Enlist Your Funny Bone
1.
Think of the project as a new diet.
Who doesnt want to lose at least five pounds? This is one
way to do it. Between running to stores all day and evening long,
meeting with contractors, inspecting the work, searching the Western world for the perfect light fixture, who has time to eat?
Provided you dont sabotage this new, unorthodox diet plan, with McDonalds drive through, youre good for losing five pounds.
If you are a masochistic type who does some of the work yourself whether it be painting, laying tile, landscaping the yard you can count on another five to ten pounds of weight loss.
Just think, you may be miserable, frustrated, exhausted, and down right cynical about the good of the humankind, but your jeans will fit nicely!
2. Write checks as aerobic exercise.
These workouts are great for toning the wrist and fingers. Usually
done in hectic spurts as you race out the door in the morning while
the contractors are breathing down your neck and your kids are beating
each other with the lunch boxes you just prepared, the stress and
frantic activity are sure to raise your heartbeat for a good hour.
Grumbling under your breath that the plumber, electrician, or you name it, isnt really worth this much money adds greater intensity and calorie burn to this little publicized exercise regime.
Powder Room (before) was actually a closet with two doors, like a hallway.
Powder Room (after) became a separate, private space.
3.
Save money through shopping burnout.
Yes, even the most die-hard shopper will come to dread setting foot
in any store. This affliction starts innocently enough as you go
to look for lighting or plumbing fixtures.
How hard can it be? Hard!
Either the light you want is being shipped from Yugoslavia and wont arrive until your youngest child buys his own home, or you just cant find the one you want. Youll shop every lighting and electrical store you know. Youll search Home Depot. Youll haunt hardware stores.
And then theres plumbing fixtures. Sink centers, faucet handles, finishes, special orders. Whats all that about? And the cost. Youd think you were outfitting the palace for a former third world dictator.
Of course, theres carpet, tile, hardwood, stairs, siding, windows. Enough already. And you thought it was a pain picking mints and sweet table treats for your wedding.
After your 1000th trip to Home Depot (or Lowes or Menards or whatever), in addition to all the other trips youve made for items that shouldnt count as shopping (toilet seats, for example), youve had it. Your friends wont be able to bribe you to check out the latest sale at Bloomingdales.
Youll think it will be better when you can pick out fun things like paint, wall paper, drapes, fabric, furniture but dont bet on it. At this point, the pressure to make your home look like something other than an empty rat maze will counteract any joy in shopping. Spending this much money has never been such a miserable experience.
As a result, when your home becomes half-way presentable, youll refuse to shop again even for groceries for at least six months. The money you save during this shopping hiatus will be sufficient for you to resume this previously pleasurable past time once more without guilt.
4. Impress your friends with obscure facts.
Only someone that has built or remodeled their home can explain
the fluid dynamics of a proper toilet water swirl. Or cite the International
Building Code that calls for no more than 6 between electrical
outlets. Or brag that triple glazed windows are really the wave
of the future for light emitting device technology. See what I mean?
:)
5. Pride yourself on your new creative skills.
Youll discover a creative side that you never knew existed.
Like how to wash dishes in the bath tub. And how to make a full
course meal for a family of four using nothing more than a toaster
and hot plate. Or how to fit an entire family in a house smaller
than your first apartment.
They say that necessity is the mother of invention. Thats probably true, but I also think that the only thing that separates modern and pioneer life is just one kitchen or bath remodeling project.
6. Yell at someone other than your kids and not feel
guilty.
Honestly, as a modern woman trying to juggle the running of our
homes, possibly a job, and the future Olympic soccer aspirations
of our children, you have the primal need to yell. At someone. Anyone.
Often our spouse and children suffer from this need of ours to release
pent up negative energy generated from nothing more than some miniature
human leaving smelly gym shoes on the kitchen table.
(Ok, that probably deserves a bit of yelling we eat at this table!) But when you remodel your house, you have a whole cast of characters and believe me, theyre characters that often deserve a good scream from time to time. Like when they tell you that they tore out the fireplace because they didnt think it looked right.
Or when they show you a mistake made three weeks ago that now requires half the house to be torn down in order to fix. Yelling isnt immature or a result of too much estrogen, its therapy.
7. Throw out (finally) your significant others treasured [fill in the blank] from his bachelor days.
You know what I mean. It could be the semi-nude poster he wont
get rid of. Or his collection of exotic beer cans. Or all of his
Sports Illustrated magazines since the Chicago Bears last won the
Superbowl. Now is the perfect time to get rid of it.
If you need to move out of your house while the remodeling is done, or you are moving to a new home, such an opportune time may never occur again. Say it wont fit in the rental house. Its either this or his golf clubs. Gently remind him that the sentimental item really serves as a reminder of his advancing years.
Anything. Get rid of it. It will be one positive you can remind yourself of when the stress of remodeling makes you feel that this project was the biggest mistake of your life.
8. Grow closer to your family through forced bathroom sharing.
The saying goes that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Perhaps
that wise pundit had to share a closet sized bathroom with three
kids and a spouse. In reality, theres no greater way to create
intimacy in a family than by all trying to get ready for the morning
in the same 7x 5 space. Youll learn new exciting
things about your children like toilet paper is purely optional
for little boys.
Youll discover that there is no bond quite like the one created when the entire family brushes their teeth together over the same sink. Youll realize why the older generation of your relatives only washed their hair once a week instead of facing communal bathroom time. But most importantly, youll no longer need to yell at your kids to hurry up for school theyre standing right next to you.
9. Earn free flights from all of your purchases.
In what is admittedly (and somewhat sheepishly) the only practical
survival tip on this list, get an airline mileage credit card. Charge
everything on it lights, plumbing fixtures, windows, doors,
lumber, carpet. The windows alone can get you close to one free
trip.
Whether you decide to share your miles with anyone else in the family or to escape on your own to a world of quiet solitude and, preferably, an open bar, is entirely up to you.
10. Hire some good looking contractors and feel like youre
15 years old again.
Hey, guys get a whole chain of restaurants and bars where the main
attraction is busty waitresses in tight t-shirts (Hooters). Why
cant us gals have some eye candy once in a while? Besides,
its a productivity tool. Youll be more likely to inspect
the job or meet the architect if some young, fit, good- looking
men are there especially in the summer months when shirts
tend to become optional.
For example, we once hired a roofing crew of male model wannabees for a house we built. My husband called them the Beefcake Roofers. They created quite a stir in the neighborhood that summer. Let me tell you, it made rushing to stop by the house to go over notes with the trades first thing in the morning a bit more interesting and much more fun!
Finally, remember, the end result of your new house will be worth the aggravation of the process. Plus, think of all the good stories you can tell!
About the Author
Along with her husband, Julie Lohmeier is the veteran of numerous home remodeling and building projects. From working hands on and doing much of the work herself to hiring contractors and construction managers, she has seen the entire spectrum of home improvement. She shares her remodeling tips, home decorating ideas, and other various rants at http://www.myhomeredux.com.
@copyright 2005, Julie Lohmeier, www.myhomeredux.com used with permission
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