Cancellations got you down? What are you doing with your space in the meantime?

[Laura2592]

Like most of you, we have had cancellations when we were expecting a gangbusters spring season. All of my accounting projections have gone out the window. So with our downtime, we are tackling some improvement projects like painting and doing some early spring plantings. We have had a very early warm spring, so hopefully, our efforts pay off!

What have you been doing if you have some openings on your calendar? Are you using your space more yourself? Doing some projects? Redecorating? 

[Mike-And-Helen0]

Hi @Laura2592 I have plans for the garden. Well I have rather ephemeral plans about gardening, I've lost my Easter holidays but gone from being in the day job 5 days (and 50-odd hours a week) to just 2 days.

I fancy planting a walnut tree and lots more herbs to support my voracious guinea pig trio.

I'd post a pic but the camera icon a disparu!

[Huma0]

@Laura2592I host long-term guests and my last one left on Friday. I am housing a temporarily homeless friend for the next week and then I will be on my own in this four bedroom house. At least I have my fur babies for company! 

I've lost months' worth of bookings already and expect to lose the upcoming ones so who knows when the next guest will arrive - I assume not for many months. I've also lost one of my two day jobs (the one that actually paid well), as I worked for an inflight magazine and that has been axed due to the pandemic. 

So for sure, I will have a lot of extra time on my hands, but no funds, so any projects will need to involve resources I already have.

Luckily for me (and I never thought I'd say this), I am a hoarder. I am always buying stuff for projects that I never seem to get around to. So, I have stacks of paint and wallpapers and picture frames just waiting to go on the walls. I have furniture to upcycle. I might even have a go at trying to restore the staircase myself, which is bound to be a disaster, but I've never been able to find someone to do it, so I might as well have a go.

My hoarding has also provided me with endless activities. There are cupboards and drawers to be organised, stacks of forgotten clothes to mend, donate or sell online, papers to be sorted. My accountant will fall off his chair when he receives my paperwork ahead of time instead of right before the deadline! I'm going to reorganise all the book shelves and take 'shelfies'.

Spring cleaning is going to take on a new meaning. I recently hired a cleaner, which is an expense I can no longer really afford, but I don't want to pass my losses onto others, so I will keep her on as long as I can. That doesn't mean there isn't plenty for me to do. I intend to deep clean the whole house, wash all the curtains, shampoo the rugs and mattresses, leave the chandeliers sparkling etc. etc. 

I can't wait to get out in the garden - something I've had little time to do since I started hosting. Again, my hoarding has helped. I have loads of seeds and bulbs waiting to be planted.

It's a pretty ambitious list, but it looks like we're in this situation for the long haul. I really don't know if I'm going to continue hosting with Airbnb after this, but if I do, when the guests start coming back the house is going to look amazing!!

[Mark116]

@Huma0  LOL, I have tried in the last couple of years to control my hoarding tendencies and began an ongoing project of giving away random stuff that had been sitting around for years. 

However, I used to watch an HDTV show where the team could only use paint, $50 and whatever they found around the person's house for the redesign...so in addition to finding 'junk' and recovering and painting it.....they were always turning coffee tables into benches and book cases into shelves on the wall and using old doors for dining tables, gathering up sticks in the yard and turning them into wall art...so now I know that EVERYTHING can have a second life, be refurbished and reused. 

I guess all of my mosaic and refinishing projects can now come to fruition.   It's a shame I have zero sewing talent though!  But, I have plenty of existing projects and junk that can be upcycled to keep me busy for a couple of months. Stay safe.

[Huma0]

@Mark116 

Good to hear I am not the only hoarding host out there!

No, I can't sew either, although I do have a small sewing machine (which I've never used once) and lots of fabric scraps, so I might have a go. I have also wanted to learn upholstery for a while. I have a book on it, but not the tools, which I can't afford to buy, but maybe I'll try some basic stuff with a staple gun.

I agree with you. Everything can have a second life. I love a bit of upcycling! I am sure there is also plenty that can be given to charity or freecycled. 

[Huma0]

I've posted this elsewhere before, but here's how a very small amount of paint can transform a tired piece of furniture.

Before

After

I did this mostly with chalk paint, but if you don't have any of that, you can find instructions online of how to turn left over bits of bog standard emulsion into chalk paint. You then use furniture wax to seal it. Honestly, you can paint a whole table this size using a tester pot of chalk paint.

[Huma0]

And the top of this table needs repainting as it's been trashed by guests, so that's another job on the list...