When we embarked on a 2 month long remodel of our house (replacing cooktop, sink, counters, floors in our kitchen, and getting the whole interior painted) my sense of daily routine was thrown for a complete loop. I thought I would have a modicum of sanity because my small art room (a 10 x 12 upstairs repurposed bedroom) wasn't being touched. In my fantasy thinking, I'd be able to retreat to my sanctuary and continue to paint. That was the plan anyway. The reality was much different. It turns out that one has to "oversee" the various workers, answer their questions, coordinate the various stages of the process and generally just BE available.
At the end of each day (when the workers finally left!) I found myself sweeping up debris so I could walk on the floor without stepping on bits of plaster and paint. Exhausted, I'd fall into bed without having accomplished very much that day. Day to day stuff took up much of my time--preparing family meals (using our small laundry room as a "kitchen galley"); keeping up with volunteer activities and correspondence on the computer (when our internet wasn't unplugged); moving furniture and possessions out of the way (and making sure they were well covered with plastic, lest they become coated with dust or paint spray). And yet, this was all "elective surgery"--we knew our house needed a bit of a makeover after 14 years. We weren't doing it to sell our house--this was for us to enjoy!
In the end, the biggest thing that the remodel forced me to do was take a good hard look at my "stuff"--all of it. Whether it was clothing, old magazines or books, or even seldom used art supplies, I had to figure out what to keep and what to give away. I became a familiar face at the local Goodwill drop center, and I'm still cleaning out closets.
The old adage is true: we use 10% of our stuff 90% of the time. It turns out I really didn't miss most of the stuff I boxed up for 2 months! Let's just say that everything I packed up did not return to its original place in the house. And I'm okay with that.
At the end of each day (when the workers finally left!) I found myself sweeping up debris so I could walk on the floor without stepping on bits of plaster and paint. Exhausted, I'd fall into bed without having accomplished very much that day. Day to day stuff took up much of my time--preparing family meals (using our small laundry room as a "kitchen galley"); keeping up with volunteer activities and correspondence on the computer (when our internet wasn't unplugged); moving furniture and possessions out of the way (and making sure they were well covered with plastic, lest they become coated with dust or paint spray). And yet, this was all "elective surgery"--we knew our house needed a bit of a makeover after 14 years. We weren't doing it to sell our house--this was for us to enjoy!
In the end, the biggest thing that the remodel forced me to do was take a good hard look at my "stuff"--all of it. Whether it was clothing, old magazines or books, or even seldom used art supplies, I had to figure out what to keep and what to give away. I became a familiar face at the local Goodwill drop center, and I'm still cleaning out closets.
The old adage is true: we use 10% of our stuff 90% of the time. It turns out I really didn't miss most of the stuff I boxed up for 2 months! Let's just say that everything I packed up did not return to its original place in the house. And I'm okay with that.
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