It’s easy for us as home renovators to collect stuff: scraps of wood, bits and pieces of metal parts, salvaged trim, doors, knobs and pulls, light fixtures, and stuff left over from the previous owners. Each of us needs to balance the practicality of collecting useful things with cluttering up our home. While we manage to get our living and dining room under control after doing the Apartment Therapy Cure, I didn’t have time to be smug because shortly thereafter, I discovered we had been sweeping our crap into the guest bedroom, basement, and attic. There, the stuff gleefully multiplied behind our backs.
Peter Walsh a professional organizer on the TLC show “Clean Sweep”, has written a book It’s All to Much to help people battle their own clutter demons.
Continue reading “All Too Much Book Review” »
You’re renovating an old house with your spouse or significant other, you fabulous do-it-yourselfers! You’ve missed a few deadlines, and actual costs are exceeding your budget, which you’ve already stretched to the breaking point. You and your significant other devote all your spare time on the house, talking about it, working on it with each other. It’s late, and you’ve put together and taken apart the pedestal sink three times, and your love-of-your-life is not listening to you. You have power tools and very sharp implements at your disposal…Sound familiar? Anyone who’s undergone a major renovation with their loved ones understands the stresses involved and how it can strain your relationship. And if you’re one of those couples who chirp: “We never fought. With each passing day of home renovations, we’re more passionately in love…” Please keep your comments to yourself. We don’t want to hear about it.
We definitely have our moments, like the time I found myself arguing about why we need a dumpster while demolishing two bathrooms, or the time Tig changed his mind about the front bedroom when I originally wanted it to be the study. The biggest differences usually are related to our work-styles. I’m a spreadsheet gal; if I had project management software, I’d probably use it for our home renovations, complete with Gant charts. Tig likes to make cryptic notes on little sheets of paper, especially since he broke his phone which also served as his digital organizer.
Despite our differences, we’ve managed to make a go of fixing our home, and would like to share a few strategies here. We don’t have it figured out, and it goes without saying that each house and person is so unique that what works for us may not work for you. So humor us as we pontificate on love, remuddling, and the meaning of life:
Continue reading “Love Among the Ruins - Part One” »
