Time Tips: How to Stop Feeling Too Busy

Hey folks! It's been over a week since I last posted, but I promise you, I didn't disappear (thanks for the emails though! If you ever feel like checking in beyond the blog itself, you can usually spot what's stealing my attention on Instagram). I didn't really intend on taking a full week away, but my excuse was a pretty good one:

In short: for the last two weeks, I took a vacation. As in, not an I'm-merely-blogging-from-somewhere-else type of deal, but a full on break - from blogging, from writing, from answering emails (um… or I tried as much as possible), from other work, etc. My two-week road trip was spent hopping around Richmond, VA, Washington D.C., and a few other hot spots to meet my boyfriend's family (and friends… and extended family), hit the beach, and mainly just focused on having a little fun, eating way too much grilled food, and getting some pretty gnarly tan lines. Charlie came, too!

Her trip will get its own recap; including her first, hilarious experience with the beach.

For my troubles, I also got a sinus infection, because my body clearly doesn't know what vacations are for.

Given my usual compulsive workaholic habits, it was quite an adjustment - and even felt like I was forcing myself to do something unnatural. It sounds weird to say (probably especially for you non-US readers), but after blogging pretty much nonstop since 2010, telling myself not to give in to “Mount Inbox” was hard. I even tried to continue posting the first week (and did, as you guys saw with my new DIY air conditioner screen and getting your advice on built-ins), but thanks to a supremely lousy internet connection at “the river house” (where we spent a good amount of our time, and where the images in this post were taken, and also a new phrase I'd never really heard of prior to this trip), I was forced to step back and ask myself: why the hell I can't I just stop - for a second - and really relax?

I could have scheduled a few more posts, and even tried to do that, but in the weeks leading up to this trip, I was already spinning more plates than I could handle. For someone who has blogged about time management and been consistently told that I seem to have my shit together, it was time to admit: my ego - not my ambition - was part of the problem. And I was getting tired. Thinking I could both get ready for the trip, handle my current work/blog obligations, and get ahead of schedule enough to have two weeks' worth of new content was pure arrogance, plain and simple. Before I knew it, I was in the car and my laptop firmly packed out of the way. I had utterly failed at my goal. And? I think I needed to.

It's not that I haven't taken time off and done a little traveling before. I've taken weekend trips to the beach. I've got a consistent social life. I've even managed to even pluck a little time out of my normal routine for a love life this year (I know I haven't dished a lot about that yet, but it's new and oversharing on someone else's behalf is new-ish territory for me, so I'll get there). But what I haven't done is stepped away - completely - from design, blog, emails, etc. for a week or more. I had to learn to disconnect and stop being “too busy”.

downloadable print (affiliate): TypeSecret on Etsy

A Little Word That Means a Lot

Here's the thing about that word, busy: I realized that partly after reading skimming through articles like this one (because I was too “busy” to read the whole thing, obviously) that I abuse the hell out of that word. Its use in my life is a kind of weird, self-fulfilling thing (is that meta, or just irritating?). But it makes me feel good to say that I'm “busy” or to chime in agreement with my friends when they claim to be (“How are you? Oh yeah, I'm crazy busy too!”). And it's total crap, because I really just sound more like the White Rabbit from Alice In Wonderland.

I read constantly, but I read relatively few articles that really strike me in their earnestness, and they are usually limited to musings from fellow bloggers I regularly follow (Kit is one of them, and in a completely unrelated note, I'm hoping to start planning another trip to her farm soon!). But sometimes they really make me want to try things out from a new perspective. This one about “the art of not giving a f*ck” is one of my favorites, and I have recommended it to many of my friends (warning: for those of you who will burst into flames if you read foul language, I recommend not clicking - but for the rest of you, it's worth a glance!).

Anyway, about a week before I embarked on my trip, I got sucked into an article rabbit hole (pun intended?) and read multiple posts about the topic of being busy, why the word is a trap, and more (here, here, here, etc.) I started to see if taking some of the advice in this whole not-using-the-b-word mindset could do me some good. My main goal was just to try it out and see if it could make me feel less stretched and tired, and possibly help to reduce the urgency of work while I was away. The first week was tough, but by week #2, I was seeing how some of their tips could actually make a positive difference.

