After years of hard work, and surviving pandemic quarantine with five kids in a 1,300 square foot home . . . We are finally ready to move into our forever homestead! There is a down payment in the bank and we have our mortgage preapproval letters. The next step is to wait, patiently, for our dream property to be listed for sale. The current state of the real estate market makes me sure that we’re not the only ones who find ourselves in this position. So, here are some ideas on how to stay productive while house shopping, for another option besides just refreshing Zillow all day long.
Declutter
Even though it may not be time to put everything in boxes just yet, there are many steps you can take to make the moving process a little bit easier. Think about working on things like the junk drawer, or other places in your home that tend to collect miscellaneous items. Your options are to get rid of clutter now, sort through clutter as you’re trying to pack up an entire house, or to move the clutter with you to the new home.
Catch Up On Appointments
Between paperwork and packing and everything else that goes into setting up your new home, you are going to be very, very busy. Use some time now to catch up on physicals, teeth cleanings, eye exams, vet appointments . . . even oil changes for your car. You will be thankful for having less on your plate when it comes to moving time.
Save Up Money
Housing prices seem to be steadily increasing. We have saved up a healthy down payment, but could always use a little more to put down on the new home, and there are many other costs involved with closing on a house and moving.
We are continuing to save as much as possible because we know that upgrading to a bigger home will come with many expenses. We will probably need to purchase additional furniture and appliances. And, as we will be creating a homestead, there will also be purchases for things like our chickens.
We have been doing little things like earning Swagbucks for gift cards and selling old clothes on Poshmark to keep adding to our bank account balance. Bonus: if you sell things, you’ll end up getting rid of more clutter!
Complete Your Unfinished Projects
We’ve been living in our current home for about ten years, but I have moved over a dozen times during my life. I know that normal life ceases to exist for a while when you move to a new home. Now is the time to complete your unfinished projects and check some things off of your to-do list. Once your new home goes up for sale, you won’t have much time for other things.
Personally, I’ve been trying to finish up a crochet baby blanket for a dear friend. There is also a new/adapted crochet pattern being used for the blanket which I hope to have up on this blog in the near future 🙂
Research
The plan for our upcoming move is to build a homestead. We have been spending some time learning about things like raising chickens, beekeeping, and food preservation.
However, there are other types of research to be done before a move. If you are searching for a home in a very specific area, you can always start researching things like the location of playground and libraries for kids, or available gyms and different commuting options for work.
This post is a reminder for myself too. Yes, we have been waiting for a long time to move and are so excited and somewhat impatient for the future. However, it really is a waste of time to just sit around, hitting refresh on Zillow all day long, waiting for your new home. Instead, we can be productive and get ready. I keep telling myself that the right property will be there for us, once we have fully prepared for it.
Any of my readers searching for a new home right now? How are you keeping busy, and sane, in this crazy market?
