4.15.2012

Joy vs. Escape, & Pegboard



Recently, my ability to create has been re-established. I've been thinking a lot about the difference between escape and joy; during which I've learned a lot about myself. 


The past 10 months have been a wave of change, bringing about tremendous, heart-stretching amounts of growth & stagnation, anxiety & elation, irritability & contentedness, and any other oxymoronic pair of emotions you could conjure. Quite possibly, I'm delving into topics unrelated to blog-worthy territory...all this to say: life requires a lot more of me lately.
I've realized that I have the unhealthy knee-jerk response of escape when dealing with major life alterations. I'm embarrassed at how many countless minutes I've spent becoming lost in things that are truly meaningless, and equally embarrassing are the countless minutes spent anxiously wondering what I can accomplish to fill my free moments. 
Escape is something I do to remove myself from situations. Example: Finn's down for a nap, so I'll watch Secret Life of the American Teenager (What? Seriously?!) for 1.5 hours.


Joy is never found in my escape. Joy is a gracious gift that can't be received by an unwilling heart. My heart has been closed tightly to try to protect against the discomfort of losing my life for HIS sake to save it.

Because I continuously chose escape over joy, I've had to learn what it is that brings me joy and allow those things to enter back in.
Creating is one of those joy-filling gifts. It's never the easier choice to bring out the spray paint, painting tray, rolling brush, stencils, ruler, etc. But despite the mess I make and the effort it usually takes, choosing what brings me joy over what will offer escape is always worth it.


Which brings me to...pegboard! 

I really love this stuff, especially when it's been spray-painted. I even love the way pegboard smells, something about it reminds me of kindergarten. I love how Lowe's has almost a whole aisle dedicated to pegboard organizational accessories. 


So, here's the kitchen stand-alone cabinet purchased at the beginning of March (I think, time flies) before adding pegboard to the wall space.

And here's the pegboard, spray-painted and mounted to the wall.

My favorite part: finding a spot for all of these cooking supplies that freed up space in the kitchen drawers! Ah, love it!

On the other side I thought it'd be good to make a "stash away" zone for random items, including commonly referenced books, my journal, sunglasses and glasses, keys, wallet, etc.
I'm not quite finished with this side, still looking for more storage items. I was super proud of the shelf I made with the pegboard shelf brackets and old book.

This is what this open area of our kitchen looked like before I decided it'd be a smarter use of space to get a free-standing cupboard. Note: this might look like a great idea, but this picture is deceiving. I never sat at this desk, I've always preferred our kitchen table, and it became an evil magnet for all sorts of unimaginable clutter. 

Storage space of any kind has become like gold in this house since we lack a basement, attic, and have very minimal closet space. So, naturally, I am definitely happier with the present state of this little piece of kitchen.

Thanks for giving me an outlet to further share one of my delights in life!

Thanks to my amazing parents, tomorrow morning, our great friend, neighbor, and general contractor (all one man!) is breaking ground on our shed to give it some new life. Concrete instead of dirt floors? Yes please! A garage door so we can free up a whole room in our house that we've been using as tool storage? Yes, yes yes please! I am elated!



Home Stories A2Z




http://debtfreemommyblog.blogspot.com

3 comments:

  1. So cute! i love that idea, trying to figure out where i can do it in my kitchen :) and i LOVE that rolling pin, where did you get it??

    ReplyDelete
  2. I understand what you mean about getting lost in time, wasting it instead of finding joy. I complained yesterday that I just couldn't catch up while I sat watching a show. Ha! I love what you've done with your pegboard and I'd love for you to come post a link to this on my really new linky party, Making Space Mondays!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. {New to your blog!}... I love what you did with the pegboard! That's very creative.

    ReplyDelete