Are you buying a home? Or making big choices about your renovation or building project? Connecting with your ‘why’ is a great way to simplify things. 

I received this beautiful email from a UA reader (and I know, that should really read ‘an UA reader’ but it just sounds strange!)

I got her permission to share this, because I thought it was such a great example of what happens when you connect with your ‘why’ in making decisions about your home.

Big (and usually overwhelming) choices can be made with much more clarity. It’s a powerful exercise to do when buying, building or renovating, and never fails to simplify things overall.

Here’s the email:

I have been reading your blog for over a year, and of course more recently been listening to the podcast.

I’m writing to say a general thanks for all you do. It has been so inspiring to read all the info you so generously provide.

I found your blog while we were living overseas for a two year stint. I was starting to dream about what we might do when we moved home to Australia, we knew we’d be moving to a new town in regional Victoria, but had no idea what kind of a house we might end up in. We’ve been back almost a year now and today we put an offer in on a house. It’s been accepted, which means it’s scary and exciting all at once.

I’ve found your blog so valuable.

First of all because it gave me the confidence to seek out the advice of a local architect before purchasing a house. I would never have thought to do this without you.

We found a house for sale that seemed interesting but quite run down. It’s on an unusually large block with lots of established trees. Given we have no prior renovating experience, we felt we needed some help to work out if it really had the potential that we thought we could see.

It was such a helpful thing to do – and the architect we found was more than happy to discuss things with us.

But, the reason I have bothered to email tonight is because it was actually your recent interview on ‘Slow Your Home’ that really helped things fall into place for me.

I know most of what you said is covered elsewhere in your blog and podcast, but the way you explained decision making and working out your ‘why’ only really clicked after listening to you talk a bit more broadly about yourself and your philosophy.

Last night we were in a situation where we suddenly had to decide on this house. It doesn’t seem like an obvious choice (to others) as it’s a very average looking early 70s cream brick house.

But when my husband and I started to properly talk about things, we were able to nut out our vision for how we actually wanted to live and what kind of environment we wanted our kids to grow up in. It was this chat that very much helped to inform our choice to go for it.

The house has some problems, but it is completely liveable. But, for us, it is the block and the garden that make it what we want for our future. So, we plan to move in, live in it for a year or two and take some time to work out how to create a functional family home that connects us to that lovely outdoor space.

Anyhow, sorry for a rambling email – it’s been a big day. But I thought you might like to hear (probably again) how you make impact on the lives of people like me who haven’t even signed up for anything formal on your site yet (no doubt we will down the track).

But without the work you do, and amazing wealth of advice you have posted, we would never have had the confidence to give this kind of a project a go. I have no doubt we would have instead chosen a house that was much more safe and boring, and lacking in much that was exciting or inspiring.

Fingers crossed it all works out – I’m pretty sure it will, even if it’s a wild ride.

We’ll have our fingers crossed too!

And to this reader – It’s always an exciting adventure to be embarking on, and I wish you the very best for yours. I’m so glad that UA has helped boost your confidence in this process, and hope it continues to. I’m so grateful that you emailed to share your experience.

Are you also making big decisions about buying, building or renovating your home? Here’s some other resources you may find useful:

This is a good one to work out whether you’re preparing and planning your project – or procrastinating.

Listen to this podcast for help with the first question you need to answer before you start.

If you’re buying a renovator, these are my tips for how to find yours (including a free downloadable checklist).

Veronica Morgan shared her top 10 things to look for when buying a home here.

Here’s the link to the Slow Your Home interview that this reader listened to.