Life update!

I currently live with my mom in a big house which I occupy by myself for long periods of time because she travels a lot, so I’m left to tend to the house alone and even though it’s usually not a big deal, it became apparent what a burden it truly is during last hurricane season in Miami. Having a house with 38 windows at the time a hurricane is about to hit is nerve wracking (and in my case, also caused a few minor injuries last time).

When Matthew hit in October of 2016 I didn’t really worry about it and only half closed our accordion shutters (which make life SO much easier!), and thankfully they ended up not being needed. This year, with such devastation being caused by Harvey in Houston, we were a little more concerned when Irma came heading straight for Florida. The week leading up to its arrival I spent preparing the house, safeguarding documents, running around finding water, and completely shutting close our shutters, many of which were stuck due to lack of use. My dad actually wanted me to leave to my sister’s in New York, but traveling seemed more stressful to me at the time than sitting the hurricane out, and thankfully I was right. We were incredibly lucky to not have lost power for even a second the entire time, and the only damage to our house was a broken lamp outside.

After that, I sat down with my mom and told her I thought the time to move had come, and she was totally on board. Taxes and all the expenses that come with owning a house that big are pretty hefty, so we decided that we were also going to heavily downsize and try to get rid of as many things as possible. Our house is gorgeous but also filled to the brim with things we’ve carried with us for years, (even decades!), including sentimental things we brought with us from Venezuela 15 years ago and everything we’ve acquired in between. When you have a lot of space, you tend to fill it. I for one have my bedroom and a craft room to de-clutter and downsize, and I’m not looking forward to that AT ALL.

I asked my mom to hold on putting the house on sale until after Michelle’s bridal shower since I was hosting it, and now I’m happy to report that we’ve listed our house on the market and my mom moved FAST so we already found an apartment we’re hoping to move into ASAP. We will take advantage of the time we have between now and when the house closes to start selling what we can, donating what’s in good shape, and throwing out what is no longer of use. I must confess, I also told my mom not to count on me too much for the process until after Michelle’s wedding, since I do have quite a bit to work on, but we’ll do little trips here and there so the move is less daunting.

Stay tuned, as I’m sure I’ll post some makeover projects and I also foresee some IKEA building fun in the near future for me 😉