The Do It Yourself Decision-Making Process

It’s decision-making time around here. We’re just about ready to start finishing the interior of our new addition. Everything is all framed in, the doors and windows are installed, and the deck is done. At this point, I’m left with the dreaded task of sitting down and figuring things out – not one of my favorite things to do.

It’s actually kind of ironic. For months now, I’ve been anxiously waiting for this day to come and now – I have absolutely no idea what I want. Somehow, though, the interior needs to be planned and everything needs to be ordered and paid for within the next few days. And these are the kinds of things that I agonize over. It looks like I have my work cut out for me this weekend.

It’s not that I don’t have ideas because, trust me, I have plenty of them. The issue is really more a matter of not wanting to regret anything after the fact. Once it’s done, it’s done. There’s no going back.

If I decide six months from now that I hate my maple spice hardwood floors and I loathe my aqua walls, guess what? I’m out of luck. More importantly, though, I’m a DIY girl at heart. I’d rather make things than buy them. That leaves me in just a little bit of a predicament – that awesome plank wall that I saw on Pinterest? Do I really want to try it?

The real decision isn’t whether or not I want a plank wall, though. The real decision is how much I want to buy versus how much I want to do ourselves. Buying things tends to be a lot easier, but making things tends to be a lot less expensive. Unfortunately, you usually can’t have the best of both worlds.

I have a never-ending list of potential do it yourself projects. Anything and everything that you could possibly imagine from making an organizer to store some supplies to building an island workspace… it never fails. The ideas keep coming and then I’m left to plan and prioritize and make the best decisions that I possibly can in regards to how our resources should be allocated.

I still have yet to finalize anything – I’ve been weighing the pros and cons of different options and trying to think things through. Starting with a blank canvas is awesome, but it’s also overwhelming. I was standing in the flooring aisle at Home Depot the other day looking at hardwood samples. I ended up bringing a half dozen or so home with me because I couldn’t decide. I also may or may not have been guilty of asking my husband to get me another Sherwin Williams paint swatch book – you know, so I can see all of my hundreds of choices side by side.

Have you worked on any do it yourself or remodeling projects lately? Did you take your time deciding on each individual thing or was it full speed ahead? Leave a comment and share your do it yourself decision-making process.

Written by: Cristi Wuenschel