Call This Home. Call It Good.
With our major remodel project done, I’m having a tough time sitting still right now. I keep thinking about where our house is now and what we need to do to make it our home.
It’s sort of like the feeling when you just move in to a new place. You might want to hurry and get everything put away so life can resume. Of course, remodeling has been so much of our life, and there’s really no way to resume that on such an extensive level. I just haven’t reached a point where I know how to stop yet.
It’s time to sit down and enjoy what we have.
Our homes are here to work for us. Their job is to provide us a warm and loving place where we can really feel like ourselves. Our job isn’t to work on our home and for our home forever. So we need to quit striving for the perfect place. We should try to enjoy and be comfortable.
Some of the plans Martin and I have made to enjoy our home this March are:
Please feel free to add to this list or edit it in the comments or at home, both for yourself and ideas for others. It’s time to embrace March. Are you ready with open arms?
March 1st, 2009 at 6:29 am
I had to give in to the urge to not let life be normal until our remodel was done because otherwise, I’d have missed 3 years of beauty by waiting for my home to be perfect before I enjoyed it. Along the way, we’ve taken breaks from spending money on projects in order to buy a swingset for our yard, or to start a garden. If we let our remodel totally consume us, it would kill us. So we go in spurts – 2 months here or there, then a break from it all, then another project. Just sitting and enjoying our home and knowing another project isn’t on the horizon will be a place we are all happy to get to. But right now, I’ll take lazy Sundays too.
March 1st, 2009 at 7:07 am
Ah, the first day of March is beautiful here in Heidelberg! We too will be celebrating birthdays (mine), an anniversary (14 years), and the beginning of spring. I love spring, even though it doesn’t love me back (severe allergies) and while I may have to do some serious medicating and use my Neti pot several times a day, I’m going to try to enjoy it.
I hope you two enjoy your home! You’ve worked hard on it. Now sit back and let it get dirty with use instead of sawdust.
March 1st, 2009 at 10:24 am
Now is the time to enjoy it! So enjoy it!! And tell us a little about it too. Like what kind of board games or jaunts you do in your free time.
March 1st, 2009 at 2:47 pm
I relate to having a tough time sitting still post-renovation. I remember when ours wound down and suddenly I didn’t have anything to do. I was sort of at a loss. I got over that quickly, and I bet you will too.
And I am so ready for March to be here. I am dreaming of gardens right now. :-)
March 1st, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Sounds like a great list to me. Are you serious? Never eaten pizza in front of the tv?!
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:36 am
This is so, so true! We are also in the midst of never-ending remodeling and what a great reminder. I love that you said that we are homes are intended to work for us. Thanks for sharing!
-Shannan
March 2nd, 2009 at 1:56 pm
I have issues with guests and perfection too. I told myself I wouldn’t clean before my mom came over on Friday, but just couldn’t help myself. It’s my mom, for crying out loud! She doesn’t care. I should adopt your attitude!
March 4th, 2009 at 5:13 am
Having just moved into our closet-less apartment a month ago this week, I find there are still stacks of pictures to be hung, storage units to be bought, and bathroom mirrors to be hung – but my solution at surviving the move-in-madness has been to have one room perfectly ready. In here, I can go read, relax, snuggle with my husband and not worry about what needs to be done and when! Each night before bed, my husband and I retire to the family room and we each pull a book from the shelf and read by dim lighting with a glass of wine in hand. We are taking time to “just be” – something I am notoriously bad at doing – but am learning to slow down and do!
As for “perfection” in my home – I struggle with this. I’m an interior decorator and sometimes I fear I verge on staging my home rather than just living it. Moving into this German apartment sans lighting fixtures, storage of any kind and closets, has really been an adjustment for in accepting that guests do not care if my home looks perfect – I’m the only one who cares! That said, our first visitors arrive from the UK next week, then a few weeks later guests from Zurich descend!
And my mantra regarding everything that isn’t done yet is “It just doesn’t matter! It just doesn’t matter!” They’re coming to see me (and for that free place to stay in Berlin) – and as long as they’ve a place to sleep they’ll be happy!
March 4th, 2009 at 6:38 am
Love your ideas of kicking back and relaxing–great ideas for a enjoying spring-simply!
Happy spring!
Debbykay
Rose Cottage Gardens and Farm
March 6th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Great list- I may need to think awhile to see what I would add. Right now it’s all about getting the garden ready for planting.
Thanks for sharing.
March 8th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
We used to live in a small apartment..600 square feet. Now we’re in a 2000 square foot apartment. And it’s much more challenging to decorate. My husband, teen and I are always looking at furniture clearance stores, consignments and sales for affordable decor.
There are times I do miss our small apartment. But it’s definitely a plearsure having 2 bathrooms.
Our March plans include a housewarmng party this month.
March 28th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
My attitude, even while parenting 11 children (only 3 were born to either of us), was “If anything is dirty enough to offend you, it’s dirty enough for you to clean before you leave.” As a result, we’ve always had lots of drop in company. In fact, we sometimes come home to find friends sitting on our small deck enjoying my small cutting garden. Have a covered dish party where everyone brings something. Talk about your childhood experiences, how you met your spouse, the youngest memory you have, sing together, not just adult songs but childhood songs, read poetry together, etc. Conversation is a lost art, especially between married people. Don’t let it happen!!! Notice the little things you appreciate about each other and share it. One of my dearest friends calls sometimes just to say that something she just saw or heard reminded her of my husband or me and how that reminded her. Another emails, “just thinking of you”.
When we were remodeling this house, the rule was when one of us got tired of it all (six days a week, 8-10 hours a day), that one would yell “beach time” and we packed water and a blanket and went to the beach for the day.