Source Of Inspiration
What Is My Source Of Inspiration and Motivation?
People have asked me how I find the time to be creative, or find the will to stay motivated.
It can be hard - I won’t lie.
But I will share with you my own tricks and tips.
We, at Spruce And Fjell, are all about balance. I could not keep up my motivation without looking at the larger picture. In 2020, my husband and I moved from the desert Southwest to the Pacific Northwest. Although I found beauty in the desert, and knew I would miss all of my super creative and motivated friends, I longed for the Pacific Ocean, the rainforests, and the mountains. Plus our daughters had already returned to the Northwest.
We sold the house at the beginning of covid (that is a story in itself), packed our belongings into a rented moving truck, and headed north. Moving ourselves meant getting rid of a LOT of stuff! I did that by donating, mostly. I didn’t have time for running ads and hoping things would move.
I kept a spreadsheet of every last activity that needed to be done, and every goal that had to be met, in order to stay on track for moving. By moving ourselves, we certainly saved a boatload of money - plus we took far less items than if we had paid movers. I would ask myself, “Do I want this enough to move it?” The answer was often, “NO!”
When we arrived in Washington, our first home was a hotel. Yep - that’s correct. We moved with no idea of where we would find our new house - except that we wanted to be in the area of Mount Rainier.
Our Washington realtor was NO help. I had asked him ahead of time if he knew of an extended stay type of place. He said no. I mentioned it to our daughter. About 5 minutes later she called me with the name and number of a place in a perfect location. A simple Google search, followed by Yelp reviews, had provided the answer. I asked the realtor if he knew of a place for our cat to be boarded. Same answer - he had no idea. Again - my daughter found a place in no time. The woman was wonderful, with adorable cabins on her property - our cat had better accommodations than we did. When it came to finding a house, he was not familiar with the area where we wanted to buy. He sent us on a wild goose chase to a place that would have been far too long of a commute for my husband. I finally had enough with him, and called my realtor back in Arizona. She told me to get set up with locals - a local bank and escrow company - and find out who they work with as a realtor. Wow! What a difference! They explained the bidding process (and why we had lost out on the first place we wanted). Our new, local banker was a lifesaver, as was our realtor. Our daughter found us the house, our realtor pounced on it, and it was ours in no time - even though the area was in the middle of heated bidding wars.
What did I learn from all of this? HAVE THE RIGHT TEAM IN PLACE! Know your weaknesses and make sure they are covered by others.
In renovating our new home, we did almost all of the work, as we have always done in all of our homes - but we also knew when to call in others. We had the right team for renovating, just as we had for locating and purchasing our home.
Again, I created a multi-page spreadsheet of everything that was needed on the new house. Pulling down ceilings, pulling up flooring, painting, repairing the deck, buying new doors - nothing was left out. I set deadlines and checked often to see where we were off or on schedule.
Our Home - for months
It’s one thing to be a DIY’er. It’s yet another to have to live in the place you are overhauling. We lived in a huge mess for one full year (still better than the one-room hotel). To keep our sanity, we took breaks to explore the forests, oceans, and mountains. Visiting nature reminded us of WHY we were doing this stuff that seemed so insane to just about everyone else.
By doing the work ourselves, we knew it was being done right - and to our standards.
I had to just look the other way, or go outside at times. I put my mind elsewhere, and cleaned up when I was able to. I did my best to make the place seem “normal” - though I think I only fooled myself. I stuck it out because I knew that we were on a path, and this was all worth it. We moved to the Northwest for its beauty - not for an already done, “fancy” house.
The above photos were taken on Hurricane Ridge and in Mt. Rainier National Park.
The contrast between the mess inside the house, and the endless beauty outside the house, was really shocking. God’s beauty is everywhere, and getting out to see it kept us on track and in balance.
At year one, the floors were installed - what a major improvement! Year 2 was dedicated to finishing all the detail work.
Will we ever be finished? Of course not. There is always another DIY project in the works. There are always more sewing, decor, and art projects to do - especially as our team grows.
Stay in balance, so you can stay on track.
Whether you are an artist, DIY’er, or need to get through a difficult time, keep your eye on the goal, and take “mini vacations.”