3.13.2012

How to Expedite Your DIY Process

Friends, I’ve discovered the secret to fast-moving DIY projects. You may have formerly believed that quick project turnaround involved things like impeccable organization, brilliant planning, excellent follow-through, enviable determination, or mad skillzz with power tools and/or a hot glue gun. I am here to tell you that none of that is really true. Well, it is true. But it isn’t as true as something else. And what is that something else?

Inconvenience.

Yes. Inconvenience. Having our clothes in a pile down the hall as we gave our closet a much-needed makeover was a minor inconvenience.

Not being able to watch Castle for a whole two weeks because our living room was MIA as we redid the ceiling was a major inconvenience.

For two whole weeks, a ridiculous bucket of joint compound and a dust-infested living room sat between me and my favorite homicide investigators. (I know so few.)  I’m pretty sure that they were as bummed about it as I was.

castle-117

In my dreams, their conversation is significantly more brilliant.

Thanks to said inconvenience, we were Super Motivated to finish the terrible task of hanging new drywall for the ceiling, finishing it (mudding, sanding, painting), and repainting the walls and wainscoting within two weeks time. Not bad considering we both worked full-time and Rick is busy with Legally Blonde pit rehearsal. Would we have finished it so quickly, though, if we hadn’t been so inconveniently inconvenienced? Absolutely not.

So the next time you begin a project, I suggest any of the following forms of inconvenience to help you expedite your process, too. Use alone, or combine with others for a truly inconvenient experience.

1. Exchange your car for a horse. A really, really old horse. A really, really old horse with bad breath.

2. Place your alarm clock down the hall and set it to wake you up an hour early every day with the most annoying song you can think of. Recommended titles are “The Song That Never Ends,” “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” and “It’s a Small World.”

3. Place all chocolate or other favored food item of your choice in a locked cabinet with a small bomb inside. Set to detonate in a very limited amount of time.

4. Disable your Pinterest account.

5. Install a fire-breathing dragon in your toilet.

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What are your suggestions for how to inconvenience yourself in the name of expedited DIY? Who wants to have a Castle marathon with me? We don’t watch much television, but Castle is one that I really look forward to. Suspense + humor + well-written and unpredictable storylines = yes, please. You’re all invited to the season finale in our again-livable living room. I’ll make sure that the dragon has moved to a less moist climate by then.

18 comments :

  1. Dude - I love Castle! We can definitely have a Castle marathon!! :)

    And disable my Pinterest account? I don't think so lady. Where do you think all the ideas I have come from? Ha! :)

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  2. I've never seen Castle, but this makes me want to watch it. I'm a serious Bones fan, though it's been MIA forever because of stupid American Idol.

    Here's one! How about selling your washer and dryer early so that you can install beadboard in the mudroom before the new ones come and then have nothing to wash clothes with? We got that beadboard up FAST!

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  3. haha this is so true. :) and please don't hate me but I've never even heard of Castle. I don't really watch much TV either..I think the only day I've ever watched TV in my new apartment was the first day I moved in because I realized I had TLC...surprisingly though I haven't watched it since. Maybe it's due to the fact that I have 6 remotes for my TV but yet none of them actually turn it on so I have to get up to change the channel or turn the volume up or down. It's too bad that doesn't seem like that much of an inconvenience for me to figure it out..

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  4. Two weeks is impressive! I have OCD so that always helps move things along!

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  5. Inconvenience speeding up projects is exactly how it goes in my house.

    And next time, I'm totally putting a dragon in the toilet.

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  6. Inconvenience is a HUGE motivator. Also company coming. That's a biggie for us! It helps to not have a dragon in your toilet when company is on their way...!

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  7. Yeah, so true! I just painted a ton of trim and the ONLY reason it got done in one week is because all the furniture in the house was in the middle of the room.

    I have never seen Castle, but I have always meant to watch it. I love mysteries and I love Nathan Fillion. :) If you vouch for it, I really need to check it out.

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  8. I totally agree! That's how I unpacked our kitchen in 3 hours, because it was sooo inconvenient!

    Also, I'm ready for our Castle marathon! We can craft and watch at the same time (at least that's what I do) :)

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  9. Totally agree with this statement. I definitely need to up the inconvenience factor in our house- I'll be way more productive!

    And I follow Castle and the last two weeks have been re-runs. They really must know that you can't watch! lol

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  10. I love Castle!!! :)

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  11. This is SO TRUE. I notice in particular that outside projects can linger for YEARS, I tell you, YEARS! I think it's b/c I can close the curtains and forget that it's a big pile o' mess out there =) We love Castle, too. Monday's just aren't the same without it. /Hopefully you can catch up on either Hulu or abc.com, that's what we do!!

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  12. So inconvenience is absolutely why I like to get things done quickly, but Chris doesn't seem to mind. So I nag him. That usually does it :)

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  13. did u take pics of the ceiling install process? we have some serious ceilings to re-do!

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  14. You make a valid (and hilarious) point! Nothing lights a fire under my butt like being inconvenienced in my own home.. except maybe a fire breathing dragon in the toilet. That might do it too. ;)

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  15. Is this the trick?! Maybe if we do some combination of ALL of your tricks, we'll be ready for this baby to get here. Wow I really need to put down the laptop and go get stuff done.

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  16. Too true! Inconvenience is a great motivator but so is blogging. The need to get a post up for tomorrow usually motivates me to do something:)

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  17. No CASTLE?!!! Terrible sacrifice. That just means you'll actually be very excited for rerun season, though...

    But I think I'm mad at you ;-) , because just reading the titles of those songs makes them start up in my head... Only because you listed so many, they're alternating and overlapping each other... Yikes.

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  18. I never see Castle!It's very atractive the secrete of success is suport.


    sell my house

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