Living the Dream – Phase One
As we begin to move toward fulfilling the Palisade dream, the complexity of the transition can at times be overwhelming. There are so many moving parts to pulling off this endeavor I’m not sure where to begin. I thought blogging about this journey would be a good way to document it and show that even though transition can be challenging it is so worth it if the result is living a balanced and joyful life! So here we go….
Phase one begins with me confirming that with interest rates rising, the housing market in Denver is very strong for sellers as the demand for houses is greater than the supply. My realtor tells me this is a good thing for us, and I now have a good idea of what our house is worth in the present market. This bit of knowledge is a huge motivator to start moving forward with our game plan. Andy doesn’t want to move twice, nor are we quite ready to leave the Denver Metro area, however we also don’t want to miss out on selling our house while the market is hot. So, we are exploring short term housing options for Andy and I. Option one is to temporary move in with the girls once they have their own apartment near their school. This could be a good money saving option for them and us, but it could also be a very tight squeeze for all those involved! Option two would be to rent a short term fully furnished apartment; research continues into both those options.
While I am doing that, I’m also research storage facilities so that we can store all our stuff until we are ready to make the move to the Western Slope. Storage will address the concern of having to move everything twice. I am also taking a variety of business classes and workshops so I can fully develop my business plan for the Airbnb and Artist Retreat.
That is the research side of Phase one, the first action step is to start decluttering the house and boxing up stuff. When I think of the house as a whole and all the rooms, and the years of accumulation my head starts to spin! To keep it together, I’ve decided to take it room by room, starting with the girls’ rooms and my studio space. Since my studio is part of my current art business, Andy is thinking we will rent a storage space specifically for it and all the artwork as it relates to the business. We will rent a second space where we can move the girls’ things temporarily until we find them an apartment that they can fully move into. Once we get them settled then we can use this second storage space to store our things until we are ready to make the big move to Palisade.
As part of the purging process, I will also have a studio sale early summer. Target date is June 2022. It will include the sale of art supplies and equipment, artwork, still life objects, costumes, artbooks and anything else that relates to my studio practice that I no longer need and want to move.
Collectively this feels like a good Phase one for this surprisingly complex endeavor! More on Phase two and this exciting and sometimes overwhelming journey to making Palisade Posh Studio, Airbnb and Artist Retreat a reality.
