One Room Challenge - I signed up!
I did it. I took the plunge. I'm all signed up for the One Room Challenge.
*Imposter syndrome sets in immediately. Starts pacing anxiously.*
I don't think I ever explained why I started posting all my doings on Instagram. The room I chose to submit to the One Room Challenge happens to be very much connected to it.
We, as a family, didn’t adopt social media when everyone else jumped on board. Sharing the daily happenings of our very normal life wasn’t appealing to me and there is a level of privacy and security that you give up when you start sharing everything. Eventually, I needed to join because I found we were out of the loop with a lot of the homeschooling activities that were available to us. That was when I gave in and, to be honest, still don’t love it. However, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
Even though we bought this house in 2014 and started work on it immediately, I really only started sharing the *what* and *how* of the work, publicly, in 2018. The reasons for this were multifold.
That year, I had taken on a lot of projects so the house could be completed on an accelerated timeline, hiring out some work while taking on other projects on my own. That same year, on multiple occasions, I got a knock on the door from city inspectors ordering me to stop work on one project or another. All projects were well within my rights to do without involving the city. I wasn’t moving walls, adding square footage, or doing plumbing/electrical work. The problem was, they didn’t believe I was doing the work myself. As with any dumb-dumb who wields authority over the happenings of other humans, he wasn’t hearing it and clearly told me it was unlikely I could do this work myself (as I stood in front of him with my work boots and sawdust covered hair). This made it apparent I needed to record the work I was doing as I did it. So my ability to do these things could never come into question. As an aside, why I hadn’t heard a peep from the city during the previous 4 years of work is a mystery to me, but that year they were relentless.
Once I started recording what I did, I noticed I was more focused and committed to finishing projects. I was able to give myself a “pep talk” by simply rewinding and seeing how far I’d come whenever I felt I was working all day, but making little progress. These videos helped me see my perception was not reality. A friend then suggested I share these videos publicly so others could see and, potentially, be inspired. Again, the public accountability helped move everything forward at an even faster clip.
Another positive benefit that comes from sharing my work is professional potential. Although having a degree in Math gives me a safe skillset to fall back on, it’s not something that necessarily brings me joy and energy. It’s been a valuable skill to have for educating my kids (common core math is good, y’all. Don’t throw tomatoes at me for saying this, please). Not having a degree or any kind of certification in anything that I would actually love to do, am good at, and have a passion for, as a profession has been a real sore point and big regret in my life. Posting my work publicly has given me a place to store and share a portfolio of my work. Somewhere to share my creativity and skills. Proof of competency. The hope that I will be able to parlay my skills into a career has brought a light into my heart that hasn’t been there for YEARS. How I proceed is still unclear, but the hope has value.
So, thank you, authority abusing inspector, for getting me on track to moving in a positive direction, both personally and the projects in our home. You’ve helped prove that the obstacles thrown in one’s path can vault someone forward if the focus is kept on a solution as opposed to the problem. #roarMOAR
This is a nice lesson, you say, but how does this all relate to the room I’ve chosen for the One Room Challenge? Well, that inspector came around when our front porch was part-way through it’s restoration. I had moved on to other, equally important projects with every intention to come back and complete it. I have yet to do just that. I want to have a completed place, this summer, to enjoy the outdoors and sit during rain storms. If I can complete this space during the ORC time-frame, our family will have an entire summer with an outdoor space that’s complete and inviting. I am equal parts nervous and excited.
The Week One post for this challenge will drop on May 6th. In it, I will go over my plan and ideas on how I'll be moving forward in this space and the look I’m aiming to achieve (which will more than likely evolve as I mover through the project). Leading up to the week one post, I’ll be sharing what’s been done so far. Below, you can take a peek at the space as it was when we purchased the house. Yikes!
Thank you for joining me in this journey and the words of encouragement you share on an almost daily basis.
