Oh, hey! Do I remember? 😀 I still have. I never planned to be away from the blog for two weeks, but Thanksgiving week seemed like a good “hurry up” class the week after it was over. the big task of finishing the tile in our big new shower (I haven’t finished the grout yet… ugh!), And then that “slow down” thought kind of bleeds next week. 😀 And now, here we are, it’s almost December with another holiday (or holiday) and it’s almost the end of the year.
Do you find it hard to stay motivated too at this time of year? Or is it just me? Usually that’s the time of year when I want to hunker under my down comforter with hot chocolate or coffee (even if our temps here in Texas are in the 60s, 70s, and 80s this December), doing scroll to Pinterest or Instagram, while watching. cheesy holiday rom-com movies. (What’s up with this? They’re all the same story line, and I can’t stand ridiculous story lines at any time of the year. But by December, I can’t get enough. 😀)
However, I wasn’t ready to completely stop things for the year, but I committed myself to the fact that I couldn’t get anywhere nearly as meeting my changed goals for the year, which was end of the master. bathroom (ha !! haha !!!) and the home gym (hahahaha !!!)
So this morning, the condition of the master bathroom is like this…
And the home gym situation is like this…
And you know what? I’m very okay there. While I haven’t done as much in these rooms as I expected, I’m already content with the work I’ve done this year. I’ve been thinking about this for the past two weeks. This year (2021) is my 16th year of blogging. Sixteen years! Wow! And while my first couple of years weren’t much to brag about, when I discovered my true love of DIY, I continued to remodel our little condo, and then this house was filled. And I kept that full steam flow for a few years.
Then 2020 hit, and the world changed. I didn’t manage that well, and I withdrew from the blog and from my projects. Last year was kind of a wash for me as far as home projects. But it’s been a good year for me to learn that downtime is something I’ve really missed in my life.
So this year, I’m trying to find a balance, trying to be consistent in working on projects, while having a lot of downtime for myself, a lot of time with Matt, a lot of family time, and a lot of time to participate. of things and of people abroad. the house. It’s been a very good year for that, and while all the other things have made my home projects last longer, I know there’s a better way of life than working at home all the time.
So all considered, and especially after the madness of 2020, I’m really content with the progress I’ve made on these projects, and there’s no way I can beat myself up about not finishing or slowing it down. . than I was in pre-2020.
And clearly the year is not over. There is still time to make more progress on them, if I choose. But do you know what I want to spend the rest of the year? Deep cleaning my house and organizing things and getting ready to hit the ground running on January 3. I love starting the new year, and there’s nothing better than starting the new year everything is clean and organized. And frankly, my house doesn’t have deep cleaning (the kind of cleaning where you wipe all the trims, dust the curtains and rings, remove the glass from the lights and wash it, etc.) since before the bathroom renovations began. And that bathroom creates a whole heck of a lot of dust and clutter.
So starting today, that’s what I want to focus on until the end. I’ll start with the walk-in pantry, which used to be Cooper’s “cave” where he would sleep every night in 2020 when Matt and I had no room, and haven’t been much cleaned since. It’s already got normal cleaning – the shelves are wiped, the countertop is wiped, the floors are cleaned, and so on. But it requires a completely deep cleaning from top to bottom, just like other rooms in the house.
And eventually, I’ll also discuss some small projects that haven’t been done, or need to be done right now. For example, in the kitchen, the wires for the sconces on the back wall of the cabinets are removed and hung so that they are visible. (Those sconces were plugged into the outlets.) I kept them taping, and the next day, they came back again. And I had one piece of baseboard that was obviously never painted after I stained the floor years ago, and another piece of baseboard that was never nailed in place and kept falling.
So I would focus on things like that, and thoroughly clean my house with all the little projects that were fixed and out of the way. That way, our house will be cozy and comfortable when I take the last week of December and spend some downtime with Matt, as we’ve been accustomed to the past few years, and I’m ready to run in January. have a clean and organized home.
I will keep you updated on everything about the progress. What about some of the before and after photos of each room when I finish them? I’m not sure all of my dust and house dust can be seen in the first photos, but I’m always willing to show photos of my clean rooms when it’s done.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has MS and can’t do physical work , so I do most of the work at home on my own. You can learn more about me here.
I hope you join me on my DIY and decorating journey! If you’d like to follow my projects and progress, you can subscribe below and send each new post to your email inbox. That way you won’t miss a thing!