Plaque at the site where the house used to portray the Delta House formerly stood (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
So, we’ve been working on turning a party house into a home. And the question is – will a clean and orderly home environment make changes in behavior? Here’s the update –
I’m sorry I haven’t updated for a bit here. I have some sort of respiratory issue and I’m still not feeling 100%. It was actually so bad last week that I couldn’t do much. I laid around quite a bit – which is totally not like me.
Then the Cubs made the playoffs. Thank God they won it quick! That was like 16 hours of my time gone! UGH! But it was history in the making. I had to watch, right?
Then there was the Democratic debate. Yes, I’m watching both sides.
I did push myself to work on my space. I’m finding that even though the house is clean, and we’re working on painting and decorating – none of it is my space. I kind of feel like I’m in the way no matter where I go.
And its decorated for them – not me. Darker colors, lots of stripes. Not to say that the plans are not nice; they’re just not me. Even though I wrote Perfect Fit Decorating, which is about making your home comfortable for your individual taste, I’m amazed at just how uncomfortable it is for me.
Not to mention that I am an introvert and I need my own space to escape to. I need alone time every day.
Its a small room. Like 9×10. It originally was on the back of the house, but an addition was put on the back of the house. So this room now has no window. You’re going to laugh – I bought a window…
I put it where I’ll be able to see it while I’m working, and when I’m laying in bed. It’s very soothing, don’t you think?
I got the window decal at Amazon*. There are a whole bunch of different scenes to pick from. Pretty cool, isn’t it? I did pick the more expensive one. The reviews on the cheapo ones were not great. I figured – you get what you pay for, and I wanted something to make me happy.
It was really hard getting this thing on the wall. Its still a touch crooked. Bob was actually very good at smoothing it out. I don’t know how long it would have taken me to do it.
The room is still a work in process. I think I want to get a mirror to expand the feel of the room. On the other hand, I’m trying to work with things I already have and not spend a lot of money.
Even though it is not really decorated yet, I’m very comfortable in my little space.
And for the rest of the inhabitants, it has been a lot quieter around here. Everyone seems calmer. There’s not so many outbursts and yelling and screaming. Even last weekend was quiet for the first time. The youngest came home and went to bed without waking everyone up.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this is the new normal. Not sleeping every Saturday night and having dead bodies laying all around the house on Sunday is getting old.
The oldest son took his entire room apart and cleaned everything last week. Even used a vacuum!
Nobody helps with cleaning otherwise, but the dishes are making it to the sink and things overall are staying cleaner.
It doesn’t matter if you are a wife, or just a friend – If you are the woman in the house, you do the cooking and cleaning. Either that or it doesn’t get done. You can train them early on, but these guys are pretty set in their ways. Maybe in time?
I’m a little pissy tonight. When I came home from work, Bob was laying on his bed watching old Saturday morning Kung-Fu movies. Seriously.
I made dinner. He and son #1 ate, and headed back to their rooms. I’ll have to remember to thank him for reminding me why I’ve chosen to stay single!
Bob was making some headway in getting stuff out of the dining room so we could actually work in there, but he seems to have run out of steam again. We have the plan, we just need to get the work done. And its not going to cost much – mostly paint and elbow grease.
My daughter is coming up this weekend and we’re going to go look at wedding dresses. Oh! Did I tell you that she is engaged now? I think I forgot! Oh my gosh… Sorry about that. She is getting married next August. I can’t believe it. It goes so fast!
She hasn’t seen the house since the nightmare it was when I first moved in. I’m waiting to see her reaction 🙂
I’ll be busy. Hopefully Bob will get motivated again…
But overall, I would consider the experiment successful so far. I think there has been a lot of positive progress. I’ll keep you posted on how its going!
If you need help getting the house clean…
If you need help getting your home spruced up without breaking the bank,
*Please note that the Amazon link above is an affiliate link. That means that if you buy anything at Amazon going through that link, I will get a commission. It doesn’t change the amount you pay, and helps keep this blog alive. Thanks!
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