Does Your Home Give You Peace of Mind or is it a Piece of Work?

Imagine if you will, a day in the life of Mary (not a real person), whose home is a piece of work, or rather needs many little pieces of work.

She awakens to a lovely summer morning, but she is tired and cranky. Her window screens have several large holes so she was kept “company” by a very persistent and hungry mosquito.

She stumbles into the kitchen, and realizes that she forgot to run the dishwasher from the night before, so she turns it on and then clicks on her coffee maker and…

…suddenly her kitchen is very quiet and dark. She’s blown a fuse (again). Ugh.

After replacing the fuse (and realizing for the umpteenth time that her box probably should be upgraded to a circuit breaker system) she sits down with the paper, waiting for her coffee. Gosh it’s dark in the breakfast nook too. But she can’t get the window shades up because they’re broken and need to be replaced. The light is burned out too, but the bulb is too high for her to reach safely.

By now her coffee is ready and she decides to enjoy it on the porch. As she steps out onto the deck, she notices that one of the boards is “smushy” and several are loose. Luckily she misses stepping on the nail that’s raised up!

As she sits down, she realizes that her husband still hasn’t taken down the holiday  lights. And, gee the pile of yard waste just seems to keep getting bigger. At least he’s mowing and weeding!

After finishing her coffee she returns to the bedroom to get dressed. She opens her closet and… dagnabbit! The closet rod has fallen down. All of her ironing will have to be redone because her clothes are now crumpled on the floor. She was planning on being annoyed at the sticky closet door, but now, with the added aggravation of the rod on the floor, not so much.

Undeterred, “Mary” decides to head out into the garage to start a load of laundry. The door handle squeaks and the door sticks, so she has to push it open with her shoulder. She puts in a load and then remembers that there is a load in the dryer that should be dry. But, she discovers it’s not. “It seems to take forever to dry clothes these days,” she thinks to herself. Then she remembers that it has been awhile since the dryer vent has been cleaned. Oh no. Something else to do!

As she stands in the garage she realizes that she is sick and tired of having to park her expensive car outside while all of their stuff is piled up in the garage. How she wishes that she had the time and energy to assemble that shelving and sort through the boxes. In fact she’s been thinking about having a garage sale, but the whole thing just seems overwhelming. (Can you blame her?)

As “Mary’s” frustration level begins to rise, she thinks about her husband and his very long “to do” list. She realizes that he works hard and probably also feels overwhelmed by the state of their home. “Mary” decides it is time to call in some help, so she and her husband can unload some pieces of work and have some peace of mind.

“Mary” remembers that she recently received an email newsletter from the “The Fix-It Professionals.” She calls and requests the Peace of Mind Special.

Now “Mary” is calm and relaxed. She and her husband can enjoy a lovely evening on their porch (without fear of broken boards or nails), secure in the knowledge that their to do list is done! Tada! You can be like Mary too! Read on and find out how much you can save while your list gets done! 

 

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Give Mom the Gift of Peace and Quiet

A quiet space. It might seem like a luxury, but modern science has discovered real value in taking time to “just be” and also in meditation. But it’s hard enough to carve out the time. For moms it can be especially difficult.   

Women are natural care takers. When something is amiss or afoot, it’s mom who often steps in to coordinate, organize or otherwise oversee the situation.  So when mom takes a moment to relax, she can usually count on being interrupted in some way.

But since relaxation and meditation are so important, what’s a mom to do?  A great gift for mother’s day -for mom and for yourself – might just be a sacred space.  A place where relaxation won’t be interrupted by phones, problems and the demands of others. Here are some ideas for creating that special place in mom’s home or yours.

Indoors or out?
Location, location, location. It’s true of where you live and also how you use the space in your home.  When deciding to create a separate space just for yourself, consider where you want this space to be. Do you enjoy being outdoors in nature? Maybe a protected porch feels right. Or if you’re not the outdoorsy type, for a year round solution your space could be inside.  Whichever you choose, the location will partly be dictated by how the room will be used.

Purpose
How do you most like to relax and take care of yourself?  Do you like to “chill” and read a book?  Maybe you meditate. It could be that yoga is your kind of thing.  When you take into account what rejuvenates you, you can decide the amount of room you will need for your “sacred space.”

Available locations?
Now that you have an idea of how you will use your space, you can decide where (indoors, on the porch, outdoors, etc.) you will have room to set up. Use your intuition to help you decide what seems best. Maybe you have an unused bedroom that can be designated just for you.  If you’ve chosen the great outdoors, is there an area that feels particularly peaceful?  You might also consider an area that “just feels right.” There aren’t any wrong answers.  Anything that seems like a good idea can be made to work. 

Screens as separators
Let’s say you want to use a corner of your living room near a window. At first it might not seem terribly secluded or private. A beautiful room screen or divider might be exactly what you need to make the space feel “just for you.” Outdoors, plants or lattice fences can serve this purpose. However you decide to do it, you want to feel peaceful and secluded. Not boxed in or claustrophobic.

Objects and furnishings
Now that you’ve chosen your space and have a plan for making it separate, you can  decide what objects you want inside it.  If you want to do yoga for example, you might want a mat and space to move around. If you meditate, a seat or chair and beautiful statue, flowers and art might be just the ticket.  If you’re an avid reader, then a comfortable chair, table for beverages, good lighting, and a bookshelf are a good place to start. Other objects to consider might be:

• Candles
• Incense
• Stones, or a Zen garden
• Talismans
• Personal mementos
• Photographs of loved ones

The only limit is your imagination. If your ability to create the space is exceeded by your imagination, we’re here to help!  The Fix-It Professionals May Special can be used to help you move doors, change out door handles (or repair them) move furniture, haul away extra “stuff.” (Dump fees are extra.)  Contact us today and give yourself and mom some space for that all-important “alone time.”

Read on for our May Special.

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