How can little DIY projects provide comfort? It’s all about making a cozier nest for your family to feel safe during this challenging year.
I’m ready for some comfort. Not just the kind of comfort that well-worn sweatpants, a soft blanket, and a bowl full of treats can provide. The kind of comfort that lasts beyond an afternoon.
Since the pandemic erupted, I’ve been contemplating inside my little shell. I’ve been digesting the news and witnessing the reactions to what’s happening around me. There’s a lot to take in, and I’ve been attempting to absorb as much as possible. Not limiting myself to any one news network or social media feed. Trying to understand what’s happening globally from so many parts of the world, and giving time to personal stories of struggle, loss, and frustration.
Extra time on my hand
I also had the benefit of some extra time on my hands. Well, on my left hand, at least.
When the pandemic hit our town in March, I was getting ready for jaw surgery to deal with some terrible decade-long sinus infections that turned my jaws into ‘hollow crackers,’ according to the doctor.
More than just enduring the urgent surgeries in New York during the pandemic, I had severe allergic reactions to the anesthesia. Then I guess I needed some more challenges, so I fell down the attic stairs in our home.
For a month, I was on a liquid diet while recovering from the surgeries. And for a few months longer, the right half of me wasn’t working due to the acrobatics I attempted down the stairs. I was walking with a severe pirate limp, couldn’t use my right arm, or sit. I rocked a cane, rib brace, neck brace, and arm brace. With my pandemic mask on, too, my fashion game was on high alert.
So I had some time on my hand to read, watch the news and documentaries, play board games with my 11-year-old Jack, enjoy the birds in our yard, and think.
What have I learned?
I don’t know. I’m still learning.
And I don’t have the answers that will help us get through this year. I’m definitely not the Buddha or any kind of insightful guru who can prance into your life, wave a magic wand of love and hope, and then bring eternal bliss into your home.
What I do know is this: I need comfort and low stress from my surroundings. There’s too much going on outside of our homes. More than ever, we need to find calm from within. That’s within our minds, souls, and inside our hearts. And as a designer and mom, my go-to is creating the home environment that can meet that need.
Our homes are our safe places. We go home to recharge, unwind, and connect with our loved ones. With the pandemic, we’re spending more time at home and more time with our loved ones. We’re using our homes differently, interacting with our loved ones differently. Sometimes it’s good, and sometimes there’s room for improvement. (Oh, the calming breaths needed to witness the daily piles of shoes and dishes.)
However you are experiencing your home now, I know that ‘home’ is changing for me. And my family would benefit from some home improvement. We have stuff that we don’t need or use anymore, and it’s been a decade since we painted most of the house. Without the ability to act on any impulse to fix anything while I was recovering, I had more time to observe all of this. I also had plenty of time to make lists of the little DIY projects I wanted to do.
Luckily, I’ve been able to use my arm again for a few hours at a time. And I’m using that arm to re-fix up our home with an eye on how we now use our spaces. It’s nothing grand like an addition or full-on renovation. It’s little DIY projects. Caulking the shower, repairing my son’s bedroom wall, and painting the most used parts of our home are my first DIY projects. Building little birdhouses and bird feeders with Jack is another. Clearing out the attic clutter and cleaning up the workshop also is on the short list. Yes, I’m taking a page from the playbook of start small.
Small steps gather quicker than you may expect. And honestly, after that stair fall, small steps feel safer.
