Let’s get real, living through renovation is HARD. Your house is in disarray–there is stuff scattered everywhere: tools, big balls of used painters tape, drop cloths, empty boxes…so many boxes. It’s ugly and stressful and an endless reminder that your house project is not done.
I love working from home, but when I take a break between Zoom calls and have to wind through tables filled with half-done projects, a wave of exhaustion hits. There is never enough time when working full time and DIYing your house to get it done fast. Plus, you have to pause between projects to save for the next one.
So, how do you get through the years of living through renovation and not go insane?
Living through Renovation Tip #1:
- Create pretty vignettes to look at it and walk quickly past the rooms filled with trash. I’ve been making little tabletop designs with vases, candles, flowers, house plants, and trays that I can change with the seasons. It accomplishes two things: 1) Adds beauty to a house that is being pulled apart at the seams with construction, and 2) Gives me a sense of control in a multi-year stressful house project.
Spending money on vases and candles is a good idea because they are small and easy to move around the ever-changing house. They are also cheap and will not deter you from affording big projects.
Don’t even look at couches and big pieces of furniture during renovation. Channel that energy into pretty table décor and save your pennies. You will buy that couch one day, but not today.
Look at the pretty flowers and exhale.
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