The One with a View

What is the most beautiful view you’ve ever seen?

For Team Kramer – Doug, Cheska, Kendra, Scarlett, and Gavin – one of the most beautiful views can be seen from their new home.

This part of their house allows them to relax with a “grand view” overlooking Metro Manila. The first time I stepped in their new home, I had to stand here for a long while for me to take all the beauty in.

When Kendra and Scarlett were about to start homeschooling two years ago, Cheska and I fixed their home school area that shares the same space as Doug’s office in their previous house.

Initially, Cheska’s plan was to have our organizing session when they move in to their new house; but the kids’ homeschooling made her decide to have the organizing session right away.

*This was the initial moving in plan which supposedly will give us a good 3 weeks to finish. But it was moved to last week of June and we were only given 5 days to complete the unboxing and organizing.*

Cheska assured me then that Neat Obsessions will be a part of their moving in. What I really love about Doug and Cheska is that they are true to their word. While their new house was still under construction, they share the progress and developments with me. I was part of their moving in timeline.

Finally, when our organizing schedule came, we wasted no time as we had four floors and five days to finish!

Team Kramer’s new house is such a sight to behold. Believe me, it’s difficult to be in a position where you are completely in awe of the house and all the beautiful views that come with it, but at the same time you are reminded by the balikbayan boxes in the hallways that you have to move fast to get a lot of job done within a short time frame!

I can already hear you ask me how we were able to do it in five days.

To answer your question, the five-day organizing was a collaborative project. The effort did not only come from me and my team. Team Kramer’s household staff lent their hand, too. Even Cheska and Doug were with us, not just to assist, but to actually pull the things out of the boxes, move the things around, and organize some of their personal things themselves!

For those who are building a new house or moving out in the future, here are three things we learned from the Team Kramer Moving In Project:

Know your things really well. The new house didn’t need so much storage solutions because there were no storage problems to begin with! Doug and Cheska know their things so well that there was a space provision for everything they own.

Cheska allotted more than enough space for her clothes, accessories, bags, and shoes. Doug had his storage space for his DVDs and collectible figure collection. Even Kendra and Scarlett had so much space for their clothes and bags. Their play area had enough space for the children’s toys.

Sort your things. Prior to moving out of their previous house, Doug and Chesca already sorted the things from their old house in balikbayan boxes, and labelled each box with the rooms (and corresponding floors) in their new house! I could not imagine having to deal with unsorted items and be given only five days to sort and organize everything. Their sorting really helped us be efficient in our work.

Involve your children in the process. Kendra, Scarlett, and Gavin had their special participation in the organizing process. Doug and Cheska made them choose which toys they still play with, and which toys they can already let go so that other kids may enjoy them instead. They asked the kids to identify which toys are always played with, because these are the toys put on places they can easily access.

I really admire how Doug and Cheska lead their kids in understanding how important home and family life is. Like many family journeys, they also transferred to a more spacious house as their family grew. In each house, they made beautiful memories.

This new home is the cherry on top of their bountiful blessings. It’s true that they have a home that offers a really good outdoor space and a view of the city, but the most beautiful view is not just what the eyes see.