Paralyzed

{Image source: Brett Jordan}

Like I said last night, we're about done with the house. Yes, it's still kind of a mess and yes, we still have some stuff to put away, but it's broken down into bite-sized parts now. I can, in earnest, devote 30-45 minutes to a particular task and most likely finish it within that time frame.

The problem now is that I'm PARALYZED. I don't know where to start. I thought I had it down, but then I read on ROOST yesterday that you should pick a room and focus on it until it's finished in order to keep yourself from going crazy. Well, guess what. I'm going crazy!

I don't know which room to pick. Do I start in the living room/entryway so that people are welcomed into a nice, well-designed space? Do I start in our bedroom so that we have a calm, relaxing retreat? Do I start with the kids' room, the only room that we're allowed to paint (so far)? Do I start with the little projects that are spread throughout the house?

I don't know. And I only have a limited amount of time on my hands every day and a limited amount of money every month, so I really can't go balls-to-the-wall with the decorating. And seriously, it wouldn't be a problem if I knew that we were going to be here for the next 3-20 years; I would just do things as we were able to. Instead, I have 10-11 months to make this a livable place.

Truthfully, the place is very livable. That's one of the reasons we picked it. As a matter of fact, I love this place and wouldn't mind owning it for the next decade or so. And therein lies the problem: I love this place and want to put our mark on it. We can't put too much of a mark on it because we don't own it. The little marks are not very time-consuming, but are numerous and add up cost-wise. I don't know if the little marks will translate well into our next home.

So, where to begin?

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