The Importance of Celebrating DIY Victories Great & Small
We’ll get one thing out of the way: DIY home improvement can be stressful and overwhelming. Add to the mix whatever other variables you’re juggling – work, dogs, children, vet appointments, doctor appointments, getting to the gym, these really annoying things called “bills” that pop up every month to remind you that your bank account is judging you – it’s a lot to deal with all at once. If you’re living in a gem of an older home that needs a ton of work, that list of DIYs can get longer a lot faster than you’d like. Maybe all you were able to get done this weekend was diagnosing a problem rather than fixing it. Or maybe you had time to go get the supplies you needed to do that one project but didn’t have time to actually start working on it. Or maybe all you had time and energy for was grocery shopping. But you know what? That’s ok. Sit down, relax, and relish in the fact that you have a full fridge and a roof over your head (even if that needs fixing too).
Taking the time to celebrate the DIY victories around our home has been a huge part of staying sane throughout the process. We have a long list of things we need to do around here but keeping those projects in a realistic perspective of what must get done versus what can wait a while is key. One of the biggest projects that has been staring us down since we moved in was completing the outgoing run from the washing machine. The existing drainage was old, collapsed, and, well, didn’t drain. So, we put in a new one. It took us a few weekends and several trips to the store, but we did it. And you guys… the joy we felt after watching the washer drain for the first time yesterday? Wowza.
But like I said, this process took multiple weekends. Which meant we couldn’t do laundry in our house for weeks. Thankfully, my family lives close by and let me hijack their washer and dryer every weekend. But did it get old? Of course it did. It was a frustrating job and more complicated than we thought it would be but we got it done piece by piece. One weekend it was just getting under our pier and beam house to see what we could realistically do. The next it was going to the store and getting what we thought we needed… and then inevitably making another trip. The next weekend it was pouring rain. ‘Twas a lengthy process. But each weekend we worked on this project, we accomplished something. And each time, we celebrated that accomplishment – even if it was just by ordering pizza and watching Netflix. Someday we will turn this into the laundry room of our dreams, but for now, we’re so happy to be able to do laundry in our own home.
My point is: unless you’re a pro working on your own home, any DIY home improvement project is going to involve a lot of time and some trial and error. So sit back, take a breath, pour yourself a glass of whatever brings you joy, say “well done”, and scratch one more thing off your to-do list.
For more of The Balance Experiment, follow our adventures on Instagram @the.balance.experiment
the BALANCE experiment 