Saying goodbye is something people usually don’t find difficult. You see, we usually say it when we’re simply not going to see someone for a few hours or until the end of the week. We say goodbye to friends and family all the time, and it becomes a common occurrence when we’ve all got our own lives to lead! However, when it comes to saying goodbye to your old house, it’s a lot harder, and for anyone who is in the process of moving understands that better than anyone.
Saying Goodbye To Your Old House
The home is where we grow, where we heal, where we enjoy most of our life with our family and friends. And houses aren’t forever! When you move out, it feels like you lose a connection to this special place, and now you have to try and fit in somewhere else. We all get homesick after all, and it happens to the best of us. Not to mention, moving home is never an easy time, and there are all sorts of mistakes you can make.
So if you’re in the process of moving, and you’re seriously struggling with being able to let go, check out some of the pointers below to try and make this an easier time. You can do this!
Know What Home Really is to You
In the world of real estate, a home is a property, where you have a roof over your head. But for us humans, it goes so much further than that. Because it’s the place where we live, we consider it our home in all traditional senses, and there’s usually a lot of good memories tied up with it. However, is home really the place you lay your head down to sleep each night? Or is the feeling you get from being there?
When prompted, a lot of people answer that home is the people you love, and love living with them day in and out. Home is those cookies your mom made you or coming home from school to play outside or watch the after-school TV. Either way, home is made up of so many more components than you realize, and these can all be taken with you. Knowing what home really means to you can make it a lot easier to move out of your old house, as you’re secure in the knowledge you’re taking home with you!
Leave Something Behind
Leaving something behind in the house you’re moving out from can mean you’re leaving a part of yourself with your old home, with little cost to the house or the owners moving in. And whatever it is you leave behind can be anything, as long as you’re not tipping trash all over the floor!
Whatever you feel is a nice gesture, make sure you follow through on it. You could write the new owners a letter explaining how special the house was to you, and point out the squeaky floorboards if anyone wants to sneak out! You could also leave them a housewarming present; maybe a plant you grew yourself, or send them a gift basket with some foods in it. When you feel like you’re welcoming someone else into a place you love, you’re going to feel a lot better about leaving it.
Take Lots of Photos
Photos are snapshots of memories we can look back on whenever we want, and we never have to worry about them decaying. Because of that, on the days set before you’re meant to leave, go around taking photos of everything in the house. Every corner, nook, and cranny, no matter how inconsequential you think it might be.
When you’ve gone round everything and used up an entire memory card with the photos, you won’t feel like you’ve missed something. So take a photo of that hole in the wall where you fell down the stairs. Take the photo of the crack in the ceiling where water started leaking through etc. All those are quite provocative memories, and you’re guaranteed to get a laugh out of them when you look back.
Even take some photos before you start packing up your rooms, as you’ll now have a blueprint for setting out your new house in the exact same way your old house looked. It seems a little goofy, but if you’re homesick already, it might just be the solution you need. And after all, you can always take a Saturday a couple of months down the line to rearrange in whatever format you like.
See if You Can Visit
Visiting your old house isn’t something a lot of people think of as something they can do, and it can seem a little weird to knock on the door of the new family and ask for a look around. But if you’ve been out of the house for a couple of years or so, and you still get a nostalgic pang whenever you think about it, it might be a good idea for you to try out.
And it doesn’t just have to be the house you ask for a look around, but you can trawl around the nearby town or village it’s in as well. Reigniting those happy memories and showing yourself they’re still there always works wonders for helping us realize happy we are in our current situation, and can even help us to move on a little more.
Ready to Say Goodbye?
You’ll get there, even if you aren’t. Humans have a lot of emotions to deal with after all, and the stress surrounding the move in the first place can easily bring up a whole cocktail you have to end up dealing with.
Moving house is a big decision to make, and sometimes it’s absolutely necessary for whatever reason. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t hard to do, and you can’t be sad about it! Let yourself feel for your old house, and try out a couple of these ideas to make the process smoother. Home isn’t just anywhere after all.
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I always knew that home is where my family is but I felt so conected to our old house. I cried for days when we left and I didn’t expect that. Wonderful tips.