How I Work From Home Without Feeling Isolated (or Unemployed)

As many freelancers like myself might be over-eager to tell you, working from home is both incredibly awesome and horrible at the same time. Studies have shown it makes you more productive, it can make you happier, it cuts out that annoying commute, and of course, pants are almost always optional. But, depending on your personality, it can also be a challenge when distractions take your focus, you miss speaking with others on a daily basis, or you work much longer hours. I've also noticed that with zero extra room to separate life and work, it can make for a much messier and cluttered home if I'm not careful. Over time, I found a number of daily or weekly habits that help cut out some of the bad habits that keep me a little saner and keep the walls from closing in.

This post is sponsored by Oreck, but all words are 100% my own - especially the embarrassing overshares.

Make Coffee My “Me” Time

Before I truly start my day, I have a tiny routine: do the face/teeth thing, grab some laundry from my bathroom (though not every day), and go downstairs to make a pot of coffee, which is stationed just outside of my laundry room (don't even get me started on designing your house for your routines… it makes things so much easier! On second thought, I'm going to write a separate post about this pet peeve of mine). I don't set the automatic timer on the coffeemaker most mornings because I like the freedom to sleep in if I need it, but this is my time to sit down and update the day's to-do list. Lately, I've been doing this at the new kitchen bar area, and it's quickly becoming a favorite spot to have a few moments to simply reflect on the day ahead. I choose one task that's the most important and mentally prepare myself to focus on that until it's done.

Actually Get Dressed

Most of the time, I wear workout clothes. Georgia weather is ridiculously hot and humid, and it makes no sense to constantly go in and out of the house while working on a project if I'm drenched in a pool of sweat because of my jeans. So while I look far different from the pencil skirts and dress pants I used to wear when I worked in a legit office, I still make getting dressed a part of my day because it makes me feel more like I've mentally separated from home life… even if I'm literally not even walking far enough to hatch a Pokemon Go egg.

Work In A Home Office and Nix Distractions

For a while, I contemplated adding a TV to my home office since I like to have background noise when I write. But eventually, I realized that my TV would be more of a distraction than a help, so I passed on the idea and am instead considering one for the guest bedroom when I finally give it the makeover it deserves. But again, the actual distance isn't as important as creating a distinction from feeling on the clock versus lounging around at home.

Check My Finances

This is because I have compulsive habits and pay my own bills, but paying myself is a part of my life that can make me very, very nervous. Tracking receipts, separating regular expenses from business-related ones, etc. all contribute to making me stress out a little, so regularly seeing numbers I'm pleased with by doing a quick check - both in personal accounts or professionally-related ones - is a way to reduce that anxiety. I also need to know when paychecks are coming in, which can vary from week to week and in the amount, so I can be on edge especially if one of them is later than it's supposed to be (those of you who have worked in sales or commission-based jobs are already familiar with this kind of budgeting). I do one quick glimpse, make adjustments if needed, and feel instantly calmer.

Clean Something

I regularly talk about how much I hate cleaning - because I do. I despise it. I megaloathe it (you Scrubs fans already know the reference). But, I can't deny that when I do it, I feel a certain weight lifted off my mind. Working from home adds another element to it that all of my work paperwork and supplies are kept in my house as well - and since I regularly get items shipped in for blog stuff, that can add up to a lot of boxes to break down and receipts to file away. So, if I make more habits to keep things tidy as I go, it feels less overwhelming. Things feel more productive and less cluttered - both literally and figuratively. And fighting that boxed-in feeling is one of the most important things I can do for myself when working from home. So whether it's a load of laundry or making a trip to Goodwill with crap I don't need or attacking Charlie's overwhelming dog hair problem, if I can do at least one thing each day, I feel less like I'm sitting in a home of my own filth and get a chance to focus.

