I can't stop talking about it, about our move. Not on the blog, but also at home we talk about it every day. There is also so much that needs to be done. Discuss possible renovations, work out ideas, make plans for the move, charter friends to carry, and then all the practicalities. Besides that, I also think it's important to talk a lot with the children about it, we naturally want them to feel at home quickly in the new house.
We have already checked quite a few things off our checklist for the move, but there is still a lot that needs to be done. The kids
don't worry at all about the practical side of the move, which makes sense. But they do regularly come up with questions or comments from which I can conclude that the entire move is keeping them busy.
That's why I asked them this week what they like best about the new house, and what they will miss about our old house. And there was a list of things that they certainly do not want to miss. Stuff that they would like to take from our old house to our new house. Now I would like to make them feel at home in the new house, but unfortunately not everything is possible 😉 .
Table of contents
I was honestly surprised at what they mentioned. Never knew they appreciated all this in our old house, haha.
Both immediately shouted in unison that they are going to miss the bathroom very much. Now I understand that, since our bathroom is quite modern at the moment and the bathroom in the new house is really old-fashioned. I recently wrote an article about refurbishing the old bathroom cheaply. And the kids are a little upset about that. They would prefer to completely demolish the bathroom and rebuild it, but that is not possible at the moment. The question that immediately followed:“Why don't we just take the bathroom with us?” Well… it will probably help them feel at home faster, but I just explained that some things should stay in the old house as standard. .
Look, of course I understand that. That they mention the trampoline. It is of course logical that they will miss these outdoor toys, but the Betersport trampoline in our old house was part of the negotiations and had to stay put. In addition, it was an inground trampo, so I am happy that it can stay. Because otherwise you have to close that hole again. Of course there will be a trampoline in the new house, but no more inground.
This time we opt for a trampoline that simply stands on the ground with a net around it. This way they can jump better and it is still safe. Would you like to know more about what to look for when purchasing a trampoline? I wrote a blog about it! There is no doubt that we will get a new trampoline again because it is the best toy we have ever bought for the children. And even though they are now 9 and 14 years old, the trampoline is still a huge asset. He provides a lot of fun and so the children can have fun with their friends on the trampoline while we are renovating.
As befits a real teenager, the gentleman is rather lazy than tired. Setting up water himself through a kettle takes too much time for him, so since we built a quooker in our kitchen, he is completely attached to that thing. Luc is a real tea lover and then such a boiling water tap is very nice. A luxury item, I admit, but I also like to use it myself. For Luc a 'top 3' item of what he will miss. If you ask me, that cup of tea on the couch is a moment that makes you feel very at home somewhere, so I don't think we should wait too long with this.
This one also came unexpectedly for me, the gas fireplace in the list of items that they will miss from our old house. Although we get a regular wood stove in return, they apparently find the gas fireplace very ideal here. Of course it is, because with the click of a button you can bring atmosphere and warmth into your home. I don't see them doing that for a while yet.
What strikes me now is that they don't mention their bedrooms or anything. They are slowly getting used to the idea of moving to another house. It would be great if moving with children went so smoothly that they quickly felt at home. In that respect I am also happy that we are moving to the new house just before the big holiday. This way we have optimal time to 'get to know each other'.
But still… a new house will take some getting used to. Get used to the new sounds when you are in bed, get used to the direction of walking in your house, get used to where everything is and so on. That is why we have decided to keep a number of things as they are for the time being, to speed up feeling at home.
I think this is a very important one. Not only for us, but also for others. Are you going to a new environment and do you also change all your furniture at the same time? Then the feeling of home is really gone. Some can deal with this more easily than others. I think it is very good for our children that we just keep all the furniture. That way it remains a stable factor in any case.
Like I said, I'm happy with the holiday that is just around the corner. This gives us time to get used to it. We don't have to make hasty decisions and we can just wake up every day at our leisure and do what we want/need to do. A good idea if you are moving to do that for the children during a holiday period or just before.
An important element of feeling at home somewhere is making sure you make memories together. The memories make you feel good somewhere, provided they are good memories of course. The memories of the children are all in our old house. They were both born and raised there. But of course we can make new memories. Or build on old habits, but in the new house. Staying up on Friday evening and watching the Voice. Schedule a game afternoon on Sunday. Just let Luc sit at my office again with his PC and so on.
We get the key on June 28 and June 29 is Lotte's birthday. Now we could of course think that all this is not very convenient, at the beginning, but we are going full into it! I think it will work great and the kids will feel at home even faster if we throw a fun children's party. This way they can also give everyone a whole tour through the house, they also become familiar with it faster.
Something like that. You could spare the children in this, but I think it actually helps to make them feel at home. Let them lug along, demolish and think about what could be done differently. Or what is nicer or more beautiful. That way, it becomes not only our home, but really their home. And of course they can also enjoy themselves on the trampoline in between while we work up a sweat. Having a little fun and having a good time is also part of the process.
You have to love that of course 😉 . But if your kids are crazy about animals (and so are you), there's nothing more fun than adding an animal to the new home. This allows them to immediately focus all their love and attention on the new householder. And even if they feel a little less at home for a while, a new roommate can be very nice for children to share that emotion with. After that, they can go on like crazy on the new trampoline.
