The Perpetual Wheel of Home Improvement Projects

Being a home owner is not all it’s cracked up to be. Oh sure, you get the tax credits and you actually have something to show for your payments, unlike rent or lease payments, but, you also get the headaches that come along with home ownership.

My husband and I have been putting some money into our home lately, getting it all dolled up and fixing some little things that have been bugging us since we moved in. We bought our house about 2 years ago and it was sort of a fixer-upper, although it was certainly cozy enough to live comfortably in. And please don’t get me wrong, I am ever so grateful that I have a warm safe place to lay my head each night. And I have a Deed with my name on it. That’s worth something.

Photo courtesy Google Images

But, owning a home is a little like owning a boat; if you have a boat, you’re fixing a boat. I’m a former boat owner, so I know. Anyone who’s ever owned a boat can attest to that statement.

So, we started doing some improvements to our house and each and every time we finished a project, we became painfully aware of something else that needs improving upon.

It goes sort of like this: When we purchased the house it had REALLY dated and ugly pink “fixtures” in the bathroom. That’s right, we had a pink jetted tub (how awesome is that?) and a pink commode with — a white seat and lid. I didn’t even know anyone on this planet manufactured pink toilets, but there it was in the bathroom of our new home. For 2 years we’ve lived with this horrendous monstrosity of a bathroom.

Photo courtesy Google Images

Well folks, no more. That’s right, we invested in a shiny new toilet — almond colored — and had the bathtub and previously white sink painted to match. Holy smokes, what an improvement! No more pink bathroom. How we marveled at the difference. For exactly fifteen minutes. That’s how long it took us to notice how stained and ugly the faucets were. We’d never paid much attention to the faucets before because we were too distracted by the pinkness of the “fixtures” surrounding the faucets. Now we need new faucets.

Then, we wanted to patch a small spot on the bathroom ceiling that hadn’t been properly fixed at some point in the past. It’s always sort of bugged us and we’ve always talked about getting that eye sore fixed. We had after all just improved the bathroom tremendously, might as well do it all the way. And so the time had finally come, we’d had enough of looking at that ugly spot and decided to fix it.

Photo courtesy Google Images

We plastered and taped and mudded it all up, waited for it to dry, then slathered a thick coat of paint on it. Awesome! It looks fabulous!

We enjoyed the amazing ceiling for exactly two days. That’s when we noticed how ugly and mucked up the light fixture is. Now, whenever we’re in the bathroom, all we see is the ugly and dirty light fixture. How could we not have noticed that before?

We should probably replace the light fixture now that the ceiling is so awesome, but I’m afraid that once we replace the light fixture, we’ll discover how grossly horrible the floor is. Or the cabinets. Or the countertop. So my friends, the light stays. Enough is enough.

I wish I could say the final product looks like this now:

Photo courtesy Google Images.

but alas, it does not. Let’s just say, it’s a hundred times better than it was, ugly light and all.

And on and on it goes. The perpetual wheel of improving then noticing something else that needs improving. It’s a vicious and never-ending cycle. I suggest you never start in the first place. Save yourself the headache.

What’s your perpetual wheel of home improvement projects? Please share. I’d love to commiserate. Have you ever seen a pink toilet or bathed in a pink jetted tub?

Word of the Day: Cathexis

Fun fact about me: I’m much better at paining walls than I am at painting pictures.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, March 2015. Photos courtesy Google Images.