I'll be packing up my apartment next week and I'll be moving on to the next chapter of my life. No, I haven't bought an apartment in Brooklyn or a house in the country. I'll be moving to a little house in a tiny town in Italy. Yes, quite the change. Of all the real estate options I have been considering in the last year this was the one that I was most aligned with. I plan to do lots of writing – both in the blogosphere and on my own projects (a book! a screenplay!) This will be the final post for this blog, but keep your eye out for me on my future projects. And so many thanks for joining me on this amazingly Bright and Spacious journey!

I was deeply inspired by Shay Salomon and her book, Little House on a Small Planet. It opened my eyes to a new (and infinitely more manageable way of life.) I hope that it will do the same for you. Perhaps, like me, you should start to think big and live small. I believe it will change your life for the better.

Here is Shay Salomon with her inspiring story on living small!

What is the Small House Movement?

The Small House Society (SHS) is the movement of people who want to simplify their lives by living in less space. So it's really a wide range of people, in the United States and all over the world, from young families who have exchanged their large suburban homes in favor of small downtown apartments, to folks who have retired into RV's and the open road, to movie stars who have downsized to small mansions.

I am getting ready for a big move and I don't know the first thing about packing up my apartment. Why? Because when I moved into my apartment I had barely anything and now I am jammed to the rafters with stuff. Yes, I have been de-cluttering over the last few months – but it seems like there is still so much stuff left to toss. All I can say is, I need to move on from "how did this happen?" to toss, streamline and moving on. This morning I found these great tips at MoversDirectory.com. I hope they are as helpful to you as they have been to me!

I am a channel flipper and that has really served me well. I often land on documentaries because I love the stories of people's lives. So how could I resist the story of Gwen Roland and her companion Calvin Voisin? They "dropped out" in the 1970s to live on a houseboat in the Atchafalaya Basin in Louisiana . They built their home (a houseboat after their original house flooded) out of primarily salvaged materials. They grew their own food (supplemented by fish they caught.) They lived a mostly solitary existence but had friends in the Basin that would visit from time to time. One of these friends, the photographer C.C. Lockwood, took some of the most stunning photographs of them for National Geographic magazine. Gwen then wrote an article about her experience for Mother Earth News and then a book called Atchafalaya Houseboat, My Life in a Louisiana Swamp . The documentary, also called Atchafalaya Houseboat, is not to be missed. If you dream of a sustainable, off-the-beaten path life, the story of Gwen and Calvin will surely inspire you.

Lately I have come to believe that every problem is just an opportunity to be creative. And I love to be creative. I just have to wait for the little grey cells to start firing up. And this week's Real Estate Book Club selection is a good idea that comes in the form of a book. Rent-to-Sell: Your Hands-On Guide to Sell Your Home When Buyers are Scarce can help you in these tough real-estate times. Author Wendy Patton asks, "Why not rent to sell?" She'll then lead you through the how-tos and gives you effective strategies to find the best rent-to-sell solution for you.

Somehow the word sale always gets me. I can't help but look to see if there might be something that I – or you – might want. And when I found this article called Home Renovations on Sale about the decreasing price points for some important home renovation projects from CNNMoney.com (a service of CNN, Fortune and Money,) I just had to let you know. If you were on the fence, maybe now is the time to get off it and get some work done. It'll add equity to your home and did I mention there is a distinct price reduction from 2005 home renovation projects? I think I did! There's plenty of information on the page including the 5 top remodel projects that just got cheaper. It makes me want to start singing: money, money, money!

The best part of Pier 1's Clearance Sale is all the stuff on sale now is all the stuff that you'll need for the next couple of months. From outdoor dinnerware to seating to the Thinking Frog (yeah, maybe you don't need that, but what a conversation starter!) everything is marked down and priced to move (right into your house or backyard.) I know I could have used the Hot Pagoda Umbrella yesterday and avoided the weird tan on the back of my neck. The umbrella measures 101" x 101" x 114" and is on sale for $149.98.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned the first-time homebuyer's tax credit in a post. There are some important changes to this program this year. In 2008, the credit needed to be paid back. This year, the credit does not have to be paid back unless the home ceases to be your main residence within a three-year period following the purchase. So if buying your first home is on the horizon, visit the IRS's site and find out what you need to know. (Yes, the IRS is putting money in your pocket for once!)

Are you ready for the upcoming 4^th of July festivities? I know I cannot wait. Bring on the cookout! Bring on the suntan lotion! And bring on the cold, frosty ones! Whatever your definition of cold, frosty one might be (I am Coca-Cola-kind-of-gal, truth be told) these great buckets from Kmart are perfect for filling with ice to make whatever you choose cold and frosty. The Essential Home Americana Party Buckets come in patriotic blue and red, are made of plastic and measure 18-1/2"L x 13"W x 9"H. The best part – are you ready? – is they are on sale for $6.49 each!

The holidays always mean spending time with my niece and nephew and their assorted pint-sized friends. While it's true that the love of real estate has visited the next generation (my niece sees balloons outside a house and immediately screams, "Open House!" and not "Birthday Party!") it's also true that living in the suburbs has given them the idea that people live in houses or apartments and nothing else. But this week's Real Estate Book Club selection will change all that. I'm bring them a copy of Houses and Homes (Around the World Series) written by Ann Morris and illustrated by Ken Heyman. It will be fun reading about the different types of houses as well as learning about what makes a home in different countries.

As our parents get older, there may come a time that you may want (or need) to take care of them. And sometimes, having them close by is not only practical, but comforting as well. That's why I was so intrigued by Harold's question posted on Bankrate.com. He would like to purchase a home for his aging parents. The question is should he set it up as a rental property or as a second home? I was surprised at how complex and how many factors needed to be taken into consideration. But I did learn something new and very interesting called the Family Opportunity Mortgage and you can too by clicking here.

If you are anything like me and find it hard to make a decision. Wait! Let me begin again. If you are anything like me and like to know both sides of an issue, (Yes, that's much better,) then you will enjoy reading this article in the Chicago Tribune. It clearly lists the 5 reasons you should buy a house now as well as the 5 reasons to wait. Both sides have compelling arguments in their favor, but in the end it always comes down to the same thing. What? You want me to tell you what that thing is? The thing is you know it in your gut (and in the layout of that perfect 3-bedroom, 2-bath townhouse you just visited.)

In any backyard situation I will be the one the mosquitoes find most delicious. At least once every summer I look like a connect-the-dots drawing. Of course, I can continually spray myself with bug spray or light a bunch of citronella candles, but I don't find these very effective. Then there are the people who swear by bug zappers. I am not so convinced (plus I find the sizzling sound of the insects going to their doom a bit creepy.) What about you? Do you find bug zappers effective? Is there one you recommend? I was intrigued by the Backyard Avenger that works using heat and CO2 to attract bugs. Have you tried it? What do you do to control backyard bugs?