The Digs Doc

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Renovation strategies for sanity: A summary and something new

This Digs Doc blog is about two-way healing, and prevention when possible. There's healing your house and what ails it, whether that involves its functioning, its appearance or both. And then there's healing the occupants who have to live through such housing transformation. Better still, it's also about finding ways to prevent as much grief as possible through awareness and planning.

Now that it's well into Spring and renovating season is moving into high gear, here are some reminders and some new ideas to save your sanity while you remodel.

My first post, It gets worse before it gets better, covers a lot of ground in a short post. For one thing, it introduces ZipWalls, which, if you do nothing else to prepare, please do this. You will thank me. It also addresses mindset and expectancies in a light-hearted, but nonetheless truthful, way. And there's the part about dressing for the occasion. So, if you're about to remodel, already in the midst or even just thinking about it, check out this post.

Other posts worth looking at, especially if you are doing major remodeling involving big ticket purchases like cabinetry, include Low grades for "high end": Part one - the rule and Low grades for "high end": Part two - the rare exceptions. This territory can cause major headaches, so be forewarned and forearmed.

If you're doing a kitchen remodel, check out Kitchen renovating: how to still eat in to see how quickly and easily you can set up a temporary kitchen. This will bring much welcomed comfort while your renovation is going on.

My first post also talks about relocating during a renovation--if you can do that. Today's post is sort of an extension on relocating, but without actually moving out. Most people (myself included) are not in a position to move out during a major renovation. You're simply stuck with "making do" in a very less than ideal circumstance. But if you're renovating, during the spring and summer months especially, you can "get away" from it all, even if only by a few feet.

Those of you who have been following Digs Doc posts know I'm on a gardening roll. And this post fits that trend. When my kitchen was being remodeled (which was major and endless), one of my strategies for sanity was getting out in the garden, the front garden where the makeshift workshop wasn't. While I'm tweaking that front garden now, the greater part of its design and installation happened last year during the kitchen renovation. It has trees, shrubs, flowers and seating inside lovely fences which I had installed some time earlier.

A few weeks ago, I posted a view of this garden through my dining room window. Although it was early Spring and the leaves and flowers weren't really happening yet, it still looked like a garden, because of its four-season design (worth keeping in mind when you plan your space). Here's what it looks like now (a bit further into Spring) from another angle. It's a room, a beautiful place to go and a great place to putter around in or create even though there's mess and chaos happening indoors.

Even if you're not a "gardener" yet, give it a try. To begin, check out my post: So how do you start a garden?

If you're already a gardener, you know the script! You're all the more equipped to get into gardening and out of the house during the renovation.

What if you don't have a yard? If you don't have the alternative of access to a community garden, do some indoor gardening! And you know what (and this applies to anyone with or without a yard)? Plants clean your indoor air space. And when have you ever needed that more than during a remodel? Here's some further information:

*Plants Actually Clean the Air
*A list of plants that do the job

Gardening is a great renovation strategy for sanity because it's tangible, focused, offers beauty (when your indoor living space is a mess), health benefits (including exercise if you're doing the outdoor kind) and can be quietly meditative, very useful during a stressful renovation. Up to your ears in dust and dysphoria? Give gardening a try and feel the relief!

2 Comments:

  • You're so right about the peace one receives from gardening. Your bench setting is BEAUTIFUL1

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:53 AM  

  • thanks, madeira mama! if somebody knows what it's like to get away in the garden, you do!

    By Blogger Carol, at 4:07 PM  

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