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Buying one of our new Orange County homes presents an opportunity to start fresh. Take advantage of the new beginning by simplifying your life. You can then spend more quality time with your family in updated surroundings. Here are a few tips.

Leave it behind.
Those spacious rooms in your new home get crowded quickly once you fill it with stuff from your old place. Then you spend all your time taking care of the things you own instead of enjoying your family. So, before you make the move to one of our developments, go through every item you own and ask yourself if you really need it. Look inside every drawer and cabinet. If it’s something you haven’t used in a year, you won’t miss it.

Then sell all these unwanted possessions online or through a garage sale, give them to friends, or donate them to charity. Not having to bring these items saves you money and time, and can put extra cash in your pocket.

Turn it off.
How many notifications and emails do you get a day? From apps that need updating? From blog subscriptions you never have time to read? All these notices demand your attention, if only to delete them. Unsubscribe from all those email lists and turn off the notifications to clear the clutter from your screens. You can always manually check them out when you’re ready, instead of having them force their attentions on you.

Just say “no.”
As a social being, you naturally want to make friends and get to know people in your new community. You join clubs, groups, and teams, and encourage other members of your family to do the same. At your numerous meetings, people start asking you to do things, and you start staying “yes” because you want to be part of the group. Unfortunately, all those affirmatives take time and energy.

Unless you like to be overwhelmed with somebody’s else’s tasks, don’t be afraid to say “no.” In fact, commit to just one thing at a time from just one group. When you’re done with it, commit to another thing with another group, until you’ve made the rounds of all your clubs. Better yet, don’t wait to get asked. Volunteer to do something. You then get control over what to do and when to do it.

Focus on experiences rather than things.
It’s fun to own stuff like the latest gadget or the hottest fashion trends. You can use that personal device to watch videos or wear that fabulous outfit to a party. Then you have to put it somewhere and take care of it, so it’s ready the next time you want to use it in a few months. In the meantime, you’re stuck with an extra bit of clutter that you have to deal with.

Rather than spending time and money on things, which you eventually forget, focus on experiences, which you’ll always remember. Hold off on that latest bag from New York and go on a weekend vacation there instead. That gaming console is never going to be as much fun as a family membership to a nearby theme park. Instead of the latest table saw to replace the one you have that works perfectly, take a woodworking class.

A new home is a chance to make a major change not only in your living space but in the way you live. To find out more, or if you want to check out one of our model homes in person, please contact us.