt it….. as soon as the papers are signed, a strange feeling of excitement and buyer’s remorse settles into our souls! It’s real. It’s natural. The excitement is energizing and filled with a fresh start, yet the buyer’s remorse can cause a lot of unnecessary angst. I know, I’ve felt this many times. It’s been eight years since my husband and I bought our current home, and the memory of us passing each other as we frantically tried to establish order and simultaneously asking each other if we just bought the “Money Pit” still makes us smile. At that moment, everything we touched seemed to break, and unexpected problems surfaced faster than we could keep up with, but we LOVED our new house and the dream we had for it.

So, it’s natural to have those mixed feelings of excitement, paying too much, buying a lemon, or not being able to return it if it doesn’t fit, and on and on. But rest assured there are no coincidences; everything happens for a reason. You found the house and fell in love with it for a reason, and things aligned for you to buy it. It was meant to be. Now, all you need to focus on is making it home. YOUR home sweet home!

Whether it needs some work to get it to the ‘home sweet home’ stage or not, every ounce of effort you put into it draws it closer to your heart and to becoming a member of your family. The thoughts, dreams, and conversations you have about your new home create an energetic bond. How is that even possible?

It’s possible because our thoughts and voices hold a frequency vibration; after all, it’s our thought vibrations that lead us to speak and have conversations. Our voices create sound waves that fill the air. Interestingly, those sound waves not only fill the air in our ears, but they also fill the air in our house’s rooms and penetrate its walls. Have you ever accidentally walked into a room after a heated argument and felt the heated electric energy still remaining in the room? Or maybe you walked into a room after something hilarious had just happened and started smiling before anyone could explain to you what had happened? If you can relate to those, then you have felt the living energy that you and your family bring to your new home. It’s your excitement, your laughter, your hopes and dreams, and your love that turn someone else’s home into your home.

To set the tone on move-in day, before the movers arrive and the chaos begins, unlock your front door and as you take your first step into your new home, take a moment to say a little blessing for your new home. Taking time for this will immediately shift your buyer’s remorse. This also sets the tone of your thoughts and words which will greatly affect the move-in process. It will affect the tone of the house which will affect the movers’ attitudes, as well as your family and friends’ attitudes and camaraderie as they help. Everyone will feed off of each other’s attitudes; so staying open-minded, centered, and positive during the chaos will ease the anxiousness of everyone trying to settle into new unfamiliar surroundings.

In addition to setting the tone for your new adventure, here are a few more tips to help you fall in love with your new home.

1. Be gentle with yourself. Moving into a new home and neighborhood can be a HUGE stress. It’s not just the stress felt on the move-in day. It’s the ongoing stress of everyday life, trying to find where things are, adjusting to a new neighborhood and new routines, while also choosing paint colors and painting, cleaning, and decorating. This can overwhelm the most centered person on the planet. When that overwhelming feeling starts, take a moment (or two) for yourself, slow down and focus on the house’s charm, the new friends you’re about to meet, the excitement of giving your new home a new personality. Give yourself grace, there are only so many minutes in a day and bringing dreams to life takes time. Remind yourself that it’s the journey that gives the end-result its sparkle and beauty.

2. Keep one room clutter-free. Moving can create absolute mayhem. To help your sanity, keep one room free of boxes and clutter. No exceptions, keep this area open, light, and clutter-free. Make it cozy and relaxing; bring in a couple of your favorite chairs, a coffee table, an ottoman, etc. When the chaos gets the best of you, head to this peaceful space to sit back, breathe, and regroup.

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3. Try some not-so-subliminal messaging. As soon as possible locate some art that makes you smile, or gives you a warm welcoming message. Hang it where you (and everyone else) will frequently see it. Every time you pass by, it will lift your spirits. At first, it will be a conscious greeting, but as time passes, it will become a subconscious greeting, quietly uplifting you as you bustle through your day.

