#HouseProud in So. Cal. #ChampionsofHome


We are in the midst of a remodel of our home.  In other words we are falling back in love with our home.  We have owned our home for the past seven years and I have to be honest with you, the relationship was getting pretty worn.  I think we were hitting the seven-year itch.  Rooms just weren’t working for us the way that they used to.  Our decor was wearing out or becoming dated.

So, we started dreaming of what we wanted in our relationship with our home.  We started rethinking how we use the rooms in our house and how those rooms could be modified to fit our newer style.  We did a number of things so that we could be proud of our house once again.

5 Steps to Fall in Love with your Home Again #ChampionsofHome #CleverGirlssHere are some the steps we took to show we are house proud:

1. We recognized the blessing of owning a home.  According to the National Association of REALTORS® there is real value in owning a home.  Not just for us, but in the whole of our local economy.  One job is created for every two homes sold and each home sold stimulates the economy by $60,000!  Pretty exciting, stats!  And according to the same source, a homeowner has a net worth 34 times the net worth of a renter!  Not sure if I would put us into that stratosphere, but I do know that I am the first in my family to own a home and it is such a huge blessing!  Sometimes taking a moment to reflect on the blessings of homeowner ship is all we need to feel more at home in our home.

2. We cut out the clutter distractions.  We realized that some of the best features of our home were hidden by a bunch of junk.  So we embarked on a mission to cut clutter to the bone (or the walls and floors, in this case)!  I feel more comfortable and happy in our home when I look around and don’t have a bunch of stuff in the way.  We liked and bought our home for a reason; we didn’t need to cover it up with a bunch of junk.  The next step we have is to work on the outside of our home.  Cleaning up the landscape and creating spaces for our family to enjoy every inch of our lot will be a project for a number of years, but it will create memories and help us to enjoy our space even more!entry way redo

3. We got out into our local community more.  We started taking our kids to our community events and took advantage of local activities more.  We took day trips to remind us of the fun to be found here in Southern California (hello Disneyland and San Diego Zoo!)  We participated in our neighborhood Easter egg hunt with our girls (so much fun!).  I even took a little adventure with one of our girls up the Palm Springs Tramway to discover what snow is – only in Southern California can a girl grow up and never see real snow!  The California Association of REALTORS® has a “Ripple” campaign that shows the connections we make in our communities when we purchase a home.

#ChampionofHome - get into the community

 

4. We remodeled, redecorated, and re-purposed rooms of our home. This was HUGE!  Rethinking the spaces in our home: how we use them, wanted to use them and what we really wanted them to look like made a big difference to our sense of pride in our home.  We are in the early stages of remodeling and redecorating projects, but the changes are already making us feel so much more comfortable in our home.  Doing this will definitely extend the length of time we are happy to be homeowners of this home. We look for lots of inspiration through Pinterest – don’t you just love Pinterest?  I started a board on Pinterest for called “Champions of Home” to pin things that inspire me about life in Southern California.  Now I can have all the things that inspire me in one place. Stay tuned to see all the changes we are making!

living room remodel living room remodel wall

5. We dreamed big!  This is the year we turn 34 and we sat down recently and dreamed big and made a goal for our 40th year: a paid OFF house!  What could make us more house proud than to be the debt-free(!) owners of it?  This goal is massive and daunting, but it is exhilarating at the same time.  We are so looking forward to the day when all we have are utility and tax bills on our home.  OUR home!  Home ownership is so exciting! Just having this goal has made us more intent on doing each of the previous steps to feel house proud.  Feeling blessed, getting rid of clutter, getting into our community, and remodeling makes more sense as we move toward the goal of owning our home outright!

Do you own your home or do you dream of owning your home?  What makes you house proud?

 

 

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.


This Post Has 5 Comments

  1. evonne

    Congratulations! So glad that you are falling in love with your fabulous home again! Love what I see in the photos; can’t wait to see more.
    Love what you are doing with the girls and your community. That is so important for a family.

  2. April

    We bought our house last year, as somewhat of a Christmas present to ourselves. We love it and I’m definitely going to make it the best home we can have while we’re here. We are going to start some remodeling, but even basic things like changing out doors, adding new ceiling fans and chandeliers, and of course cleaning out some areas, and organizing some others. So far, we’ve done very well with not bringing things inside the house that don’t have a place, of course, that means we have a large mound of stuff in the garage, but this summer will make a huge difference! Thanks for sharing with Countdown in Style, Leah! This makes me want to do more! Pinning to my resolution board!

  3. Myrabev

    That’s a big project but a fun one from the sound of things. God luck with your remodel and many more blessings in your home.
    Thanks for linking up with us at the countdown in style linky

  4. Brittnei

    Wow, I definitely didn’t expect to get all of those great tips from this post. I thought it was just about you remodeling your home 🙂 I agree so much with what you are saying on ways to fall in love with your home, it’s surroundings and to appreciate the investment you’ve made. Awesome post! Thanks so much for sharing it with us at Countdown in Style!

    1. ussleah

      Thanks, Brittnei! We are blessed to be homeowners, but even more blessed to be owners of THIS home! It has been made just for our needs. Sometimes, we just need to be reminded of it.

Leave a Reply