It feels like I haven’t sat down to write a post in such a long time! Ah moving really takes the life out of you, I’ll tell ya.
So where the hell have I been the last two weeks!? Well!
Last week I was over at my moms every day after work helping her pack up our childhood home. On Sunday we said goodbye, left the keys on the counter and walked out of the very empty house I grew up in the last seventeen years.
(And all this week I’ve been packing and moving into our own new apartment, but that’s another story in itself!)
I moved out of that house about a year ago, but never really had to say goodbye because I knew it was still there, with all of our “stuff”.
Our favourite stuffed animals, the dollhouse, our fort under the stairs with all the messages written on the walls. It was all still there to come back to.
But this past weekend it was time to say goodbye and move on to bigger and better things.
To reminisce on my childhood home, I’d like to look back on some of my very favourite memories and quirks that truly made that house a home.
** Stay tuned to the end of the post to see our lovely recreation of the first picture my mom, my sister and I first took when we moved into the house! **
How To Make Your House A Home
Have A Growth Chart
Ours was written on the edge of the wall entering our “fort” under the stairs. It’s so fun to look back at how old I was when I hit a certain height, and the fact that I stopped getting any taller after 2010 lol.
I really do wish we had a removable version so we could take it with us. We were also fortunate that I lived in that house all the way from 4 years old to 20, so most of my heights were on there.
I’m assuming that when I have kids we will move around a lot, so I’d love to have a growth chart like this one from Back To Her Roots. It’s so adorable, and you can take it with you when you need to move or rearrange.
Plus it’s DIY, so super cheap!
Create A “Fort”
If your house has a space for it – a perfect spot is under the stairs – let your kids have a place for a fort.
Honestly, we made so many memories in our fort, and it really was one of the ways my sister and I got along as kids. We came up with games and rules, and I feel like it really helped to bond us. Our cousins and friends would come over and join our “fort club”, and we truly had a blast.
The “age limit” we put on our fort increased by one every year to exclude our annoying neighbour friend, sooo maybe don’t do let your kids do that lol.
Ours was drywalled, so we were able to paint it and put a corkboard and our drawings on the wall. We wrote messages in the ceiling, and there were even messages from the kids who lived in the house before us. That is so neat to me. Annnd we definitely may or may not have slept in our fort.
If you don’t have the spot under the stairs, try and find a corner of maybe their playroom or living room that can be just for the kids. I feel like it’s such a great opportunity to let your kids build and bond together.
Turn The Stairs Into A Slide
Yes, it depends on your house and how fragile it may be, but heck slide down those stairs.
Chuck some pillows & cushions on the stairs, get in a sleeping bag and rip down!
We had a fairly long set of stairs, and bottom cushions that removed from the couch, so we would place them along the stairs. Then we would put sleeping bags, slippery side up, on top & then grab a small pillow to slide down on. Pile blankets and pillows on the bottom for a comfy landing and you’re good to go!
Perfect rainy day activity if you couldn’t get outside to a real slide. Check out some adult rainy day activities here!
Just don’t lean the coffee table up against the stairs and use it as a slide too, I hear that’s not a great idea….
Paint!
If you own the house and have the ability to change the paint, go for it! Give it some personality and make it yours. A few years after we moved in we repainted our deck, all of the trim and our front door to navy blue, away from this awful turquoise colour.
My mom also let us kids choose paint colours and themes for our rooms! When I was about six I went with a navy blue with gold stencils of suns, moons, and planets all over the walls (don’t ask me why, I have no idea). My sisters was medium blue and themed Harry Potter.
Once I became a tween, I opted for a nice purple with a light pink wavy stripe along the wall. After that, my room moved to the basement and I just wanted a nice beige.
Having that creativity and personality added into our rooms and our house really made it feel like it was ours.
And of course, have your kids help! Have them join in on the painting and decorating and make it a family affair.
So there ya have it – a couple of ways to really turn your house into a home.
Now onto a few pictures from the move! We took this first picture probably shortly after we moved into the house – no more than a year after. We always thought it was super funny and that we just haaaad to recreate it before we moved out.
So after the whole house was empty and we were ready to go, Justin snapped a picture for us recreating the lovely masterpiece.
My mom wrote a nice little note to the new homeowners, and we left our home for the last time! It was emotional, but I’m excited for my mom to have a new chapter, and for us all to have new starts in our own homes. Now to finish up moving Justin and I to our new place, wish us luck!