Are you ready to reclaim your space? It can be a great “idea” and yet seem too overwhelming to ever achieve. Reclaiming your space usually means starting a project, and the thought of starting yet another project can be daunting.
What usually happens in our household is one project leads to another and another and they all get started…but none of them get completed. It can be an issue! And, honestly, it is directly related to someone in the household (whom I shall leave nameless), who is self-admitted ADD. Projects get started and the majority of the work gets done but then the details are neglected, forgotten or just not completed.
We started to reclaim some space in our home last weekend. One of my dreams was to just have a place on the front porch where I could relax, drink a cup of coffee and chill out. The biggest obstacle in reaching my dream was that it would cost too much money for the chairs that I wanted. I’m the frugal one in the family and sometimes it is difficult for me to make up my mind.
Then…I checked Facebook on my phone and a friend posted a picture of an Adirondack chair that she had found and it was 50 percent off! Her comment was, “I think I need one of these!” I saw the price and told my husband to turn the truck around. We needed to go see these chairs. And, as you can see from the picture, we didn’t get just one – but two of them. Within 90 minutes I had reclaimed my front porch as a place of relaxation and restoration.
I share this with you because even though this just happened three days ago, we have already spent hours in on the front porch planning our next project (a new shed). It has given us the change to spend time together just talking and enjoying each other’s company.
Reclaiming your space is important for your mental and emotional health. So many times, life situations happen and we lose ourselves – along with our space. I am seeing it more and more, families moving in together to cut costs in this hard economy. And this can be stressful because you are losing the space that you are so used to having for yourself.
Take the time to organize and plan your project. Decide how you want to reclaim your space. (Pinterest is a great place to find space planning ideas) I spent about three hours last week finding out everything that we needed to know about putting a shed on our property. It was not as simple as I thought it would be. There are permits and approvals, payments and processes that we found out as we went along. And we didn’t know that size does matter! We started with the ultimate shed (our dream shed which would give hubby a work shop and an outdoor man cave) and we ended up with a slightly smaller shed but with windows and two lofts for storage.
The key to organizing a project is to be willing and able to ask questions – no matter how silly they may seem – and then write down the answers to those questions. One of the best questions that I asked the zoning commission and the building commission was, “Is there anything else that you feel I need to know?” Of course, followed with, “You are the expert”.
I am realistic. This shed is being built and won’t be available for at least a month. But in the meantime, I am planning out smaller projects (better known as the “Honey Do List”). These will keep him (us) busy until then and we will celebrate our success in September!
What space would you like to reclaim? Let me know and I’ll help you plan it out.
Columns on Fredericksburg.Today are recurrent features on specific topics or by regular contributors. Guest writers present their own point-of-view and may not necessarily represent the viewpoint of Fredericksburg.Today.
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