Remodeling

After years of dithering and delay, I've finally committed to remodeling my master bedroom. I've talked about doing it forever, but opted for other projects (kitchen, guest bathroom, boat, pool) instead. This time, it's for real! I've spoken to my favorite contractor and have even set a start date. He's going to do the bulk of the work while I first cruise to Alaska and then have a work-related conference. This means that a lot of messy stuff can get done when the dogs and I aren't around.

Bonus -- He'll be around the house while I'm gone and will feed my fish!

I've thought a lot about what I want to do. Remove the paneling, install insulation and put up non-paneled walls. Rip out the wall-to-wall carpeting and put down flooring, then area rugs. There are two closets. If the wall between them isn't a bearing wall, then I'd like to covert two into one larger closet so I can do organizers and maximize the space. New windows.

Nothing to it, right? Hah. Let's just say that I'm glad I'm not the one doing the work. It's taken me long enough to move forward at all. The contractor's coming over next week to give me good measurements so that I can order the flooring and windows. There's no turning back!

Now I'm on a deadline. Before any work can happen, I need to completely clean out the room. I made a good start on this a couple of weeks ago and now I've developed a clean, clear action plan. This weekend, I'm going through the two closets. If there is any garment in there that I have not worn more than once in the last two years, it goes into the pile for donation to the Salvation army. Everything that remains will be folded neatly into plastic tubs and moved into the spare bedroom.

The ginormous suitcase that I'm taking on the cruise is already on one of the beds in the other room. I've started putting in clothes that I know need to make the trip.

I have many, many books in that room. Going through the titles and deciding what to keep will be more difficult than sorting through the clothes. I have great sentimental attachment to many of these and this battles my practical streak. There is only so much room in my house for all the titles I'd love to keep and right now the bookshelves are at max capacity and piles are overflowing.

The saving grace is that I can donate paperbacks to the local library, so I know that they'll find their way into the hands of appreciative readers.

The furniture's going, too. Believe me that this bedroom set has more than served its usefulness and then some. When my parents bought the house in 1978, this furniture was included so it's at least that old, maybe older. The mattress is at least 15 years old. Yes, I'm overdue.

That's the nuts and bolts of the remodeling project, but amid the tasks I know there's something more emotional going on, too. I think that, more than any other room in a home, our bedrooms are personal space. They're where we rest, rejuvenate, and dream. We prepare in them at the beginning of the day, and unwind in them at the end.

In a sense, I never really created this room as my own personal space. Instead of it flowing out from me, I sort of fit myself into its four walls. Consequently, I've never loved the room as a personal space.

This remodeling job is more. It's a reclamation and I'm going to enjoy every bit of the creation.

What have you recreated or remodeled lately? Does the process affect you emotionally, too?