Over the last 12 months, we’ve covered a lot of home topics, from the philosophical (the meaning of home) to the practical (preventing household accidents). As I wrap up the year with this two-part retrospective, here are six of my favorite findings from the second half of 2023:
In July, after nearly 30 days of non-stop travel, I rediscovered how much I love being home. Doing simple tasks, like feeding the dogs, drying the dishes and making the bed, made me almost tearful and reminded me how important small rituals are.
Lesson: It’s easy to take things for granted, so I listed 21 reasons I love being home, from having my whole wardrobe available to seeing the familiar view out my windows and knowing no one else in the world has the same view.
In August, lightning struck a cable line between my house and my neighbor’s, zapping both. My neighbor’s house bore the brunt. They lost their air conditioner, three TV boxes, internet, cable, water heater, and smart lighting system for an electrifying $40,000 in damage. The bolt knocked out our air conditioner, cable, irrigation control box and several lights.
Lesson: Proper surge protection could have prevented all that damage. Many power companies, including ours, provide this protection if you ask. “Although you can’t keep lightning from striking, you can keep it from getting in your home by capturing the spike and sending it into the ground before it enters the house and fries your refrigerator,” said Peter Jackson, an electrical engineer at Kenick, a company that makes surge-protection systems for utility companies.
In September, I met a moving concierge. “My clients are those who live in houses surrounded by furniture, who want less house, less maintenance and less stuff, in exchange for more time and more freedom,” said Carey Kuhl, who helps clients decide what to let go of, then finds a market for the furnishings and sells them.
Lesson: Moving concierges exist. Anyone who has put off moving because their furniture was holding them back now has one less excuse.
In October, a couple from Northfield, Minn., reminded me of the good in the world. Bob Thacker and Karen Cherewatuk knew they couldn’t solve the entire housing crisis, but maybe they could help one deserving family. Since moving to the United States more than 20 years ago, Victor and Lorena Hernandez (whose names I changed) have worked hard, paid taxes, and the family of five lived in a rundown two-bedroom apartment.
Seeing a problem they could solve, Bob and Karen bought an abandoned, dilapidated, 130-year-old Midwest American farmhouse for $80,000. Then they rallied the community to help renovate the three-bedroom house by pitching in with donations and free labor. Last Labor Day, the Hernandez family moved in and are making monthly payments on the home. “The house wasn’t a charity project,” Thacker said. “It was a leg-up project.”
Lesson: You may not be able to solve the big problems of our day, but you can make a difference by solving small ones.
In November, I sent out a plea to readers to end porch pollution — on behalf of neighbors sick of looking at porches and patios cluttered with rusty tricycles, old dog houses, broken step ladders, plastic slides and plastic garden gnomes.
Lesson: While we focus a lot on decluttering and beautifying the insides of our homes, decluttering and thoughtfully furnishing our outdoor spaces may be more important, because so many more people see them. Keep them clean, uncluttered, inviting and useful.
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In December, I ate my words. Just 11 months earlier, I had sworn on these pages that I wouldn’t want a second home. My still valid reasoning was because I could barely handle the home I had. By the end of the year, my husband and I (the hypocrite) had bought a beach condo. This may be a bust, but we went for it because we have friends there, the place is only an hour’s drive from our home, we can rent it out to help cover the costs, and, mostly, because the beach reminds me of my youth which I spent (or misspent) on the beach in Southern California.
Lesson: When DC and I asked ourselves if we should do this, we decided, we’d rather have tried and been sorry, than never have tried and wondered. Sometimes in life, even if you’re unsure, you have to go for a dream. Here’s to realizing your dreams in 2024!
Marni Jameson is the author of seven books, including “Rightsize Today to Create Your Best Life Tomorrow,” due out Jan. 2. Reach her at www.marnijameson.com.
