I made a mistake this summer, and that was taking on too many “projects” while we spent the summer in Philly. On the big project side, I wanted to organize kid stuff better and complete some upgrades to our security system. Then there were general things you need to do to maintain a vacation home: fix a door hinge, replace a part in a running toilet. Plus, we had an ant problem! It has all piled up over the past few years because we were away for 2.5 years during the pandemic, and having small children was totally consuming.
This summer would be the summer to start catching up!
I mentioned that when we got in Aaron helped me assemble a dresser. I also ended up ordering a “Zoo” stuffed toy organizer.
And we bought a sideboard to stash all the art supplies and experiment activities that the boys have. It’s lovely and really helped rein in the chaos over there and free up some space in the tiny pantry closet. But it was from Ikea, so in addition to getting all the pieces, I had to assemble it.
I also hung more pictures for the boys! We’ve held off on most decorating because the walls need to be painted, but they’re getting older and I wanted to get their art up.
Plus, one of the things that came out of my sister’s storage unit was a poster print from The Lion King that she gifted to them, it was in our bedroom when I was younger! Aww.
Speaking of my sister’s storage unit, she had a bookcase in there, and I’m the caretaker for several books that I’m not shipping up to her right now, so I got that reassembled and placed in our living room with the books. I also spent a couple afternoons sorting through the rest of her belongings, which was like a mix between a trip down memory lane and a treasure hunt. It was nice getting to talk to her for an extended time too, as adults we’ve grown apart for no good reason, and that’s a shame.
We hired someone to help us get some more storage by putting a door inside our garage to access the empty space under the stairs. He did a great job an we immediately filled it up as we moved around some of our storage. Why would you need storage in a vacation home? It’s a lot of empty product boxes we’re keeping through warranty periods and kids stuff we’re cycling through. Plus, wires and tools and things we need for on-going projects. It adds up surprisingly quickly.
The wire racks that previously lived behind my desk in the den were moved to an indoor closet we freed up space in and have been replaced by some more Ikea furniture that’s housing components for our upgraded security system. It’s going to look really nice when it’s done and has the fancy ventilated doors! But for this trip, it was a lot of moving stuff around and assembling more Ikea furniture.
We saw a lot of family during evenings and weekends, but I had very little quiet time for reading, writing, or watching TV. Most days felt like it was just work, kids, projects, and sleep. It’s incredibly satisfying to see how much we got done, but I’ll have to work on a better balance next time we go back.