Which brings me to my next tip…

Create Some Breathing Room

I try to mix up my projects so that I'm working outside a few times per week, but on days where I simply have to be inside (such as when I'm editing photos, writing new posts, answering emails, doing design work for clients, etc.), it's important for me to keep my workspace healthy enough for me to be in. I have seasonal allergies and asthma, and I'm kind of stubborn about it. I know that it's really important for me to keep a cleaner home simply for the sake of my own lungs… and when I don't, I can really feel it! To combat things like pet dander, pollen, mold spores, dirt that Charlie tracks in, and plain ol' dust (both saw- and the regular kind), I wear a particulate mask when I'm in the garage and rely on hypoallergenic filters inside, such as with my A/C unit and vacuum. Speaking of, check this baby out:

A couple of weeks ago, Oreck sent me their new Elevate Conquer Vacuum to try out. I've tried out the bagless ones before, but I prefer bagged versions because it eliminates the chance of dumping things back into the air when things get tossed into the trash (and Charlie sheds so much!). It's got a great filtration system and easy to maneuver around furniture (convenient, since I rarely remember to push stuff out of the way when I do quick cleaning jobs). It even lights up. I plan on keeping this baby upstairs for the carpeted bedrooms, but it's got a nice push button on the handle that can adjust to hard floors if I need to pick up between rooms in the upstairs hallway or clean the rugs downstairs.

It also came with a handheld version, which is pretty nice considering that my old canister vac bit the dust (pun-intended) just a few short weeks ago, and I was facing having to purchase a new one for the staircase. I'm kind of digging the shoulder strap feature since it allows me to go up and down without having to also hold onto the vacuum as I climb steps. And even though it's really small, this thing has some strong suction power! I may actually have a snowball's chance of keeping up with her fur and making sure her dander doesn't wind up in my lungs.

Force Myself to Socialize

If I'm spending eight (*cough* ten *cough * twelve, but who's counting?) hours every day working in the same place I go to sleep at night, it can get rather boring not to see another person or talk for days on end. Sure, I text friends, I monitor blog comments, I socialize on Twitter, that kind of thing… but for an extrovert like me, there's really no substitute for speaking words directly into someone's face (at a comfortable personal-space distance, of course). And despite her adorable nature, Charlie isn't much of a conversationalist. So once I realized that working from home was going to be more of a permanent setup, I used a few online tools like Meetup.com to find excuses to get out of the house - a girl's craft beer club, a running group, etc. Each week, I now have more social events than I know what to do with, and I love that it even helps me to explore more of Atlanta than I ever did before.

Add a Nightly Routine Too

Since I'm usually already in workout clothes anyway, I often just take off from whatever project I'm working on (whether it's finished or not) to make it to a running club event or whatever. Once I get back home, I do a similar unwinding routine like I did at the start of my day. I usually shower and eat dinner, then watch a little TV. It's hard to not get back onto the computer sometimes because I get inspiration to write at night, but I try to at least have some kind of separate activity to help me signal to myself that it's the end of the day. I refuse to check emails again until the morning and I feel much less weight down by the lack of work-life separation.

Do you work from home?

If so, do you have any tricks that help you keep a balance? I'd love to hear your ideas!

P.S. Huge thanks to Oreck for sponsoring this post. I make it a point to only work with and review products I like and actually use, so for more on that, you can see my disclosure page or this post to learn about how I make those decisions. All opinions (especially ones where I admit I don't wear pants sometimes) are, of course, 100% my own. #ElevateYourClean #CleanAndHealthyHome #OreckElevate

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy & effectiveness of the information displayed on this website, The Ugly Duckling House is for entertainment purposes only. All tutorials and demonstrations are not intended to be professional advice (nor substitute as such), and I make no guarantees as to the procedures and information here. Creating with my suggested methods, materials, and tools is under your own risk. Please ensure you are following proper guidelines with anything used, and seek professional advice if you don't know how to do something! Read my complete disclosure here.

The post How I Work From Home Without Feeling Isolated (or Unemployed) appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.

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The Fall Project Preview

You guys, HOW is it September already? Oh, right, I know how… because the whole of August went by in a blur. Between working on the giant backyard project, speaking at the Haven conference, and the other small projects I've been working on, I've barely had enough time to sit down. I'm also trying to get my butt into gear for some OCR and 5k races this fall, but more on that later (I've got some running gear I'd like to recommend to you in a future post, so that's coming up).