Stop Using the Word “Busy”

The concept is pretty simple: try to eliminate “busy” from your vocabulary for at least a month. I took that to mean synonyms too (“swamped” and “crazed” were also out). What it did was force me to be more cognizant of how I was describing my activities to others. This especially changed for the better with blog sponsors, design clients, and friends, because it allowed me to still express my exhaustion but gave me more transparency - something I'm always trying to accomplish (instead of just “I'm busy until X date”, it became “I took on too much this month” or “I'm trying to stay away from my inbox while I'm out of town, and I could really use the mental break… so if you wouldn't mind following up with me next week when I get back, that would really help me.”). The best part is, I got a lot of positive response. I know that the people who seem to hound me have their own schedules and demands to meet, and perhaps the collective urgency is something we all need to re-examine.

downloadable print (affiliate): GEyesPhotography on Etsy

Turn Off Notifications

I've got a small problem with the little red alert bubbles on my phone - if they're there, I click on them. At first, it always seems like something I can do “real quick”, but that instead turns into fifteen minutes or more of wasted time (something catches my eye, something needs a response, etc.). So for a week prior to my vacation, I challenged myself with turning them off, cold turkey. On top of that, I also took the icons from my home screen and moved them into their own grouping on a separate “page” on my phone. That way, to get to email, Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter - my biggest daily distractions - I had to make a more deliberate effort. It worked; I checked each of them less and spent fewer moments trying to get myself back on task, which made the week leading up to my road trip a really productive one (and has made subsequent weeks easier, too).

Stop Multi-Tasking; Value Idleness

Oh, man. This is probably one of my biggest struggles. I pride myself on trying to squeeze every last drop out of idleness when I work on projects. For example, while I was waiting on the glue to dry for my A/C screen, I grabbed a can of spray paint and started working on a project I'm installing in the kitchen. While both were drying, I snapped pictures of the bamboo in my yard and how I'm getting rid of it. But the thing is, a vacation is kind of what idleness is all about. In fact, after spending just two days doing nothing, I kept feeling like there was something I was flaking on. What if everything fell apart while I was gone? Was everything really that fragile? That feeling eventually went away (I'll get to this whole idea in its own post someday), but it almost made me laugh about how long it was taking for me to get used to relaxing.

It's been a little less than a week since I've been back from Virginia, and I'm still trying to apply some of these ideas - after all, there were plenty of emails waiting for me when I returned! But the strange thing is, I felt far less urgency than I have in quite a while, and I think some of it has to do with these tiny, unimpressive changes. We'll see if they all stick for the long haul (I'm not holding my breath on the multi-tasking thing), but I'm glad I feel less anxious and yet have still been just as productive. If you have your own tips on eliminating busyness, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

There's more to come this weekend & next week: the posts I meant to have ready during that time will make their appearance soon, and I first want to give you guys a full recap of the vacation (Richmond, DC, Virginia Beach, etc.). Charlie will get her own separate post because everything she did was hilarious - especially her experience with the beach!

The post Time Tips: How to Stop Feeling Too Busy appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.

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How to Hide an Air Conditioning Unit

Man, I am SO glad to be done with this project! Check out my new screen that hides my air conditioning unit on the side of the house:

As you guys may have heard me mention in the Periscope sneak peek I did last week, this was a project I did in a sponsored partnership with Liquid Nails Fuze*It. They sent me a box full of the stuff and told me to go bananas (okay, so those are my words, but that's kind of what I did anyway):

I've used Liquid Nails Fuze*It on a number of projects in the past, but this seemed like a fun opportunity to really see what I could do with it. So, I decided on a plan to hide the air conditioning unit on the side of the house with an inexpensive, quick building project. You guys might recall that the whole area used to look like this:

I've made quite a  lot of progress so far, especially with some inexpensive egg rock and air conditioner-friendly plants back here, but the element I wanted to add most of all was something that would hide the A/C unit from the road. Nothin' fancy, but something.

And while I was at it, I realized that I might as well extend the screen to the right, which would then also hide the meter that's closer to the chimney:

This project was going to put a lot of their bragging points to the test:

• bonds almost anything to almost anything else, both porous and smooth surfaces – needed to join the smoother and chemically-treated PT lumber 2x2s to the rough cedar boards


• offers an instant grab to save time – needed because I had a limited number of clamps and time (and to be honest, patience)


• creates a durable, flexible bond – needed since I was going to eyeball the crap out of my measurements but didn't want it to look that way


• can be applied interior and exterior in hot, cold, wet, or dry environments – the humid Atlanta weather (and a freak rainstorm) made for 3/4 of these without breaking a sweat (okay, I totally broke a sweat, but you get the idea!)

