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
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