The Beauty of Naïvety
The Closet built-in is finally finished! And I'm WILD about how it turned out!
I'm going to be honest, I had no idea what I was getting myself into with this one. I must have been riding high from the kitchen countertops thinking "If I can do that, I can do anything!" - I wasn't wrong... But I also wasn't right. Everything I did to this closet was stuff I've seen other bad ass lady DIYers do over and over again! They make it look so easy! Oh, the naïvety. I thought it'd be a fun new challenge! And I guess I wasn't wrong on that one, it certainly was a challenge!
But here's the beauty of naïvety: if I had known all of this, I wouldn't have even tried! It was because of my naïvety that I have a gorgeous new built-in closet organization system in my room right now. And I'm so stinkin' proud of myself! I freaking did it! I finished what I started, and I finished well! I didn't give up when I realized I was in over my head. Instead, I got tough and I made it happen (I'm realizing that might be one of my specialties). Yes, I was frustrated as hell, but I gave myself grace when things didn't go right. When my drawers wouldn't slide, I tried again... and again and again until all four were in place and functioning. When I cut the baseboard moulding the wrong way for the thousandth time, I took a deep breath and tried again. I pushed my skills and my tools to the limits on this project and now I get to stand back and admire the product of my perseverance.
I do want to note that, with the price of lumber as high as it is right now, I spent about the same amount of money that I would have if I had ordered a little closet unit from Ikea. But this one is customized to my specific needs with the little shoe rack on the side - something you can't find at Ikea. It's better built and will last much longer. And I get the HUGE bonus of pride and self-confidence that comes with completing a project like this.
This project showed me that, while I have a lot of room for improvement as a DIYer, I am absolutely capable.
