For those of you that follow me or know me personally, I love to make and do things myself. This includes the baby gate I made several weeks ago, doing a mountain mural in the nursery (with the help of friends of course) etc.

Well, we never finished painting the upstairs of our house (we moved in August 2018 while I was 8 months pregnant) and so I decided this week was the week to finish this. I hate having unpacked boxes (and I’m sure many of you have some from your last move, however long ago that was).

The difficult part of painting, a part I haven’t had to truly experience before, is trying to do this with a young baby around.

V is 8 months old, but isn’t crawling yet, thank goodness. But I figured I would create a list of tips for those that want or should venture into the world of repainting your house.

1. Always try to do this without a child around, and if you have no choice, try to at least do it during a nap
2. It always takes longer than you think. Have patience. Finish the section you are doing and take a break!
3. Have someone to come and watch your child(ren). If this isn’t possible, hope and pray your child has long naps while you paint or at least is entertained for long periods of time with toys.
4. Don’t do this once your child can walk and touch where you are painting!
5. Utilize the evenings as much as possible! Put your child to bed and then paint! It is so much more productive.
6. Prep work always takes forever. Don’t give up. It’s worth it to patch all those holes before you paint.
7. Have a drink at the end to celebrate a job well done, preferably enjoy that drink while you soak in the tub.
8. Don’t plan on leaving for camping early the morning after you finish painting (seriously we are doing this and I am wondering why).

This week has felt like it has lasted forever. I felt like time slowed down but at the same time I don’t understand how each day is done and I still have so much to paint.

I finished the walls… Still have the trim and the inside of the closets to paint, but I can finally put up a stair railing and all my pictures and paintings. Feels like a successful week.

If you are needing a fresh change around you, definitely think about painting. The fresh coat of paint just puts a new perspective on everything. Your home feels cleaner, more inviting, crisp.

So if you are thinking about painting your home, I say go for it! Let me know how it goes, or if you have any advice or tips for the next time I decide to whip out the paint brush.