Last week, I spent a few days up in New York (fourth visit in two years!) with one of my annual blog sponsors. I danced in a kick line with the Rockettes, decorated a cake at Carlo's Bakery (sorry, I didn't meet the Cake Boss himself, but I did snag one good pic with Mauro and learned how to drape a cake in fondant… and turns out, my artistic abilities can be translated into edible form), and got a few more glimpses of the Hearst Tower (I love this building!). It was an adult field trip basically, but I really enjoyed it and got to see a few blog friends that I met during last year's orientation.

We're just a few weeks away from the first official day of fall, but I can already feel it in the air. Pine straw is already falling all over the back yard, which probably means it's not too bad of a time to start thinking about putting in some grass seed. I just spread a bag shortly after finishing the grading project (final post comin' at ya soon), and some of it is already starting to grow in!

Fall has a tendency to kick things up a notch around the UDH. I suppose it's just that the weather becomes a little less unbearable (Georgia summers = practically hugging the sun), but it's also just that things start to get so exciting. There's a palpable buzz. For a moment, I thought I might be making it all up and just getting a little optimistic about the months ahead… until I actually looked through the list of things I did around this time last year.

Last Fall's Accomplishments:

• Recapped my trip to Black Feather Farm (parts 1, 2, and tiling Kit's bathroom shower… because I can't just visit someone else's home and hang out, apparently)


• Replaced my front doorbell and hardware


• Added fall flowers to the mailbox


• Added hanging planters to the front stoop and planted mums in the front garden bed


• Repaired the exterior siding


• Trimmed and pruned trees in the front yard


• Finished up with the skim coat in the kitchen


• Battled (and nearly got my ass kicked by) a squirrel


• Added LED lights to the garage


• Made the best Katy Perry costume ever


• Painted the kitchen walls


• Bought a new Christmas tree


• Installed tile in the master bath (which I still have to fix, ugh)


• Created a couple DIY scrap wood magnetic bottle openers (great DIY gift idea)


• Made a new tree skirt for Christmas

So, yeah… I suppose that in the span of three months, shit is going to change quite a bit. So, I might as well just set a few goals to know where I stand this coming year.

2016 Goals

• Make a new Halloween costume (topping last year is going to be tough, IMO)


• Finish the kitchen bar oil job


• Add some art above the kitchen bar


• Make progress on the crown molding


• Fix the master bathroom floor tile


• Build Charlie a dog feeder (I am sick of how she turns over her food bowl… time to do something about it!)


• Figure out the back yard design


• Seed the backyard lawn


• Add lighting to the back yard?


• Put in a few slabs for the future backyard shed and the area where I want to hide my trash can


• Fix the part of the fence that dad broke with the backhoe (yep… that happened)


• Teach myself something new


• More tutorials!

What are your fall goals this year? More tutorials coming later this week (writing them as we speak), so stick around!

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy & effectiveness of the information displayed on this website, The Ugly Duckling House is for entertainment purposes only. All tutorials and demonstrations are not intended to be professional advice (nor substitute as such), and I make no guarantees as to the procedures and information here. Creating with my suggested methods, materials, and tools is under your own risk. Please ensure you are following proper guidelines with anything used, and seek professional advice if you don't know how to do something! Read my complete disclosure here.

The post The Fall Project Preview appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.

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Hydrangeas Changing Color

Football, fall, and pine straw: the things I can rely on when September rolls around. Also, my pretty blue hydrangeas bud one last time and bloom their last hues for the year.

I'm really glad that the ones in the back yard are growing so well. It's pretty much one of the very few things back there that are still green, considering how hard I've been working on adding fill dirt and leveling things out!

Not all of them are growing in blue, however. Some of the lower buds have begun to turn to their fall coloring, and I am LOVING it.

Summer has been kind of hard on my other plants this year, so it's nice to see one thing still happy and healthy. I do think I'm going to have to trim this one back this year, though once the flowers are all finished blooming (for more tips on growing healthy hydrangeas, see this post).

Still, there are signs of additional buds still left, so I'm looking forward to getting one last show.

Is anything blooming in your yard?

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy & effectiveness of the information displayed on this website, The Ugly Duckling House is for entertainment purposes only. All tutorials and demonstrations are not intended to be professional advice (nor substitute as such), and I make no guarantees as to the procedures and information here. Creating with my suggested methods, materials, and tools is under your own risk. Please ensure you are following proper guidelines with anything used, and seek professional advice if you don't know how to do something! Read my complete disclosure here.

