We all know that deflated feeling when the momentum for a big project or renovation fizzles out. How do you rekindle the excitement or energy you started with? We’ve been facing this at the beach house recently, so we’re sharing five practical tips to fight project fatigue. With spring in full swing and lots of routine home maintenance on the horizon, we also offer a simple method to make sure routine tasks never slip through the cracks — plus a fresh trick to power through those small lingering items on your to-do list. We also talk about rediscovering a favorite date night idea and explain why we got called out for promoting a decorating trend some people love to hate.
You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify — or listen to it below. Use this page to find any links, notes, or photos we referenced. Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, you may need to click through to the post to see the player.
What’s New
- We buy air filters in bulk from Amazon (a 6-pack for about $34) in different sizes for each floor. We choose a basic dust filter because we don’t have allergies or pet-hair concerns (Burger has very short hair). You can select any model that suits your needs.
- On the podcast we mentioned FilterEasy as a slightly pricier subscription option, but Amazon’s “Subscribe & Save” can do the same at a lower price for many filters by auto-delivering on a schedule with a built-in discount. It’s not available for all filter styles, and many come in multi-packs, which can make timing a single replacement trickier — but it’s worth checking.
- Those filters don’t actually fit in the decorative vent shown in the photo; they go into our system in the garage, which just isn’t as photogenic.
Updates
- Listen to the full open-concept bathroom discussion in Episode #88, where you can also respond to the poll if you want to weigh in.
- We talked about the backward book “trend” in Episode #85, and it turns out our very first book, Young House Love (2012), included that flourish. Below are a couple of the “offending” pages we referenced.
- The far-right image is actually the back cover — so the BACK of our book literally features BACKWARDS BOOKS. When I told Sherry she laughed for a good five minutes.
- You can also find our original discussion of Consumer Reports’ paint brand review in Episode #81.
Project Fatigue
- The photo above is from our kitchen remodel at home — a months-long project that wore us down at times. You can read more about that remodel in our kitchen remodel demo post.
- Catching up on the beach house reveals both wins like the built-in pantry and bunk beds and setbacks such as nearly having to remove those bunk beds and when our bathtub sprung a leak.
- One helpful tactic when motivation dips is reviewing before photos to see how far you’ve come. The contrast makes progress obvious and can restore momentum — and remind you that the room isn’t falling apart anymore.
We’re Digging
- Sherry loves these shoes that feel like socks, and we included a photo so you can judge the toe cleavage for yourself. She nearly chose other colors but picked black for versatility; there’s also a round-toe option. They’re machine washable and surprisingly comfortable. Don’t forget to search for a coupon code before you buy.
If you want a quick reference for anything we’ve recommended on past episodes, here’s a master list of everything we’ve been digging from prior shows.
Finally, thanks to Agility Bed for sponsoring this episode. You can get $150 off any Agility Bed mattress by using the code YHL150 at AgilityBed.com.
Thanks for listening, everyone!
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