Detoxing A House.
My move from Toronto to Boston is only seven weeks away.
Seven weeks!
It felt like it was much further away... And it was, at one point. Now, though, it's just around the corner. And before I know it, I will be packing up the car in Toronto and driving across the state of New York, into Massachusetts with The Husband.
We've spend many of the past few weekends getting rid of a lot of the junk in the house. Some of it not junk, though. Some of it was lovely furniture we have had for years, and were able to give it away to people in my social network who were in need of still decent-conditioned stuff. Some of the stuff that we got rid of, though, was complete junk... Junk we moved from Boston to Toronto four and a half years ago.
Why?
Because clearly, he and I were hoarders. No longer, though.
I have a different perspective on my style and what I want in my home. How I live in my home. The things I use. The things my husband uses. He has a different perspective on how he wants to live in his house too. We had so much in our house that was just taking up space. And the space itself... It didn't really reflect either of our styles.
"There is so much about this house I would change," I said to The Husband as we dragged stuff to our basement to be thrown out in the garage. "The carpeting. The paint. None of it reflects my style. I adapted to this house. And while it's elegant and pretty, it's not me.
If I had to do it over again, I would be fearless in painting and redecorating. I wouldn't just keep it as the previous owners had it."
The Husband sighed.
"I knew you weren't ever going to stay here," he said. "That's why I never agreed to redecorate. I knew you wouldn't want to stay here."
I laughed. He knows me well.
It was pretty clear after six months in Toronto that I missed the States too much. We knew we would move back eventually. And spending money redecorating a perfectly good house would have been silly. But he appreciated that I tried to fall in love with life in Toronto.
In the end, we both agreed Boston was a better fit for us as a couple. And we agreed to start this new era with minimal baggage from the past.
So gone went old clothes we'd worn out promises on someday wearing again. Old linens went. Lamps. Kitschy things (like a Nintendo64) got tossed as well. So much stuff to give away or toss. Lightening the load. Allowing new ideas to take center stage in our lives.
It was a detox of us.
An examination of how we had lived our lives. And how it's time we started living the way we wanted to, rather than how we thought we should be doing so. We were still holding onto ideas of who we should be as a couple. And it wasn't working for either one of us.
"I want a place with much more natural light," I said.
"And one floor only," he said. "Maybe two. Two at max, though."
"And I don't want beige or brown furniture," I said. "I want color. And white. Lightness."
"And open concept," he said.
I agreed.
A three-story urban townhouse (four, if you count the basement media room) was not us.
The one thing I do want to repeat, though, in a new place someday? The TV in the bathroom.
That thing rocks. I hated it at first. But nothing is more awesome than coming home from a yoga class and jumping in the tub with Epsom salts and bubbles while watching Gilmore Girls reruns.
That is definitely how I want to live my life. And it's detoxing for the body and mind too!
Seven weeks!
It felt like it was much further away... And it was, at one point. Now, though, it's just around the corner. And before I know it, I will be packing up the car in Toronto and driving across the state of New York, into Massachusetts with The Husband.
We've spend many of the past few weekends getting rid of a lot of the junk in the house. Some of it not junk, though. Some of it was lovely furniture we have had for years, and were able to give it away to people in my social network who were in need of still decent-conditioned stuff. Some of the stuff that we got rid of, though, was complete junk... Junk we moved from Boston to Toronto four and a half years ago.
Why?
Because clearly, he and I were hoarders. No longer, though.
I have a different perspective on my style and what I want in my home. How I live in my home. The things I use. The things my husband uses. He has a different perspective on how he wants to live in his house too. We had so much in our house that was just taking up space. And the space itself... It didn't really reflect either of our styles.
"There is so much about this house I would change," I said to The Husband as we dragged stuff to our basement to be thrown out in the garage. "The carpeting. The paint. None of it reflects my style. I adapted to this house. And while it's elegant and pretty, it's not me.
If I had to do it over again, I would be fearless in painting and redecorating. I wouldn't just keep it as the previous owners had it."
The Husband sighed.
"I knew you weren't ever going to stay here," he said. "That's why I never agreed to redecorate. I knew you wouldn't want to stay here."
I laughed. He knows me well.
It was pretty clear after six months in Toronto that I missed the States too much. We knew we would move back eventually. And spending money redecorating a perfectly good house would have been silly. But he appreciated that I tried to fall in love with life in Toronto.
In the end, we both agreed Boston was a better fit for us as a couple. And we agreed to start this new era with minimal baggage from the past.
So gone went old clothes we'd worn out promises on someday wearing again. Old linens went. Lamps. Kitschy things (like a Nintendo64) got tossed as well. So much stuff to give away or toss. Lightening the load. Allowing new ideas to take center stage in our lives.
It was a detox of us.
An examination of how we had lived our lives. And how it's time we started living the way we wanted to, rather than how we thought we should be doing so. We were still holding onto ideas of who we should be as a couple. And it wasn't working for either one of us.
"I want a place with much more natural light," I said.
"And one floor only," he said. "Maybe two. Two at max, though."
"And I don't want beige or brown furniture," I said. "I want color. And white. Lightness."
"And open concept," he said.
I agreed.
A three-story urban townhouse (four, if you count the basement media room) was not us.
The one thing I do want to repeat, though, in a new place someday? The TV in the bathroom.
That thing rocks. I hated it at first. But nothing is more awesome than coming home from a yoga class and jumping in the tub with Epsom salts and bubbles while watching Gilmore Girls reruns.
That is definitely how I want to live my life. And it's detoxing for the body and mind too!
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