LIFESTYLE & REAL ESTATE | CEDAR & STONE REALTY GROUP | MAY 2026

The Weekend They Stopped Dreading Sundays 

I want to tell you about a couple I worked with last year. I'll call them Jim and Carol — they're private people, and they'd roll their eyes at being in a blog post, which is exactly why I like them.

Jim and Carol had lived in their SW Portland home for twenty-two years. Four bedrooms, a big yard, a deck that had been a real source of pride in the years when they were entertaining regularly and the kids were around on weekends. Beautiful home. Great neighborhood. The kind of place you'd see on a drive and think: someone has a good life there.

And they did. They just weren't sure it was still their life.

By the time they called me, the yard had become a source of dread rather than pride. Every Friday evening, Jim was mentally calculating what Saturday was going to cost him. Gutter cleaning. The back fence section that needed replacing. The beds that needed turning over before summer. Carol had quietly started avoiding the upstairs altogether — her knee had been bothering her for two years, and the master bedroom at the top of the stairs had become more obstacle than sanctuary.

They'd been thinking about moving for three years. Three years of "we should probably do something about this" and "maybe after the holidays" and "let's see how spring goes."

What finally got them off the fence was a question I asked on our first call: What would your Sundays look like if you didn't have this house to worry about?

Carol answered immediately. She said: We'd go to the farmers market. We'd have people over for dinner without spending all Saturday getting ready. We'd probably sleep better on Friday nights.

They listed in March. Sold in eleven days. Moved into a one-level condo six weeks later — walking distance to the waterfront, no yard, an HOA that handles everything exterior.

Jim texted me on their first Sunday in the new place. It just said: Farmers market. Carol's happy. Thanks, Stacey.

That's what right-sizing actually looks like. Not a downgrade. Not a consolation. A deliberate trade — one that gave them their weekends back.

If you've been thinking about making a move like this and haven't quite gotten there yet, I'd love to have the conversation Jim and Carol and I had. It doesn't have to be complicated. Sometimes it just starts with one honest question.

— Stacey Cedar & Stone Realty Group | Serving the Portland Metro & Southwest Washington