Whitman-Walker Health held the 40th annual Walk and 5K to End HIV at Anacostia Park on Saturday, Sept. 19.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

The Wanda Alston Foundation held its Fall Reception at the Penthouse Rooftop at The Wharf on Friday, Sept. 18. Honorees included D.C. Councilmember Robert White, Director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs Japer Bowles, and the Washington Capitals. Rayceen Pendarvis served as the emcee and entertainment was provided by the Thomas Circle Singers.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

One of the biggest headaches of the new home process is the actual moving part. By the time someone is buying a home, most people are beyond the “I just need a pickup truck, a pizza and a case of beer for my friends.” 

If that is still someone’s preferred way to move, that’s great. However, many people find they need a much more robust plan. It can also trigger a lot of feelings about items one owns, what to do with them, do they have too much, should I keep this memento that I never use? Etc. 

Moving is a chance for a person to “clean house” literally, figuratively, spiritually and energetically. A person can figure out which items they want to keep, and which need to go. As someone who recently moved across the country, I can speak to this experience. It’s also time for what people call “the fresh start effect.” This phenomenon, according to psychologists, can happen in little moments (like the start of a new work week) and bigger moments (such as moving from one home to the next).  

The fresh start effect offers these benefits often mentioned by psychologists:

• Mental Accounting: Dates act as chapter breaks, letting you put past failures into a previous period.
• Psychological Distance: You separate your flawed past self from your aspirational future self (“That was the old me”).
• Optimism Boost: New beginnings clear mental clutter and increase your sense of agency and control

Does this mean that “the new you” will be the perfect version you envisioned? Probably not. We are humans. But it might mean you get a chance to “leave some of the old you behind” within the walls you used to live in, and now have a chance to have a new layout, a new décor, a new color pattern, new wallpaper, donate old furniture and books or magazines, throw out clothes you no longer use or fit in, and enjoy the opportunity to literally use the, “Does this spark joy?” method that was made so popular by Marie Kondo in her Netflix series.  

So, for all its hassle and headache, moving is a chance to shake off the “old you” and try on the new you, to incorporate the items you would like to keep and use more of, and shed the items, habits, and ways of thinking that you feel no longer serve you. 

I can speak to the experiences that several of my clients had when they moved from a previous residence to a newer one. It usually coincided with a change in relationship status, a change in employment, a change in family size, but sometimes it just seemed to correlate to a new attitude and perspective that the client was really hoping for. 

I have literally had clients come to me after the fact, in tears, that they were so happy they made the decision to move out of a situation that no longer served them, and move into one that felt like a much better fit. 

Change can be annoying and overwhelming at times, but usually most people come out the other side, not wanting to return to the way they were before. 

Joseph Hudson is a referral agent with RLAH. Reach him at 703-587-0597 or [email protected].