The laundry makeover. Simple before and after photos.

We have been in our house for over four years. We love the area we live in, but usually buying into this area means buying an already-renovated (with the taste of someone else and a hefty price tag) house or a fixer-upper as it is an older, established area. We chose the fixer-upper.

The house is huge compared to our tiny last house, which is a blessing, but we have found it to be quite the challenge. Everything that needs to be done is big, so usually expensive and often prohibitive due to the amount of time necessary for each project. We have slowly done bits and pieces, but it will be a long time until we are truly done, if ever!

The laundry has always bugged me. Always. Yes it was a disaster to look at, but it was the lack of functionality that was really annoying. I especially disliked the fact that it never felt clean no matter what I did. I once spent two full days wrangling the poorly laid tiles from the floor, hoping to get rid of some of the smell and help it to feel clean. It helped a little. It also created problems in that I then had to carefully replace some of the shower tiles I damaged, which I did last year. It took a lot of time to do this job because I had never tiled before and it was a steep learning curve. I now know that I didn't have the right tools and am quite frankly surprised that it worked out at all.

Coming into the school holidays Craig was forced to take extra time off work. The thought of getting to spend so much time together as a family was exciting and we sat down together to write down a few things that we absolutely wanted to do. Five kids can be very distracting so we wanted to be clear about things we didn't want to miss. Most of the fun activities like swimming, the beach etc we had no problem fitting in, but eventually we came to the conclusion that we really should get some jobs around the house done too. During the year Craig's shift work and the kids' after school activities make it hard to get big projects accomplished.

After preparing, painting and putting new fittings into the bathroom and separate toilet in two days (even with pool breaks!) we were energised and enthusiastic. So we decided to take on the laundry. Let's just say we underestimated just how much work would be involved. It took 8 days, although we both weren't working all the time, and Craig was building the side ramp and took down two big palms and a retaining wall during this time too. There are a couple of things that still need to be done, but I'm over waiting, so I am writing this before they are finished. A light switch needs to be changed and our taps kept having issues, which we now know is due to the different style of washers. We will get our awesome plummer-friend to redo the 'seating' of the tap soonish.

The mud room was only rendered and painted last year. The year before we converted it from an unused walkway to a room with entrances to the house, laundry and back yard at one end. It took forever! And by the way, render can really mess with a person's hands and is a bit harder to do than it looks. As a payoff for this extensive preparation prior, we only has to sand and paint this room.

The colours were taken from the curtains I made last year. I happen to love the TV show 'Sarah's House' and she frequently uses soft furnishings for her jumping off point in every room. I tend to do this too now. I will post a blog with all the photos of the gradual transformation and details later, just in case anyone wants specifics, but for now here are the simple before and after photos.

Before:

Mud room - 2013 (picture of a picture), January 2014, January 2015 (empty room)

Laundry - Curtains 2014, Other photos January 2015

After:

Mud room - As it is now, then slightly tidied up pics. There are many items in the trays right now as we are placing back-to-school things in them as we buy. This area hasn't had any organisation yet and we have hooks still to put on the walls.

Laundry - As it is used now. No cleaning or staging, because it didn't feel honest! Light switch and door still needs to be dealt with, along with the 'seating' of the taps. The washing machine will then be connected to the sink taps. You will notice the taps are not centred like the tub and backsplash. That is because they are on an asbestos wall, which we refuse to do anything other than paint it!

Lights and darks Ikea washing trolleys. Three tall airers behind the door. Three washing baskets are missing because they are out at the clothes line. All things necessary for a large family!

We love it!

Jen.x

The reality of renovating. Coping with the process.

The best time to write anything about renovating is when I am renovating. Only it takes all my time to renovate. And also time to write. So as we are finishing up yet another project, I will write all I have been pondering during the past few weeks.

The reality of renovating is that it is awesome, there are amazing finished results, and an incredible feeling of achievement. That I-really-did-that feeling is hard to beat. BUT. But renovating also brings with it a whole new way of living. Perhaps a way of living that can be a huge challenge, especially when five kids are thrown into the mix!

The number one issue that is hard to cope with when renovating is the mess. There is no way around it. Trust me, I've tried. No matter what the job, dust ends up everywhere, even if you feel the job does not create dust. I use a dust pan and broom to constantly clean the area I work within, cleaning as I go (after each component of the job) and leave the rest of the house until the end. My children create a massive (creative) mess playing while we renovate. They love this freedom to be them, but it can be hard to walk in on when taking a brief break while working. Generally as I walk from one room to another I will take a few items with me, or will direct children to put certain things away so that the house stays liveable. As for the cleaning, it waits for the end of the job. Generally I'm so excited at the end of a project that I'm inspired to clean and make the rest of the house look nice to match. With the house in chaos in the middle of a project, I would just be too overwhelmed to know where to start.

