6 Months Into Home Ownership
Six months ago my husband and I sat down at a table, masked up with our mini, signing the closing papers on our very first home. So. Much. Paperwork. But less than an hour later, we walked away from that table as first time homeowners! If someone would’ve told us a year ago that we’d be buying a house in the middle of a pandemic we would’ve laughed in their face & called them a liar… yet we did.
Now 6 months later — 6 months of being a whole homeowner — to say it’s changed me would be an understatement!
The past six months have been 180 days of designing, renovating, shopping, and, above all else, learning. The transition from renting to owning was one that I expected to be riddled with lessons but I think it would be apropos to say that the past 6 months has been “baptism by fire”… learning lessons I didn’t even know I needed and constantly on my toes & problem solving.
I anticipated having to learn a lot about being a homeowner — adapting to all of the new responsibilities we never had as renters — but what I didn't anticipate was all the lessons from our homemaking projects. Navigating being the homeowner, in addition to the designer & project manager... all whilst documenting the process as a content creator... I definitely underestimated how much I didn't know. And as the saying goes... you don't know what you don't know.
Some of the biggest lessons came in the most unexpected ways, while no lesson was in the ways I imagined. Being that this is an older home, every time we took on a new project or upgrade, I would brace myself for some terrible new discovery. I am happy to report that this hasn't happened... or at least nothing outrageous. Instead, I find myself learning about...
the effects of hard water & possible filtration options
heating & cooling alternatives for the age of our home
whether to stain or replace our existing deck
popcorn ceiling removal techniques
ways to rebuild our raised garden bed
all the different flowers I know nothing about in our yard
garage insulation & drywall solutions
...just to name a few.
When people speak negatively about homeownership, it's always these large sweeping claims of how hard it'll be. I've said this before — buying your first home is, in many ways, like having your first child. People mean well with their advice, but more often than not, they're missing the mark. In the 6 months since becoming a homeowner, I haven't encountered anything anyone warned me against. Instead I learned how to backsplash and spend my "free time" shopping doors and deep freezers because... #adulting.
Above all else, however, what has finally happened is the acceptance that I am no longer a renter. I can do what I want, when I want, how I want...and for better or worse, I don't owe anyone any explanations.
The benefits are mine to enjoy, just as the consequences are mine to endure.
It wasn't an easy transition. There was always an air of hesitation and worry with major decisions like, oh I don't know, knocking out a wall. It's been a wild ride and sometimes, it's a total mind fuck to think about all that comes with homeownership... all that I've been entrusted with.
Designing and homemaking has definitely been fun and fulfilling in many ways, but it has also stretched me in more ways than I was ready for. The greatest benefit has been the freedom to make our own rules, not just when it comes to the home, but also re: the way we want to live. I am able to be a full time content creator, while staying home with and "homeschooling" (more like school of life-ing but that's another update for another time) the mini. We've been able to prioritize projects to align with our quality of life, not just out of necessity. We've been able to enjoy some of life's simple pleasures because our home has made that possible... i.e. morning coffee outside as the sun rises in the distance.