We’re on month 8 of the tacky brown house renovation. We bought a 1300 sq ft home in the coldest of days last February and have been making it over as home since then….while occupying it from week 4. By and large the big pieces of the renovations are done. The main living area is complete structurally, the original bath completely overhauled (no more hole in the floor), but as time goes on the details matter. A plug missing here, a trim missing there, always waiting for x,y, or z to happen.
Isn’t life at times like that? We do the big things, we get the immediate dangers met, the large packages handled, but we sometimes stop short of making the ease occur. What would make your life easier? What things that you are 100% in control of, with little budget involved, are you avoiding for whatever reason that would make your life more comfortable?
This week I’m revisiting that internal dialogue. In my world the list goes something like this:
- Too many dirty dishes at one times probably means that we’ve got too many accessible again, when our family of 3 at home has no more than 6 plates available, magically they almost always get put in the dishwasher after use. If 12 are available, they get left on the counter. Solution: Put more of the dishes away in the storage space, leave fewer out on open shelving.
- Pots and Pans are getting cumbersome, there are 5 we use over and over again, box the others, except for the sentimental one from family and do a 30 day trial to see if they are missed. (they weren’t, box then taken to grown children, then Goodwill with what was left)
- The dresser simply doesn’t work where it is, where does it go? Solution: It doesn’t go anywhere after measuring 3 rooms. List on craigslist and then get the one you loved with the proceeds. (sometimes simply recognizing it doesn’t work is as powerful as figuring out what does!)
- I get frustrated when I have a quick turnaround for dinner and nothing prepared. Answer: return to making 3 meals on Sat or Sunday and double the recipe once a month, to make 6 freezer homemade meals. Ahhh..so worth the time and the ziplocks in the freezer sans pans after freezing. This especially works for soups! Ground beef already browned and seasoned with onion is a boon too for nachos, tacos, burritos, or layering a taco bowl.
- Towels are forever “gone” from the one and only bath. Answer: monogram them again as we did when the children were young. Each person has 2 sets….hmmm who will the guilty parties be?
- Trim is missing in my living room, kitchen, and hall. It’s purchased, painted, and ready to install…hmmm…who will the carpenter be? Working on this one.
- What things truly give me pleasure in each room. Room to room walk to note, then later, room to room gathering for things that no longer do the same. (less is more! It’s true!)
Also on the list to put on paper are the fun things to do this holiday season, I asked around and the goals are:
- Lights on the new house for Christmas
- A gingerbread house making day all day one day
- A night of hot chocolate and pajamas driving to see Christmas lights
- December 1st Little Women Party with Moms and Daughters
- A Christmas ornament make and take with friends
- A Christmas Brunch Come and Stay to escape the Craziness of the Days in December
- Create Mini Quiches for Clients and Friends and Deliver in person (a five year tradition locally)
- A hand drawn collaborative Christmas card with Madison and Mom….fun!
We get so busy in the day to day, that we forget that F U N and C O M F O R T are also a part of each and every day, not just holidays! What are the small things and activities that would make your day easier, more comfortable, or fun?
