How To Enlarge Your House by Joan Reeves

Do you love those TV shows where someone fixes up a room or an entire house? They take it from drab or maybe just not exciting to gorgeous. I think I've seen every episode Chip and Joanna have ever made along with a bunch of other design shows.

I don't limit my fixer upper passion to houses. I watch the landscaping shows too. All of it inspires me—to my Darling Hubby's dismay.

As it turns out, my whole year has turned into a Fixer Upper Adventure. I didn't plan it that way. It just kind of evolved because of having the interior of our house in town painted.

We had to pack up virtually everything so furniture could be moved to the center of the room and covered with drop cloths. Rugs came up, books and decorative accessories were packed, paintings and photographs removed from the walls, etc.

That's when we realized how much stuff we have. We rented a small storage space and moved it all into what amounted to a giant closet.

 I made a statement I now regret: "Since we've packed just about everything but clothes and furniture, now would be a good time to see if we can find a house we like better."

I MUST BE CRAZY TO DO THIS BUT...

You see, we downsized and we went too small. So we gave serious thought to finding another house. We contacted a friend who is a realtor, and she happily began sending us daily emails with all the houses available in our area.

It's much easier to shop online than actually going to all of the houses. I also discovered that 99% of what you see online that makes a home look appealing is due to professional photography that can probably make a pigsty look good.

By the time we'd attended a dozen open houses—ugh—and a half dozen of personal showings, I made another statement I regret: "Maybe we should just add on to our present home."

YEP I'M DEFINITELY CRAZY

This began a round of talking to contractors in order to get a sense of what was involved, who was honest, etc. before we talked to an architect. All this did was confuse the issue. I feel as if I've been in a whirlwind, tossed willy nilly from—let's find a different house—to let's stay where we are.

AGH!!!! So what have we done? Nothing. Yet. Still thinking. One day we think we'll put the house up for sale. The next day we think we'll call the contractor we chose. All I've done is take my frustration out on the clutter hidden away in the closets and the stuff packed away in the attic, garage, and the storage facility.

Suddenly, after 4 truckloads to Goodwill and 3 truckloads to a consignment shop, my house doesn't seem so small. Amazing how much space clutter takes.

I cleaned the house from top to bottom, rearranged the furniture in every room, hung different art in different arrangements. My house looks like a different house! How amazing is that?

BOTTOM LINE

After all has been said and done, more was said than done. Confession—I did buy a beautiful large armoir for my office. It holds everything from old paperbacks I've kept to all of my office supplies. My office looks neat, organized, and I know exactly where everything is stored. I may send a photo next month.

CRAZY SUMMER YIELDED A NEW BOOK

I did make my goal of releasing a new book in July. OLD ENOUGH TO BE BOLD is at the New Release sale price of 99¢ or read it on KU. 

Trope Alert: Spicy Enemies to Lovers + Forced Proximity + Ugly Duckling + Handsome Stranger with a dazzling smile = enough heat to melt the ice storm that forces Linnie and Max to share an isolated cabin.

The spicy romcom which is Book 2 in the Mean Woman Blues series has been well-received to my relief. 

With the first day of Autumn, I'm leaving my fixer uppr adventure behind and starting a new book. Wish me luck!

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