his and hers: DIY

(...in which a change of plans made for a busy, amazingly productive weekend)

we were going to go camping this weekend. a nice little two-day/one-night stay in never summer, just he, me, and jola-pants. however, the noah's ark-like torrential rain forecast made us (him, really. he's a better planner) think twice and we reconsidered. i don't have any rain gear, so even thinking about two days outside in the rain with a tent, a dog and wet socks made me grumpy. good thing i'm dating a smartie pants.

so instead of camping, we chose to 'staycation', and get things done around the house.... a tag-team weekend, if you will. on saturday, we planned on tackling my huge list of summer projects, and sunday, we would take a stab at his list. by far, his list was longer (literally two pages) and bigger projects, but we were both excited.... not only for hard, manual labor but for the satisfying results and two days without paying attention to the rest of the world (i personally was so excited about this part that i accidentally left my cell at his house).

at the end of the weekend, we had accomplished quite a few things, like: blown insulation into his attic; cleaned out his gutters; primed and painted his whole bathroom; dug out a trench and installed a stone walkway in my backyard; installed a new bathroom sink faucet, trimmed my cherry tree, fixed my front door hinge, installed weather stripping on my back door, insulated my outdoor pipes, prepped my deck for staining, and painted a used pot. all in all, a very successful two (sweaty, hard working!) days with the man i love.

here are my following tips for having a great, productive staycation:

a) Make Lists

    in case you didn't know, i am a superfan of lists. sometimes i make them with things that will inevitably happen ('get up', 'do your hair', 'shower') just so i can organize my day and cross things off. for a weekend of projects, a list (or two) is definitely necessary.

   he laughed at me when i got out my colored markers and cupcake-decorated grocery list paper and made him write down all he wanted to do. i cringed at him when he put his in willy-nilly order and then numbered them by importance- the 1 was half way down the first page, 2 was on the second page, 3 on the first page, 2.5 on the first page, 1.5 on the second... my list was, of course, written in order of importance, which was of course, based on need and ease of each project. and on the back was all the supplies i thought i would need, grouped by project. (yes, i'm list-OCD. i own it). he also laughed when we got to home depot and i pulled out my pen to cross off as we got what we needed, and crossed off projects as we finished.

   but, this is how i organize, and that is how he organizes. great news: totally different styles, but we both got what we needed done and helped each other along the way. bottom line: lists are good.

b) Be Flexible... aka Realistic

    there were a lot of things i wanted to do, especially since i had a huge, hunky man to help me (possibly shirtless, if i planned it right). really, i wanted to tile my bathroom. however, that project was huge, i had not planned nor did i have the supplies to really get it done right. and he didn't really know what to do either. of course, we can (and will!) research the process and really do it, but this weekend wasn't the time. that was ok, i had lots and lots of other things to do.

    i also had to be realistic with time. i am the girl that will shove an activity into every.last.minute. if possible. sat night, when we were pooped and it was almost dark outside, i was still jonesing to stain his deck or get started on insulation or at least prime the bathroom. realistically, that would have been a circus, and (lucky me) he's normal, and knew that would be over-extending. he gently reminded me that i didn't have to pack the day from dawn til dusk to feel productive. and to be honest, it was great to stop at a normal time, take a shower and relax with some ice cream, my dog and my man.

the attic insulation project

c) Visit Home Depot at least four times

    we went five.

d) Carry your home improvement money around in cash, in an envelope (preferably from a bank)

    i did and it felt like every time i bought something i was doing something special. it also made me much more cognizant of what i was buying and how much i was spending.

d, part 2) do not carry extra money intended for something else in your money envelope.

    i also did that too, and i spent that money on what was supposed to be for something else. oops!

e) Really, Do it Yourself. 

    there were a lot of things that we did that we could have probably paid someone to do. but we saved a lot of money- and learned a lot- by doing it ourselves. first, you can rent a TON of tools and supplies at the depot/local home imporvement store, and do a lot of things you didn't think you could. for instance: insulation blowers, carpet cleaners and sewer snakes are all rent-able. and all things i am sure i will want to pay someone to do in the future.

    and seriously, if you are going to 'do it yourself' (girls), actually do it. don't have him lug the rocks and carry the tools while you push the cart and tape the bathroom. get your hands dirty, get sweaty and work hard. it makes it that much more rewarding. trust me: when i walk down the stone walkway that's in a path i dug up, full of 100 stones that i carried from the store, to my house, and through the yard, i feel good. and proud (but good proud, not like hot-headed, look-at-me proud).

all we need is some fillers for those corners and it's done!

f) Stock up: pizza, ice cream and beer will be in high demand 

   cold beer (especially n.a. beer {no buzz!}) is great on a hot, sweaty, hard working day. end that day with another beer, some good, greasy pizza (we did thin crust veggie from papa johns) and some ice cream (phish food+banana split+ rocky road = hodge podge ice cream heaven). oh- and water. drink lots of that too. all of this will make you, and your home improvement partner, happy and ready to go for day #2.

g) Drive an SUV.

    maybe you don't have one now, but just get one... if you plan on home improvement projects. between one project and two SUVs, we still had to tie things to the roof! but we didn't have to rent a truck- which was great savings, in time and money.

 

h) It's The Little/Unseen Things That Count...

    my list had a TON of little things (like fix the faucet, fix the hinge, add this, take this out) and one big thing. his list had a few big things and a few little things. it feels like we spent time on more projects at my house, but when i'm there, all i can see is the walkway (which is amazing, don't get me wrong). come winter, though, the insulated pipes will be great (that cost five dollars), this tuesday; when the girls come over and the door works, i'll be happy (that was free, we just switched a hinge); and every day i wash my hands in the bathroom and don't have to yank the unsecured faucet around (new faucet was a splurge, the piece of metal to fix original was two dollars), i am subconsciously stoked. at his house, we did the bathroom which looks new every time you walk in, but we also cleaned gutters and blew insulation. come rainy days, he will be at ease, knowing the water is not dripping directly into his foundation. and come the colder months, he will only see the benefits of the insulation on his (hopefully markedly lower) heating bill. although it's hard, almost unseen work when you do it, the long term affects are worth every minute. do it.

and that, my friends, is my receipe for an amazing, productive, relaxing summer weekend!

throw in a few afternoon thunderstorms and a covered porch swing, and you've got it made.

happy DIY-ing :)