Five Reasons to Pretend to Move Every Five Years

Remember how exciting it was to move into your house way back when? Everything was fresh and new, the possibilities were endless-neighbors to meet, rooms to decorate, gardens to plant, new adventures around every corner. Now that you've lived in one place for so long, hasn't it all become a boring routine? Get out of that rut! You can have that new house feeling again with a simple game of make-believe.

Here are five reasons why you should pretend to move every five years:

1. De-clutter and clean
What's the first thing you do when you're getting ready to move? Organize everything to be packed! Pretend you're getting ready for the moving men and go through your house-garage, closets, and all-and start sorting. Put everything you own through a thorough inspection and stick your stuff into categories: throw away, give away, trade, sell, and keep. But what if you can't bear to get rid of anything? Pretend that the moving company is charging you by the number of items moved. That might spur you to do away with a good portion of your belongings.

What's the last thing you do after the moving van drives away? You clean. Pretend you are moving out and clean like crazy so you can get your imaginary cleaning deposit back. Not only will you breathe better without all those ancient dust bunnies, clogged AC filters, and moldy nooks and crannies, you might even find all the things that have gone missing over the years.

2. Redecorate, rearrange, and repurpose
You did a great job decorating your house when you first moved in-chairs, couches, tables, bookshelves, all placed in the perfect arrangement-then left there forever! Look at your house with new eyes and make a plan to redecorate. Use your existing furniture in different rooms or for different purposes- use a dresser as a sideboard or an antique stool as a bedside table, or face your couch toward the front door instead of the TV. Inexpensive changes like contrasting wall colors or window treatments, along with rearranging or repurposing furniture can make your house feel brand new again.

3. Re-meet your neighbors
You may have made the rounds meeting all your neighbors when you first moved in, eager to see who you were sharing your street or neighborhood with. As time went by, though, you got busy and started holing up at home, staring at the TV, working in your garden, or sunbathing out back. Who knows how many different people have moved in and out of your neighborhood since then? Are you really acquainted with everyone on your block? Pretend you have just moved in and throw an open house, BBQ, or hootenanny for the neighbors and see who turns up. Even if there's no one new, everyone you already know will probably appreciate re-connecting with you.

4. Re-evaluate
Habit and routine are helpful timesavers, but they can make your life go stale. Prices, services, and options have changed since you moved into your home. Look around and see how you can shake things up-and save some money while you're at it. Has satellite been introduced into your neighborhood recently? It might be cheaper than cable-check it out. You probably can't do anything about your electricity, gas, sewer, or water delivery, but there's been an explosion of phone service options over the past few years. Would it be cheaper or more convenient to have a cell phone only? An Internet phone? If you approach all your service decisions as if you were just moving into your home, you might be surprised at how different your bill-paying structure could end up.

5. Approach your city like you've never been there before.
You've probably slipped into a routine of the same old restaurants, movie theatres, and play parks. If you pretend to be a newcomer, you can search phone books and web sites with listings in your locale and see what's new out there. The human spirit hungers for novelty and this is your opportunity to feed it. How about that new exhibit of West African sculpture? Or a rock ´em sock ´em game of women's flat track roller derby? Check out what's new in Old Town, try that Mediterranean grocery store you've passed by a hundred times, seek out the specialty shops, sporting facilities, and community fairs that have just been a blur to you all this time. Don't just keep wearing a path to your favorite watering hole; find out what that noisy dance club with all the Porsches parked out front is all about. Newcomers to an area usually try a bit of this and a bit of that to get the overall flavors of a new location.

Pretending to move every five years can perk you up. You may have stayed the same over time, but the world around you is always changing. A good shake-up of your situation and surroundings will go a long way to re- energizing and revitalizing you and helping you appreciate everything and everyone in your life.