Furniture, whitewoods, or other items need to be moved around while renovating and this can often cause a very cluttered maze within other living spaces. If you love open spaces in rooms, this can be tough to deal with. The way I get through it is to simply remind myself, as I walk through the clutter, that it is a means to an end. Craig will often see the overwhelmed look in my eyes and will remind me too. He knows me only too well!

Food becomes a minor priority. We end up running down the fridge and pantry while we renovate. Those tins of spaghetti that I buy but we rarely eat? Gone. The jar of applesauce? Eaten. I will be incredibly thankful for this once we are done, because my next project happens to be sorting and reorganising a few parts of our kitchen. Food tends to end up an afterthought or an inconvenience. I can imagine if a person wanted to stick to a diet, this would be a great way to do it. My next shop will be a big one!

We need to escape the renovation now and then. Getting away often allows Craig and I to regroup and feel refreshed enough to continue. It helps us to see the project with new eyes and we can chat about what we are doing, without feeling under pressure. For the summer renovations this is really easy. We either go to my parents house to swim in their pool (2 minutes from our house!) or will go to the beach. Sometimes Craig might go for a surf and I will read or do something else relaxing. Whatever it is, there needs to be reminders that we have a life beyond renovating.

The kids have a lot of fun, but also need attention from us. Our children get a great deal of time to direct their own play while Craig and I renovate. We do however make sure that they are not neglected. I will set challenges (often with lego or other building/design based product) or bring toys up from our toy storage that they haven't seen for a while. To help them feel secure through this period of change, the rhythm of their holiday days stays the same: breakfast, brush teeth and dressed, inside play, morning tea,  outside play (or go out,) lunch/Daisy sleep, learning time, screen time, afternoon tea/Daisy lunch, play, swim/do something as a family, showers (except Dasiy,) dinner, stories, teeth brushed and bed. We also make a point of stopping what we are doing periodically to read stories, sit with them as they explain lego buildings, or help dress baby dolls. One parent tends to be involved in a do-not-disturb part of the project, while the other parent is dealing with the questions and complaints that may come up. This person tends to have a much slower pace of work. I wonder why!?

Safety suddenly becomes my greatest concern. Throughout a project my focus on safety exists at a heightened state. We keep everything in our study because it can be safely closed off and can be unused for a while. I end up worrying about every tool and poison we use and run through the 'what ifs' in my head numerous times. I especially worry about eyes for some reason. I'm sure this is all for good though, and a necessary part of undertaking renovating. Safety should come first.

Renovating always gives the gift of surprise. Any project, no matter how simple and straight forward it seems, is never what it appears to be. It is always bigger and more complicated. It can take a while to get over this fact. Or should I say it took ME a while to get over it. It often made me cranky. Now I will still get frustrated when we discover the surprise, but in a way I am now glad when we find out what it is so we can quickly account for it and move on. For the times when starting a project ends up opening a can of worms, I will take a moment to have a pity party, then just get on with it. I remind myself there is no point in wishing it was different and start to alter our plans accordingly.

It always takes more time than I think it will. This is usually due to the surprise or the kids. DIY takes much longer than using tradespeople to do the same jobs. It usually involves Youtube clips and practice and careful application. Mistakes and learning take time. On the upside though, no phone calls need to be made and trying hard to patiently wait for tradespeople to actually show up is unnecessary. Renovating is just time consuming and basically, it will be finished when it's finished. No amount of pushing will see otherwise.

It always costs more than I think it will, no matter how amazing and to the very nail my budget is. That's because there is always something. There is always something. And it always costs! The surprise we find is usually the culprit, but sometimes it will cost more because an item we need is out of stock and we have to replace it with a more expensive item. It may also cost more because we end up needing to buy a certain item from a different store due to time constraints, such as fitting in a purchase around other kid-based things that are going on. Whatever the reason, we always allow more money than we think it will take to complete the job.

It ends. Eventually the project is over, even though for what seems like the longest time it won't, it finally does. And surprisingly, I sometimes become sad. It's intense, and demanding and tiring, and completely overwhelming, but after making it though, I can't help but smile and want to do it all over again. In the future that is!

Renovating is a process, that so happens to be rather character building and life altering, for a time at least. In the words of my husband: "it's a pain in the butt, but the finished results make it worth it."

Jen.x

The needs of children: 'fair' is not 'equal.' Evening things up with easy little photo books for two.

With five children of various ages sometimes the older or younger kids end up with things that the younger/older kids have not received. For the most part, we teach the kids that 'fair' is not the same as 'equal,' and that we all aim to meet the 'needs' of others in our family, which is not the same as 'wants.' For the most part they all understand this.

