One of my biggest regrets.
I have lived in 6 homes since I moved out of my parent’s house 14 years ago; four rentals and 2 owned homes.
My first experience living away from home was in my parent’s back house. I then moved to another apartment in the same city with my then-boyfriend, now husband. Then we moved to another apartment in my brother’s back house. Then we bought our first home. We sold that home after 6 years and moved into a condo for one year before finally buying our current home. We have been here for 5 years and plan to stay for at least 10 more years or forever.
It is until now that I finally am investing in my home. I always had excuses as to why it wasn’t “worth it”. My most popular excuse for not investing in my home was that our home wasn’t our forever home. It was temporary until (various reasons).
That disconnection I felt with my home kept me away most of the time. I always wanted to be out, somewhere else that was cooler and funner. My home was always a mess and dirty since I was hardly there. There were no pictures on the walls, our appliances were none that we picked out and our mattress was over 10 years old. There was no headboard on our bed, no bed pillows or couch pillows and our bed covers did not match our pillowcases.
Our home was just a place to sleep as far as I was concerned.
That perspective was so wrong. Even when I hear people say it now, I want to tell them noooo… don’t do that.
I regret not making my home my sanctuary from the first place I lived, my parent’s duplex. Making your home your oasis does not have to break the bank. It can be just small touches that tell people a little bit about you when they walk into your home.
What are your hobbies? Do you like cooking? Do you value spending time with people? Are you a minimalist or eccentric? Are you a coffee drinker?
During those times I did not have a positive relationship with money. I had no plan or financial goals. My goals were focused on keeping busy and saying yes to everything. I was not living for me. I always had somewhere to be, but I was not happy.
Making your home your sanctuary is good for your well-being. It is the place where we belong. Everyone needs somewhere to belong. What better place than where you lay your head down every night?
It took me a long time to realize the importance of investing time, energy, and money into my home. I do not want you to make the same mistake. I wish I had more good memories from every place that I lived. The only memories I have are that they were not a representation of me or my family.
I now have a home budget in place every month. I also have a sinking fund for home repairs. The money for these funds comes from our going out and travel money, but it is more than worth it.
We are currently starting our biggest home project yet. Our kitchen was outdated and dark. We are going to do a complete remodel. It is going to be bright and open. I love to cook. We spend half of our day in the kitchen. My kids love to help with cooking. We have not been able to really spend time in the kitchen together because of the layout. We are looking forward to making the kitchen space a place for coming together, working together, and making memories
Now that we are investing in our home, we are spending more time here. We have things to do here like play on the trampoline, grill and eat outside, watch movies, play board games, bake and celebrate. We also take pride in keeping our home tidy.
No matter how long you plan to live in your home, make it yours. Plant the garden or paint the colors of the wall something that brings you joy. When and if you leave your home for another, you want to remember all of the good times you had in that space, but most importantly, how it made you feel.
Have you always invested in your home? Is your home your sanctuary?
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