Voice of Reason
I need a voice of reason in my life.
I sometimes end up creating more work than I need to because I want every little detail to be perfect. I spend a lot of time and sometimes money on things that might not really make that much of an impact on the “Big Picture”.
For instance, 2 houses ago, I retextured the entire house because I hated the orange peel that was on the walls. I hand troweled 3800 sq. ft. (a good part of that was 18′ in the air) of walls. Then I sanded and primed and painted the whole thing. I gave my elbow bursitis! After weeks of work, I had new texture and color. It looked good! But, was it worth the work? Was it a good “Bang for your Buck” project. In this case, “Bang for your Bursitis”? Was it worth the time it took away from doing other projects that definitely would make a big impact? In hind site, I can answer that with a resounding, “Nope”! My time would have been better spent on other things.
It’s not that I’m addicted to Doing Everything Myself! It’s just … I want what I want, and doing it myself is usually the only way to go about getting it.
So, here I am, trying to get past the couple “minor” things that drive me crazy and just make this house work! I’m trying hard to overlook that 6 feet of wasted wall space in my Master bathroom because the door to the closet swings in instead of out. I’m trying not to notice that pocket doors in a few choice places would abate the annoying completely useless pockets of space all over the house.
I’m trying hard to ignore my burning desire to “think about” moving doors, putting in pocket doors, ripping out the kitchen wall, replacing all the flooring, completely redoing the Master bathroom and the kitchen! Because I’m just not sure that would be the best use of my time and resources. But I have a problem with wanting everything “just so”!
I know perfection is impossible — but I still want it! Is that so wrong?
baby steps.
baby steps.
Make a list. Fill your heart’s content out on paper. Then prioritize it. Then one project at a time, starting with the ones with the biggest bang for your buck.
You CAN do it all. You just can’t do it all right away. Give yourself a 5 year timeline. Then when something is bugging you, you can tell yourself “It’s on the list. I’ll get to it.” and move on.
By the way, LOVE your blog. You are an inspiration to me.
I need a 1 year timeline so I can enjoy the house before I move again but I like the way you think. Baby steps starting with the most impact projects. Got it! 🙂
This is the reason I will never be completely happy with any house. No matter how well I plan things, once they are done I can always find things that I would have done differently if I could do it all again. And those little things nag at me. Especially if they have to do with wasted space. I struggle getting over things, but know that I must, because it is silly to live my life unhappy with things that don’t matter. Good luck! If you figure out the secret to living with things that bug you, let me know.
p.s. I was just at my parents’ house yesterday and looking at old photo albums. There were some so cute ones of you. They made me smile.
Isn’t it the truth? I know that even if I do move the door in the bathroom which would require me to also move the electrical and if I’m moving electrical then I might as well run a line and make a 3-way switch on the fan that for some reason you can only turn on at the FAR end of the bathroom…another 10 equally bothersome but not totally important things will pop up. Somewhere you have to draw the line and we’ll always have to live with a couple buggy items so might as well start now and not bother myself with the little things. I guess it’s all about attitude. We must decide that they don’t bother us anymore and we’ll be golden!
p.s. I’m pretty sure the pics you were looking at were goofy and that’s why they made you smile. I don’t think there is a single picture from my childhood that I was “cute” in. So glad you were able to dig them up. 😀
This is exactly what we love (and miss) about you!
Wait, what? You miss that I’m slightly crazy? Or the big projects? LOL
I knew it…we are soul sisters….I so am feeling your pain! LOL
I think you are brilliant and love all of the vision that you have and just wish I could have a little of it for myself. Keep up the great work.