A Saving Grace the Last Few Months: Weekend Projects

What were you up to this weekend? Did you spend it, yet again, at home?

As we have for the last 5 months, we spent Friday night at home with the kiddos getting some work done around the house. And by that, we mean we rearranged almost every room in our home. We wish we were kidding when we say that. We moved the rug that was in the kiddos’ upstairs bathroom into little brother’s room, added some frames to little sis’ room, moved a dresser that was in little brother’s room into big brother’s room, and moved a dresser that was in the upstairs landing into little brother’s room. We may or may not have a problem with moving things around in our house, but when you’re home all day every day, you have to find ways to keep things interesting, and sometimes moving things around here and there provides a much needed change.

PJ has been working nonstop on finalizing the laundry room that we (finally) started renovating back in March and it’s like 99.2% finished. All that’s left really is finishing the gallery wall and adding some fun greenery to give the room a little more life. We were looking back at old photos of it and can’t believe we lived with how it was for three years. It was basically a square white storage room with nowhere to actually store anything so everything ended up on the floor. We are going for a cozy, collected-and-layered-over-time vibe and we feel like it’s coming together how we always envisioned it.

PJ spent all of yesterday morning doing the frame wall in the laundry room by taking pictures out of an old Dutch painting book we bought for $2.50 five years ago at a used bookstore and putting them in old frames we have had lying around the house forever. We’re filling the wall behind the washer and dryer with the frames to create a vintage, cozy-feeling room that we enjoy being in when doing the laundry. Can’t wait to share the final product! In the meantime, our kitchen is our work station for this project & currently looks like this:

Thomas also took up our old rug and put down a new one in our bedroom. After it had been sitting in the corner of our room for SIX MONTHS (because life happens, you know?), the new rug is finally in place and being used the way it was always supposed to. It makes the room feel so much lighter, airier, and calmer. Our bedroom doesn’t get a whole lot of light during the day, and it has a lot of dark wooden furniture in it that makes it feel even darker, so we’re working on ways to brighten it up some. Besides the new rug, we also plan to paint it in the near future. CANNOT WAIT.

We’ve always lived by the motto “more is more” when it comes to decorating and designing our home. We don’t mind controlled clutter around the house, as long as it serves a purpose and isn’t just there for the sake of it. It’s not for everyone, but it’s how we’ve always been. We sometimes dream of having a home on the land that’s the complete opposite of our house in town: super minimal & simple. Wouldn’t that be a nice balance?

Also! We did a much needed closet cleanse where we went through our drawers and clothes and not only organized them to make things easier to find (and to be honest it always looks 100 times better when everything is neatly in its place), but also to get rid of a bunch of clothes we haven’t worn in ages. We have been donating them to Habitat for Humanity and we hope others wear and love them as much as we have over the years.

These weekend projects we’ve been doing on and off since March have gotten us through quarantine and helped us so much more than we thought they ever could. They’ve allowed us to stretch our creativity and have kept us busy (as if we needed an excuse to stay busy with three kiddos 😊) on days where we don’t feel too optimistic about the current global situation. It takes our minds off everything but the task we’re working on, and we need that. Well, needed that. We’ve actually been in such a better place mentally the last month than when quarantine first started. We’ve settled into a routine as a family and have adapted. The kiddos know what to expect and we do, too, and it’s been okay. It’s the new normal, and we’re adjusting.

We hope you’re able to adjust, too, friends, and find something that takes your mind off things and/or brings you some joy.

Sending love & virtual hugs x.

PS: “In this emotional equivalent to an ultramarathon, it’s key to have some stress-reducing strategies available that work quickly and efficiently to help you hit the reset button. Here’s why: Struggling with chronic worry gets in the way of effectively managing your emotions. Unfortunately, many people who experience distress try to escape their unpleasant emotions by distracting themselves in ways that ultimately backfire…so rather than dealing with anxiety and uncertainty by getting lost worrying, then chasing short-term fixes with longer-term consequences, like procrastinating, using food or marijuana to cope or relying on benzodiazepines — the anti-anxiety drugs like Xanax — it’s helpful to experiment with quick strategies that will empower you.” from The New York Times’ Five Minute Coronavirus Stress Resets