After our twins were born, we threw around the idea of passively, maybe, possibly looking for a new house. At the time, my mother was living with us and was proving to be a bit of a disgruntled roommate. 

We started wishlisting what this new house would entail: an in-law suite (priority), a big enough office space for the two of us to share, a bigger kitchen with an island instead of a breakfast nook, etc.

Then my mom decided to move out.
Then the girls turned two and started pushing the boundaries of our living space.
Then the pandemic came and house-bound all of us.
Then the market started exploding with all of these available houses?! (WTF)

We’ve lived in our home for 7 years now, and we’ve upgraded/remodeled/touched up every (reasonable) space of this investment. 
What was the real tipping point besides all of the above? The kitchen. 

The kitchen is due for its first actual remodel, and that’s not something we want to take on in a home where our time is limited. I’d rather save our time, effort, and cash for customizing our next (I’m not going to say forever) home. 

So after the back and forth and dates and Zillow-stalking, I’ve started “Moving Phase 1”. What does this entail?

1. Decluttering, as if it wasn’t already a pandemic thing. I think I’d already done a pretty good job of letting things not pile up. I do declutter seasonally, but this is like a ruthless editor with a red pen. We went through the basement last weekend and probably donated/trashed/consolidated until we had at least 7 empty Rubbermaid totes, and a space big enough for the girls to roller skate in, if they were actually coordinated enough to skate. I went through the fridge, pantry, dining room, hall closets and Christmas decorations. Next are guest room closets and the Master suite. All of the extra basement furniture is in a temporary storage unit.
   
2. Fixing odds and ends. We’ve laid sod in our backyard, trimmed back all of the trees on property, replaced air registers and bathroom vents, changed out chandeliers and ceiling fans. All little details to update the space and make it look a bit more uniform and polished. 
   
3. Depersonalizing. This I got from one of the 10 home design emails I get everyday. When staging your home, you want the space to look inviting but not like you. The next homeowner needs to be able to see themselves living there, so pictures, personal collections, pet and kid stuff all has to be out of sight. 

The plan is to contact a realtor and figure out financing by February, setting us up for a move in May. Fingers crossed it won’t take six months like finding this house. 

In true Passion Planner fashion, I’ve kept a month-by-month checklist on my phone to track Phase 1 progress