The post Hydrangeas Changing Color appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.

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Staining Tips for Adirondack Chairs and New Planters

If you've been following along on the backyard updates, you know that there are two big things going on:

1. I've brought in dirt and rented a backhoe to help me fix a number of lingering issues going on back there: fill in a sinkhole, grading, etc. It's a shitload of work.


2. I've brought in a LOT of DIRT. Which… is going to look really brown for a while before it gets better (I'll get to the grass seeding part of the update eventually, but my landscaper neighbor advised a wait about a month). And that part kind of sucks, no matter how much I know it's eventually going to pay off.

Sometimes when I'm in the middle of a big makeover, I waffle (hehe) between these highs and lows. That anticipation of how it's going to look someday versus the hot mess that it looks like right now can be a little more disheartening than I'd like, and I have to put in effort to make sure that I don't give up halfway through. As a pick-me-up, I will simultaneously work on something with a shorter wait time for the big payoff. (This post contains a few affiliate links, which help support this site at no additional cost to you while I simultaneously recommend the stuff I like. For more, see my disclosure page.) And that's the logical explanation for how I found myself staining Adirondack chairs and making over planters for a deck I haven't even built yet.

A word about staining things like this: maybe wipe-on Waterseal isn't the way to go. The nooks and crannies tend to make everything a giant mess, and apparently, I'm not a good enough planner to reach for a pair of latex gloves sometimes.

Luckily (???), I got frustrated enough with chair number one to try a spray version for chair number two (similar). It did the job a lot better for reaching into the tighter areas and in a lot faster time. And my hands didn't look like that.

The color, by the way, is called Acorn Brown. I wanted something more brown than red, and this was the closest match to what I had in mind.

I like them so much, I think I might order two more to get a full set of four. And as luck would have it, they are on sale right now with an extra 10% off for Labor Day weekend. So, I'm pretty sure two of those are going to wind up magically walking themselves out of the online cart and on their way to my front door. There are also these foldable versions that look almost the same, but I'm not quite sure yet.

I then stumbled onto some planters on clearance at Lowe's ($6.98 each – more than 50% off until the end of October). I kind of love it when things go on sale just because of the color (the silhouette on these are really simple, so the only difference seemed to be that the red and blue ones had been selling better). My gain!

Equally funny to me is how they were clearly manufactured in black (you can see based on the inside of them in the above photo) and that's the color I actually wanted. So, these ugly yellowish things have been spray painted black with some outdoor plastic spray paint, which makes for a pretty nice upgrade. Or downgrade… back to its roots. Whatever. The important thing is, they're black now and they look better that way.

I should have another post for you guys on Sunday regarding the stools in the kitchen that are going under the new bar area. I just figured out how to use my router again, so it's finally going to get finished and installed. Woot!

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy & effectiveness of the information displayed on this website, The Ugly Duckling House is for entertainment purposes only. All tutorials and demonstrations are not intended to be professional advice (nor substitute as such), and I make no guarantees as to the procedures and information here. Creating with my suggested methods, materials, and tools is under your own risk. Please ensure you are following proper guidelines with anything used, and seek professional advice if you don't know how to do something! Read my complete disclosure here.

The post Staining Tips for Adirondack Chairs and New Planters appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.

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Filling In a Sinkhole and Leveling My Yard: Part 2 (of 3)

You know, it's funny - this month has easily been one of the most productive I've had in about a year. But despite all of this change happening so quickly around the UDH, finding the energy again at night to relive all of the details of the things I've been doing all day is proving to be tougher than I expected. Regardless, I decided to hunker down a little today (thank you, rain!) along with the kajillion photos I took as I filled in the backyard sinkhole, and break off post number two for you. If you've been missing part one of the recap about my backyard makeover project - the one where I ordered a truckload of fill dirt, called the utility companies in to give me the go-ahead, and rented a freaking backhoe to do all of this DIY style - you might want to click over here to get those details before I jump in. I'll be right here when you get back.