Materials Needed:

• cedar fence pickets


• pre-treated 2x2s


• clamps


• Liquid Nails Fuze*It


• Optional: fasteners (I went without, but I think the project would set up a lot faster if you use them in combination with the LN)

To start, I cut the dog-eared ends off the cedar pickets. But don't throw these bits away just yet! You'll need them later.

Next, I measured and cut down enough cedar boards to create 5 boards per panel, a total of 15 (length would be determined by your own A/C unit measurements, but mine were 50 in. for the front panel, 34 in. for the side panel, and 34 in. for the panel in front of the gas meter).

I also cut the PT 2x2s down for four total posts. These would be what I glued and clamped the cedar boards to, but with about 12 inches of overhang at the bottom that would serve to anchor the panels into the ground. (***Important*** Before digging this into the ground, know where your utility lines are! You can find this out quickly and easily by calling 811 or submitting online a few days before you plan to dig. ***)

Time for gluing! I started with the top piece and carefully glued and clamped to make it square with the vertical 2×2 posts. I wasn't very precise with making things square, but since I was careful with my cuts and working on a level surface, things came together nicely.

Don't worry if a little oozes out; I used the edges of the scrap pieces to clean some of it up, and it's hardly noticeable when all is said and done.

Next, I added the second board below the first, but this is where the scrap pieces come into play.

Use the pieces (provided they are visually straight and not warped) as a means of evenly spacing out each board.

I noticed that the fusing of each piece of cedar to the post began to set in a matter of minutes; working quickly, I glued and clamped until I had five pieces in a row. I also read on the back of the tube that it actually adheres even better when you wet down the surface a little before applying, so I grabbed a wet paper towel to move even faster. Little did I realize that the next day, an afternoon shower would come through and basically take care of the wet factor all on its own, so I went without a paper towel for the remainder of the project.

While the first panel (which wound up being the middle panel that the others attached to) cured, I came up with my plan of action on the two remaining sides. The piece that would go in front of the meter was next, but I only cut four posts total. So, the plan was to use the middle panel as my base and attach more panels to it on the left and right sides, creating a sort of “Z” pattern when all is said and done. Figuring out whether to glue the panels in front of or behind the post was the hardest part, especially because I was clamping things upside down… and it's been a long week.

If the visuals aren't helping you picture it as well as you hoped, here's a simple diagram. Imagine this is the vertical view, looking directly overhead each panel, and the small squares are the posts that support the boards:

So once I flipped it over, panels 1 and 2 looked more like this:

With the first two cured, I then glued on the third and final panel (but this time, right-side up).

Finally, it was time to dig some holes and place the new screen in the ground!

It took a little sweat, but in the end, everything was magically level. I say “magically” because I popped the screen into each hole I'd dug and put my level on top of each panel expecting I'd have to make some adjustments, but it was oddly perfect right away. That never happens!

If you need a refresher on spacing, go to this post from when I added landscaping. Keeping a good distance away from the unit is really important for air flow!

Truth be told, I would have buried the posts a little deeper if I didn't also need to plan for the scalloped edging that will go in front of this area, but the corners are nice and secure for me. If you're going to try this project yourself and are concerned about the posts sticking into the ground, you might want to attach some rebar onto the posts and hammer them into the ground. But again, be sure you have contacted your utilities to make certain that you won't accidentally interfere with any lines buried in the ground.

The whole panel only really hides the side that's visible to the street, but because it's got a simple installation and opens in the back, it's freely accessible if anything needs to be serviced (theoretically… I haven't heard anything from anyone yet, but it should be fine). And just because I like the fun comparison, here's the before:

Here's progress:

And here's after!

• Paint remaining house trim on this side


• Dig the scalloped edging in front of the A/C screen down


• Possibly add some additional plants near the chimney area to finish off the whole side!

Big thanks to Liquid Nails Fuze*It for sponsoring this project, available exclusively at The Home Depot. I love the way it turned out!

#DontJustGlueIt #LiquidNails

The post How to Hide an Air Conditioning Unit appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.

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Living DIY Challenge: Cascading Stump Planter

I think I'm just going to have to call this The Summer of Outdoor DIY, because I can't seem to stay inside long enough to finish something off before going back out and beautifying another part of the yard. I promise, I am working on a few reveals inside, but the outdoor ones have been going so well that I'm just trying not to jinx it. This time, I attempted a project I've seen on Pinterest but wasn't sure if it was really as easy as it looked. It wasn't. But I still got it done, and even got to skip arms day at the gym. Oh yeah - and it's not looking half bad, either.

