The world is in crisis.
For many or most of you, daily life looks drastically different right now. Your kids are home from school (indefinitely); you’re working from home (or trying to); restaurants are shut down, grocery store shelves are empty, and toilet paper is sold out everywhere.
Fear is trying to take hold.
During crisis, we do what we can do.
Here’s what I can do.
I can turn inward.
I’ve been spending more time writing. Reconnecting with myself. And from that inward-turning place, I reflected deeply on Houseplay as a business and what we’re all about.
What came through is that we’re all about transformation.
Creating transformation. Facilitating transformation. Carrying our clients through the change process so they can reach the transformation on the other side.
And there are four pillars that uphold our work to create transformation:
- Playfulness
- Honesty
- Luxury
- Beauty
Much more to come on the four pillars.
Here’s the other thing I can do: I can turn outward.
I’m offering virtual coaching again for free.
On Wednesday night I offered A Home You Love {Quarantine Edition}. I got to help three beautiful women improve their space. Over the next week I’m going to share their stories with you.
Here’s the first one.
Caroline shared that she and her husband are planning to do a full gut renovation of their bathroom, probably a year from now. But the bathroom is an unpleasant room to be in now. She asked what they could do in the meantime.
First of all, I love this question and I get it often.
The first thing I do is look for fixes that are low investment and high pleasure – small changes that will make a big difference. Then I look at whether the space in question is a space that I use very often, or less often.
The bathroom is a high-use space. Caroline and her husband both run businesses from home, so they’re both home all day every day, and this is their only bathroom. For spaces like these that get a lot of traffic, it’s absolutely critical to do those interim updates now. Because tiny micro-stresses add up over time and really detract from your daily experience of life.
So I asked Caroline: what is the one thing about the bathroom that’s creating the most irritation right now?
She said immediately, there’s a shadowy space underneath our clawfoot tub that creeps me out. It’s hard to clean under there and I just don’t like looking at it.
I recommended that they could have a carpenter use moisture-resistant wood paneling – teak or clear-coated pine – to create a custom apron that sits below the rim of the tub and wraps around three sides of the tub. This would create a decorative front to the tub and block the view of the space beneath it.
Here’s an inspiration image I found later:
This fix would be low-investment and create a huge infusion of pleasure every time she’s in the bathroom.
I also offered her the idea of getting a new shower curtain, bath mats, and/or towels, as well as adding a piece of art on the wall.
It’s amazing how much pleasure these small fixes can bring.
So, my friend, there are three things you can do when you’re feeling mired in crisis.
Turn inward. Spend time journaling, take a walk outside, meditate. Take care of your body, mind and spirit.
Turn outward. Offer any help you can give: run an errand for an elderly neighbor, pick up some extra food at the supermarket and donate to your local food pantry, take your area of expertise and offer it to help the world in some way.
Make a change to your physical environment – one that’s low investment and high pleasure. Buy a new tablecloth if your everyday one is stained or ratty. Get an easy-to-hang photo print from Mixtiles for just $11. Clean your windows to let in more sunshine.
And stay tuned for our next free virtual coaching call – because small changes to your home can make a HUGE difference in the quality of your everyday life.