Ok, done reading that long ass post? Go fill up another cup of coffee, because we're going to do it again. Let's get started!

At the end of two days (which wound up being a total of five, but I'll get to that) of moving dirt into my back yard from its original location on my driveway (the power lines and the width of the gate had prevented the dirt supplier from delivering to my backyard directly), I had a random, weird thought that kept catching me by surprise: I'm standing in a part of my yard I've never really stood before.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

The “sinkhole fill project” (what I've been calling it) has been on my to-do list since I moved in. This means that for YEARS, there have been parts of the yard that were craggy, filled with weeds and yard debris, and simply uninviting to walk around in (Charlie doesn't mind, but I do). In fact, back in 2010 when I moved in, there were even more obstacles back there than there are now: five extra pine trees, boatloads of pine straw preventing any grass growth, and ivy growing everywhere. The only thing it was suited for was turning a blind eye and contemplating a controlled fire (I kid, but only a little). I'm betting if you visited me back then, you would have suggested the same.

2010-2012

After a year or two of focusing on the interior, I then decided to attack the ivy and get rid of it for good, since ivy is home to loads of bugs (some of which went down my bra as I yanked and slashed the ivy down) and can threaten the life of healthy trees (which thankfully stayed out of my underwear):

2013

Each time I made an improvement, the yard just seemed to look sadder and sadder, even though I knew it was heading in the right direction. The ivy provided a lot of green color, but it wasn't ideal for the trees. Once the ivy was gone though, the sheer number of trees in the yard proved to have its own issues - namely, the pine straw that just made everything more brown. Meh.

After saving up a little cash, I decided that instead of hiring a company to limb all of the branches a few years later, I might as well just spend the dough to take them out permanently:

2015

I left one remaining tree in the center of my yard, just to keep some shade back here and provide a tie-out for Charlie when needed (despite putting in my tall fence, she jumps it if she isn't leashed). Plus, after the other trees had been removed and the stumps ground down, there was still a large mound of dirt to address on the left side. I moved some of the awkwardly placed plants closer to the fence, but wasn't sure what to do next.

This dirt hill almost directly mocked the sinkhole that sat next to it on the other side, and I knew that someday (whenever that may be), I'd probably need to level things out a lot more if I ever wanted to actually use this yard as anything other than empty space. With everything I'd already done, this project always seemed to be too big to tackle… yet.

2012

2016

It's All About Timing

I expected I would probably have to hire labor and equipment and instruct them to essentially push the mound over, reducing the height of the mound as well as raising the depression in the back section of the yard… and maybe bring in more dirt if the yard couldn't be filled in enough on its own supply. In all honesty, just thinking of the various steps I'd need to take sounded way too expensive to even investigate further at the time, so I put it on the back burner and worked on a few more interior projects without doing much additional research. But, that's also why I kind of like working on several projects at once: not only does it keep the makeover train moving along, but it sometimes allows solutions to find their way to me. Earlier this spring, Compact Power Equipment Rental contacted me to ask if I had a need for renting any large equipment or would be interested in partnering with them as a sponsor. Much to my surprise, I found out that through select Home Depot locations, they were a company who allowed professionals and DIYers alike to rent out machinery like this:

Wait - you mean I can rent one of these suckers myself? And save cash on labor costs? Uh, yeah, actually, I'd love to talk to you more about that. Also, how would you like to be my new best friend? Can I cook you dinner? Er, um… order you some Chinese food? Or pizza? I make a mean “call to the pizza place”… it's my culinary specialty.

Day 1: Delivery Friday!

The planning took a little time (when you coordinate projects with a brand, there's usually a little more work behind the scenes, establishing timelines, writing up contracts, that sort of thing), but earlier this month, this nifty piece of equipment arrived on my street:

The best part of the whole thing was, it was all mine. Once I wiped the drool off my face and did an embarrassing seal clap in front of Chuck, the regional rep who was going to teach me how to use this thing, I got to work. And by that, I mean learning how to scoop bucketfuls of dirt (which takes a little bit more skill than you might think):

… drive (carefully) around my yard and through my fence:

…and deposit all of its contents into the slowly disappearing sinkhole.