1. Add touches of the familiar. Dig out a few favorite accents or lighting fixtures you loved in your previous home. Experiment with adding these familiar items into your new home. As you decide where they should go, dismiss how they were placed in your previous home. For example, even though the items may have been previously used in a bedroom, they may not work in the new bedroom but may work better in a study and have a new purpose. It doesn’t matter where their new placement is; familiar items warm your heart and give you a feeling of comfort. If an item has taken on a new task, embrace that shift; let it shine in its new light. Don’t try to make your previous house fit into your new house. Your new home has a different energy than your previous home; the sunlight will move through it differently as well, and those differences affect how things look and feel. Old favorites may look brand new. This is all part of the freshness of a fresh start. And witnessing the unexpected metamorphoses can be very gratifying!

2. Celebrate the tiny victories. If you should start feeling overwhelmed at what needs to be done and your brain cannot process what to do next, take a break in the room you set aside as “the clutter-free room”. Take a breath and clear your mind; try not to focus on the whole house, instead, select one area that will affect your daily routines the most, e.g. your bedroom, medicine cabinet, clothes closet, or kitchen. Once you’ve decided on the area, focus on that one area — put your joy and love into organizing it and giving it welcoming touches that make you smile. Taking the time to do this at the start sets the stage for how it will most likely stay. Once the area meets your approval, then pat yourself on the back and admire your handiwork, give your spouse a tour, and take a photo so you can happily look back on your victory before moving on to the next area!

3. Out with the old, in with the new. There are traditions worldwide relating to moving into a new home. As mentioned before, saying a blessing for your new home is one very uplifting tradition. This can be a simple silent intent between you and the house or it can be a part of a housewarming event with friends. I highly recommend this, the results are amazing! Other traditions are: to symbolically cleanse traces of past owners by misting each room and their corners with lavender and sea salt, or diffusing lavender essential oil on each level of the house, or simply having “The Redefined Home” clear the air with dowsing and quantum energy. Some recommend burning sage to clear past emotions and events, but I do not recommend this. I prefer the other methods because the burning sage creates smoke that fills carpets, window treatments, and other porous textures. Nonetheless, select the method that resonates with you, and then feel the energy lift as it is performed. These traditions have stood the test of time in creating a renewed energy for the whole family.

4. Bring your house flowers. Fresh flowers are a gesture of love, so buying them for your new home can be surprisingly meaningful. There is something delightful about fresh flowers. Their vibrant colors and freshness lift the soul and your house will feel the love as well. Don’t wait for things to be perfect to start pampering your new home!

Credit: digsdigs.com

1. Continue to focus on the positive. Try keeping a daily gratitude journal for a week, paying special attention to all the things you appreciate about your new home, from the big (a roof over your head) to the small (great water pressure!). Find joy in the details. The journal does not need to be a book; it can contain random thoughts or observations. Whatever the format is, it should ALWAYS BE POSITIVE. To make it easier to remember to journal, try pairing it with another daily routine, like your morning coffee or before sleeping. For more inspiration, check out another Redefined Life article “Shower Your Home with Gratitude.”

2. Enlist some help. If things are not coming together as you’d hoped, it may be time to call in reinforcements. Whether you invite a creative friend over to help solve a furniture puzzle in your new living room or bring in “The Redefined Home” to help select beautiful colors or solve some puzzling dilemmas, getting another set of eyes on your space can bring new insights to your home.

3. And last but not least, embrace the not-so-perfect. It’s easy to fall into the trap of expecting your new home to be perfect. Homes are meant to be lived in and just like people, no home is perfect. As you discover your home’s quirks, accept them and live with them for a while. Over time those quirks may remain a part of your home’s personality or you may find ways to improve or repair them. Whatever the case, embrace your new home and hold on to its positive qualities instead of holding on to an impossible picture-perfect ideal.

We’ve all moved once or twice in our lives and no two moves are the same. Tell us about a tip or two that helped you rise above the “move-in mayhem”, or share a memory that still makes you smile.