Remodeling in Retirement (or, My Wife Wanted Change)

Fear not, the change my wife wanted was with our home, not with me (she gave up on that a long time ago). Once I retired, the conversation in our house turned to renovations that had long been on the backburner. She used her home stager skills to pitch the changes and appeal to my frugal (read cheap) side. It all made sense but the disruption for us and our cats was unsettling.

First up, find a contractor. One would think that would be fairly easy, but one would be VERY wrong. We had 3 contractors come out to walk through the projects and went 0 for 3 on getting quotes. 2 just disappeared, not even returning calls or texts. I then saw a contractor’s truck across the street and copied down the info. After speaking with our neighbor about him, we called and amazingly he not only came to our house that week, he got us a detailed quote in 3 days. Eureka!!

Our projects were divided into 3 phases to spread the work out and to help with scheduling. Phase 1 was for a few minor outside projects that sadly were beyond my limited DIY abilities. Phase 2 consisted of removing the 15 year old wall paper in our dining room (which according to the home stager was no longer in vogue), painting, and of course new blinds and furniture. I have to admit it looks a lot better and replacing the HUGE hutch with a couple of smaller pieces – more suitable for holding our expanding bar stock – makes the room seem bigger and more homey.

Phase 3 is underway as I type. This is the big one. Updating the finished portion of our basement that hasn’t been touched in over 20 years. Replacing/covering paneling with sheetrock, painting drop ceiling rails and replacing tiles, new railing on the steps, new carpet, and of course painting. A lot of work and by far the most disruptive as we had to clear the 2 rooms, which meant re-locating my workout equipment to the unfinished basement, breaking down our home computer station, and moving the cats’ litter boxes upstairs - they seem even more unhappy about that last one than we are. And with my hockey equipment in the bathtub (since I can’t leave it in the basement) it’s a competition of scents right now. On the bright side, we got rid of a lot of clutter getting ready for the project and that is always a good thing.

For us, it hasn’t been too bad, I’ve been able to make my way through the construction zone to workout, and we can get to the laundry area and beer fridge (phew!). The cats not so much. They can’t go into the basement at all and get locked upstairs during the day while the crew is here, which they are not happy about. Funny enough, when we let them out, one or both go back upstairs on their own to lie on the bed. I guess it’s just the forced lockdown they don’t like – we all know how they feel on that one.

A little more about our cats and how they are handling the disruption. Our older cat, Bailey, is fearless and would be in the middle of the basement carnage supervising the crew. Loud tools and strangers don’t spook her and she is fascinated by new things and people. Misty on the other hand is the quintessential scaredy-cat. She is terrified of loud noises and is not enjoying the construction at all. Her days consist of alternately trying to paw her way out of the upstairs room and curling up under the bed, safe in her little cave. Thankfully they have adjusted to the new litter box locations, much to our relief.

As disruptive as the projects have been, preparing for the work was cleansing in a way as it forced us to purge a lot of stuff. Many trips to the local thrift store and recycling center. While it was a physical de-cluttering it is also a mental one. For us updating the dining room and the basement are giving us a mental boost in a time when it is sorely needed. It doesn’t have to be a major project like ours to have a positive impact. Just taking a look at all your stuff and simply de-cluttering your living space can be uplifting at a time when we all need a little mental boost.