I also had to learn how to reset the seat between using it to drive the front loader and spinning it around to use the backhoe. This model had a number of safety features so that the seat locks into place. You have to use a seatbelt and make sure it has an audible click when you spin it around or the seat will be dislodged as you drive over bumps and the engine will cut off. It will also cut off if you're just not a very heavy individual and the seat bounces your weight forward, which will also cause the seat to click out of place - adding to the comedy my neighbors probably witnessed as the engine would suddenly stall, and I would have to literally slam my butt back into the seat until it clicked, then turn the engine back on. I lost count of how many times this had to happen.

The backhoe also had pins that secured the arm to keep it from extending while the front loader drove; unless they line up perfectly, the pins won't come loose, but once they do, the full features of the backhoe can be used.

I really did feel pretty awesome riding around on this thing. I mean, I live in a small subdivision where houses are relatively close to each other. My neighbors were naturally curious, but the best part of any outdoor makeover project is that exterior improvement projects are contagious. I knew that if I did this thing right, I'd have a gorgeous backyard that everyone would want to come check out. Plus, I'm kind of that neighbor who is always clearly working on something, so I'm pretty sure they just shrug and think, there she goes again.

Speaking of the fence, figuring out how to lift and move the gate was kind of a comical event as well. It came off in one panel (phew), but I'm also about a fourth of this thing's size, so moving it around was less graceful and more like a cartoon (I honestly wish I could think of the clip that I have faint memories of, but I can't seem to find it online… if I do, I'll link it).

By the end of the first day, I had about half of the dirt from the driveway redistributed into the yard. I was exhausted, but it became clear that I'd probably need more dirt than I initially estimated, and a load of topsoil to help establish grass would be a good option for the last load. In my defense, though, I really did think I had plenty at first. Wouldn't you?

I shot a quick live video on Facebook about the whole first day, and hopefully this embeds for  you below. If not, just click on over here.

Day 2: Dad's Help and Backhoe Party!

Okay, so it was really more of a casual thing than a big party, but I invited a handful of my friends over on Saturday to see me in action, help me take video (I'm hoping to have a Youtube recap video to accompany the final post), and maybe even get a little free labor off of my friends who think playing around on a backhoe is a fun way to spend a late Saturday afternoon. And for the record, the brews were shared after we called it quits (no drinking and backhoeing)!

When the first few arrived, my role went from student to teacher and I gave everyone the lowdown on how to operate things, where levers were to stabilize the backhoe, etc.

Honestly, I didn't expect so many folks to show up, but a good number of them were willing to hop on for a few minutes and give it a whirl. Some were intimidated (when you grip onto a root and it doesn't want to give, it can lift or move the machine in a way that makes you feel off balance), while others took to using the backhoe like total champs, ripping out a bunch more roots while I just stood around making “dirty hoe” puns. It also made me realize that I need to really work on having people over to this house a LOT more often, because DIY is considerably more fun when there's an audience who is willing to get their hands dirty. It's just not worth all of this work if I'm not opening it up to people, right?

Before they came over though, Dad set aside yet another Saturday in his lifetime to help me work on this house. I'm sorry folks, but my dad is probably way more awesome than your dad (I'm sure he's nice and all, but mine helped level out the yard, so…).

At the end of day 2, I took another live video to reveal how much progress can really happen in a single day. Again, if you aren't seeing the video embedded below, just click on over to my Facebook page to view.

And if you aren't into video, here is a pretty decent glimpse of the progress thus far:

I honestly took SO many photos during this whole thing that there are way too many for this post, which means I need at least one more to cover the rest. There will be a giveaway for you guys too in part 3! I have some other progress to share with you soon as well, so stay tuned. But first: what have you been up to this week?

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy & effectiveness of the information displayed on this website, The Ugly Duckling House is for entertainment purposes only. All tutorials and demonstrations are not intended to be professional advice (nor substitute as such), and I make no guarantees as to the procedures and information here. Creating with my suggested methods, materials, and tools is under your own risk. Please ensure you are following proper guidelines with anything used, and seek professional advice if you don't know how to do something! Read my complete disclosure here.

The post Filling In a Sinkhole and Leveling My Yard: Part 2 (of 3) appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.

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