Downsizing can be Great!

Families grow and they buy bigger homes, and that's exciting and positive. But, later, when the children go off on their own, and start their own families, it's time to downsize. Downsizing is difficult but it doesn't have to be negative. It can be great. 

Many couples are excited to move into a bigger house when the family is growing. Needing more bathrooms and space for kids to play is thrilling. It's scary to take on more responsibility, and usually more debt too, but it's a very positive experience. It's also fun to buy more stuff to furnish the house and entertain the family. It's pretty easy to fill up a big house when you have a family.

When the family grows up, and the kids move away, the next stage is much more difficult. It's much harder to downsize.  It takes more than a garage sale to get rid of all the stuff you accumulated over the growing years. It takes courage and determination and thick skin. You'll be attached to things that you really don't need. You'll be attached to your big house that you really don't need. You know that moving to a smaller space makes sense, but it's hard to do. In fact, many people avoid it until it's too late. Their kids end up with the job of getting rid of all of Grandma's stuff and selling her house after she's gone.

You've got to try to stay positive in this new stage of life. Downsizing can be great! Consider the environmental footprint of your smaller home, a small house or a condominium. You'll be saving money and helping the planet. You can start a new "greener" life. Think about how giving away and selling your extra furniture will benefit a young family. Even your stuff will live another life. Your big house will be full of people again. Your little home will feel less like an "empty nest". Your little home will take less time to maintain. With less time spent at home, you can be more active in the community. There are tons of reasons to celebrate this smaller, simpler time.

When you decide to take the big step, when you decide it's time for you to downsize, call Harry, Your Friendly Realtor. 

The reason I'm one of the best Realtors in Newmarket, York Region, and the GTA, is that I care about my clients. I'm not #1. My clients are #1.

I will not rush you or pressure you during this difficult time. I have helped seniors move -I have personal experience in addition to my experiences as a Realtor- and understand the emotions involved. We will work together to get you the best deal for your house and will take all the time you need. We will work together to find you the right home in the right location for you. I will do my best to make it a happy experience, so that when you downsize, it will be great!

Family Getaway at Home in Newmarket

I had to work on a Sunday, as I often do, being a Realtor. But, I piled the family into the van and we all went on a beautiful drive in the country and then enjoyed a peaceful walk in the woods. We were only gone for a few hours, but we had an amazing afternoon retreat, reconnecting with each other and with nature.

From Newmarket, you can take a short drive or a longer drive and spend time in one of the many conservation areas and York Regional Forest tracts like this one. 

We extended our drive all the way up to Lake Simcoe, to Willow Beach, where we saw the incredible number of ice fishing huts that dot the lake in the winter. We also drove past our fishing spot on Cook's Bay, a little closer to home and not quite so busy.

Living in Newmarket, you can enjoy a good life in a great detached house in a quiet and safe neighbourhood with every amenity nearby, and you'll also be close to nature. 

Stuck in the house? Declutter!

One of the biggest jobs that you have to do to prepare to sell your house is something that most of us aim to do anyway. It's on most lists of New Year's Resolutions. It's usually right up there with going to the gym.

Get organized.

Get rid of junk and put all the stuff you want to keep away neatly and smartly.

Declutter.

It's been a long winter, and we're having another cold and icy weekend. If you're stuck in the house, why not get some work done? If you're considering moving this spring, you'll need to get your house ready to show. People will be looking at how well it works, how well the space can be used. You'll have to declutter.

You might as well do it now. When the weather is good, you'll want to be ready to go out and play.

One reason that people move is that they need more space to put stuff: more rooms, bigger rooms, more storage, a nice garage, a good basement, a shed in the backyard, etc. When you're a young couple, the two of you will accumulate things, and then when the kids come, the amount of stuff you have seems to increase exponentially. You'll need a bigger, better house to hold your growing family and all your stuff.

Even when people are downsizing, they want to see that a smaller space will hold all the things they want to keep. The space has to work. It has to be efficient.

Look at your home through a stranger's eyes. You'll see that a lot of the things you have and love, objects you cherish, will appear to others as clutter. Art work, souvenirs, wedding gifts, your parents' antiques, collector's items, knick-knacks make your home feel like home, but take up space. The wall of family photos going up the stairway is really cool, but might just be a messy bunch of strangers' snapshots to a buyer. If you can't walk through a room easily, maybe there's too much furniture. It's hard to think of the things you like as clutter, but if you try to see your home from a buyer's perspective, you start to see the unnecessary extras. Get rid of all the clutter.

If you don't know where to start, there are lots of helpful lists on the internet.

Here's a link to a simple list of tasks.

Here's a link to a more detailed method of decluttering from Home Storage Solutions.  I like their visuals, so here's one to get you inspired. All it takes is some time, some boxes and garbage bags, and you'll have a decluttered home.

Good luck!

Fishing near Newmarket

I took the family fishing yesterday.

We have a little boat with a motor and a mini-van with a hitch. We have a good spot to put the boat into the water on Lake Simcoe just up the street. (Well, about 17km up Leslie.)

Living in Newmarket has its advantages: from our house to the lake in less than half-an-hour!

When fishing with 3 females, it’s good to have a spot with a porta-potty. And, with young female family members, it’s good to have a spot near home so that you don’t spend more time in the car than on the lake. That spot is at the bottom of Cook’s Bay in Keswick.

In no time at all, we were on the lake and catching fish. Catching and catching! I would hook a worm and hand the rod over to one daughter and then the other would be handing me a rod with a fish on it. Hook a worm, then release a fish, hook, release, and so on: Non-Stop Action!

We kept 15. A good large-mouth bass, several perch and some sunfish. Victoria, my 11-year-old, counted her catches: 30!

I cleaned the fish when we got home and soon they were in the frying pan. Talk about fresh fish!

These are the family memories my girls will cherish forever: Dad taking us out on the boat and hardly getting a chance to fish because we’re catching a fish on every cast, and then Dad fries up our catch for supper, and the blue lake and the green shoreline under the bright blue sky and our beautiful home in Newmarket.

We won’t remember the sunburn.