Henry will comment that I did something for him like I am currently doing for Daisy, or Isabel will tell Lucy that she had a dummy just like Daisy when she was a baby. The language we use is deliberate in it's inclusiveness. It's designed to give the same message: we are a family; we look after each other; we receive what we need (and what is age appropriate;) we give to others what they need. And: none of us is the centre of the universe. Above all, we are all noticed, heard and loved.

Anyway, this is the usual message.

But occasionally I will notice the balance is out. I will notice one or more children are not getting what they need. Or perhaps I should say: what would be best for them. I don't generally jump right in to respond, but rather think for a while to decide (and talk to Craig) about a solution.

When Jack went to prep I made a simple photo book for both him and Isabel. It took maybe an hour or two to cut out photos and stick them on coloured paper. I then put the pages into simple folders appropriate for a four year old and a toddler. They loved them! Lucy was very tiny at the time, so I didn't make one for her.

Fast forward a few years. I printed off photos for relatives whenever I could, and would get extras to make a similar book for Lucy and Henry. It never happened. I couldn't decide how I wanted to do it. Should I create new books for the other two children? Should I make up fancy albums?

The books I made originally were a spur-of-the-moment thing. Given time, my standards became unreachable for where my life was at the time. So the photos stayed in the box.

Over the last few weeks I started noticing how much time Lucy and Henry spent looking at their sibling's photo books. "What did I look like when I was a baby?" or "Did I have a dummy when I was little?" were just some of the questions that started to become more frequent. They needed to know about who they were as babies and what they were like as they grew. They really needed books of their own.

After much deliberation, late last night I found two small photo albums. I remember picking them up at Coles years ago and put a few photos in each for Jack and Izzy, for when I went into hospital to have Lucy. I took out the old photos and spent less than an hour choosing photos of Henry and Lucy to go in them.

I loved looking at all the adorable photos taken when they were babies! It was tough finding smiling pictures of Lucy, because her first year was such a hard one, but thankfully I found a couple. I added some letter stickers to each front photo, and cut the corners using a special rounded corner craft punch.

This morning when I handed the photo books to Henry and Lucy their smiles told me that they loved them. I think they were more excited about these books than any of their Christmas presents, and Lucy has had hers at her side all day. Lucy has picked a favourite photo and is repeating the stories I have told her about some of the photos. Henry is just so excited that there was a photo of him receiving 'Puppy.'

No, my children are not going to receive equally from me. But hopefully I will always be discerning enough to see what they need as individuals, and provide for these needs.

Sometimes the needs will be small. Reassurance, a hug, a firm reminder or a photo book to remind them of their history within our family. Other times needs may be more demanding. One thing I can be certain of is that even though many of their needs may be different, they all need me to notice, know, and love them individually. They need me to pay attention and listen. Because we all want to be heard; even kids.

Although I take this on knowing that I will most certainly need grace daily, it reminds me of how blessed I am as a mum. The very fact that this is tricky shows me that I have been given so much. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with attempting to be the mum that each of my precious children needs, but there is also the flip side, in that I receive abundantly in return. Physical demand times 5. Hugs times 5. Crying times 5 (actually probably more because of sibling causal factors.) But you-are-the-best-mummy-in-the-whole-world times 5. Emotional demand times 5. But 5 times that look that they have that is almost indescribable. The look that says: "I have hope, I have learnt so much, I know how to be kind, I want to try my best, I will be happy to sit here forever with you - all because you are my mum."

So I will continue to try to be the mum that they all need. Fair, not equal. Trying my best to listen and pay attention. And loving them all through everything.

Jen.x

Christmas photos and stories of a family of 7. Here is our version in Project Life pages.

Recently I came across 'Project Life.' It's a way of documenting/journalling/scrapbooking in a simple way. I wanted to give it a trial to see if it something I would like to do over the year, so I chose 'December' as my Project Life topic. I could have decided to do this in a traditional card/photo/pens version, but as I wanted to use a variety of kits I chose the digital version.

I simply downloaded the app via iTunes and began. I purchased some additional kits, all between $1 and $3. I didn't find it particularly challenging to use. It can be kept really simple: just drop in photos, and cards, then add some text to some of the cards. Since doing the following pages I have discovered that other people use a few other apps to personalise cards/photos before dropping them into the chosen 'page.'

I will happily write another blog later explain the how-to of 'Project Life' when I have a better handle on the additional apps.

For now, here is our December in 12x12 Project Life pages:)

Craig and the kids love the pages and we can hardly wait to have them printed. But as the shipping charge is fixed, we will wait a little while.

Feel free to comment with questions, hints or tips:)

Jen.x