Encouraging things

First, my cousin and I were talking about the house she and her husband just bought. It doesn't need much work and she mentioned that she was impressed with the progress on our house. She said it is clear to see that we are doing everything with high quality. I was really pleased to hear that, not only just for it being a nice complement but it also helped to remind me of why things are taking so long. Quality takes time. I want things done right. It takes time to research the right materials. It takes time to make something work just right and maximize the space. It takes time to pick colors that look good together. It takes time to find the right people. It takes time to do things in the right order. That comment really reminded me that it's better to be slow and get it right and at the right price than do it fast and not get the right results.

Second, C's brother and our future sister-in-law (congrats J&J!) came over today. They are in the process of trying to buy a fixer upper. She said our progress was encouraging! That's right, encouraging! It reassured her that it can be done. Wow, that's an amazing comment. I look around and all I see is incomplete tasks, clutter and mess with no end in sight. The fact that someone sees encouragement in all this was encouraging to me.

I do feel a little better about our progress at this point. I am starting to accumulate quite a few small projects that are done. Enough ounces will add up to a ton! These little jobs will cumulate to nice house at some point. Also, the completing my one daily decluttering and organizing task is really helping a lot. Our lifestyle is improving, i.e. the few small things I've accomplished have been nice. It's nice to not have the counter filled with dog stuff. It's nice to have the ingredients for our morning smoothies easy to grab and put away. It's nice watching things gradually disappear into the garage (or better yet Goodwill!). They also help my outlook a lot. They give me an immediate sense of accomplishment, improve the house right away and give me a fun task to look forward to after I've done a little on all my other task lists. I am also feeling a little more comfortable with the long term nature of this project. It won't go from undone to done right away. It will be a gradual transformation over a long time. The fact that the first few things have been done is helping me settle into the long haul.