As I mentioned last week, a few DIY blogging buds of mine like to do this thing where we pick a theme and all kind of just go build or make something involving whatever was picked. We've done organization. We've done scrap wood. We've done lighting. This time, I was going to host (um… foreshadowing), so I picked Living DIY (#LIVINGDIYCHALLENGE) for no other reason than I was already working on like ten ideas that could qualify for this as an option. The concept: build or DIY something that involves a living element. Indoors, that could be a terrarium or a dog dish stand or wall art that has plants hanging off of it; outdoors, the concept is practically already built in to every project. With such endless possibilities, I couldn't wait to see what my bloggy pals were going to come up with! They were going to kick my butt, but I was prepared for that, since they kind of have “being a badass” down to a science. And with me hosting, I knew there was a built-in method for keeping me accountable, since I'm usually the procrastinating one who takes on too much and struggles to post in time. Well, about that…

#LIVINGDIYCHALLENGE

Getting the project part done was one thing, but in some hilariously fun twist, June just happened to be the month where nearly all of my blog buds slept through their proverbial project alarms. Each of them pulled a Sarah, so-to-speak - in that they agreed to our challenge, started their projects, and then many of them had not one, but multiple conflicts this very week! Wop, wop. I was tempted to postpone on their behalf, but I didn't want to force anyone else to postpone their projects if they had created them for the challenge, so I decided to just roll with it, Hunger Games-style. Whoever's odds were in their favor, they could post away. And I'm glad I did, because Mindi from My Love 2 Create has a stunning wall project to share today that you won't want to miss!

There's also a linkup at the bottom when this post goes live, so be sure to check out the other themed projects. For now though, let's get onto my stump planter project!

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How to Create a Cascading Stump Planter in the Yard

Start with an ugly-ass stump that you have been giving the stink-eye to ever since you moved in. To clarify, this was not a leftover from the tree removal project I did last year - this thing was likely a tree taken out by the city many years ago and left to rot in an awkward spot by some utility lines in my front yard. Basically, it's smack dab in the middle of an otherwise easy-to-mow area.

Grab some safety equipment. I repeat. Make sure you have safety glasses on. I would make a Bible joke right now about having a splinter in your eye, but I'm specifically saying to avoid that, so let's just go with the simple, third warning that you don't want to have bits of wood stuck in your eye under any circumstances, so put something on over them that deflects the ugly stump from getting up close and personal with your baby blues.

In other news, you'll also need a drill and the biggest spade bit you can find in your garage. And a hammer. A chisel would have been helpful to have one if you owned one, but if you don't, then you're as ill-prepared for this project as I was, but you can still knock it out. It just takes a little more elbow grease.

The stump I worked on already had a center hole drilled into it from whenever it was taken down, so it had several years to dry out and become insect food. I was glad to have this, because it meant drilling went a lot quicker (the stump was already very dry and splintery). In fact, I had to be careful as I drilled to keep the edge intact, since one whole side of the stump had already been chipped away over time (perhaps by nature or a wayward edge trimmer).

Keep going. I found that the most effective combination was my spade bit and Dewalt drill, then whacking at various stubborn bits with a hammer until things came out in large chunks (a chisel would have also been helpful). This Old House suggests using a mattock, which I also have, but I couldn't get enough control with it to make sure that the edge of the stump stayed intact, so I went back to using the hammer. Stacey from Not Just a Housewife did a similar project with creating an indoor planter out of a section of an old log, so check out her post for more tips (though, I will say that I did not find the Ryobi impact driver I had effective on this project at all… the bits kept slipping).

Try to get four to six inches deep at least, and drill a few deeper spots for drainage. You can't really see it in the pictures here, but the sawdust was particularly effective at making me think I wasn't making any progress, when in fact the ground middle area was much deeper once I swept everything away.

Finally, it was time for the fun part: adding plants. I originally thought I would go with succulents, but when I found a fun little fern and flowers, I changed my mind. Foxtail, Calipetite along the back are drought tolerant, and the Portulaca (the pink flowers) cascades down the front of the stump, which makes the chipped-off area look a lot more intentional.

And here's the final result!

I raced against the clock to snap these pics just before the skies opened up. The rain may have caused the flowers to snap shut, but I still think it looks a lot prettier than where I began!

Let's do a before and after, just for fun:

And now, it's your turn to link up! If you decided to go along with the theme, please use the hashtag #LIVINGDIYCHALLENGE on social media so that I can see and comment on your project, and please use the graphic above referencing the challenge with a link back to this post so that your readers can click through and check out the other projects. Thanks!

An InLinkz Link-up

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The post Living DIY Challenge: Cascading Stump Planter appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.

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