Recently while painting someone else’s house I observed several key observances and in my observations I thought to bring them to you. Oh, and by the way, I mean painting the inside of the house… I guess I did not specify that.
When painting someone else’s house you may have the tendency to not do as good of a job because it is not your own. Frequently, when things are not our own, we do not treat them with the same care that we would if it was ours. On the other hand there are those who take extra care with something that is not there own. These are the people you want working on your house. I fall somewhere in between and usually I take extra effort to do things as I would want them done.
So now that you have the mindset and think you are ready to paint, you begin. Quickly you realize that it is going to take more time than you originally planned. You have to clean and prime the walls. If the paint doesn’t cover well then you definitely have to do multiple coats. Don’t forget the trim. You have to cut around all the casing, molding, ceiling and corners.
So you have settled in. You are getting in a rhythm, leave clean coats with no holidays or ridges. It’s not so bad. Then you finish the first room. On to the next. Soon you notice that you are feeling kind of lightheaded. You have a weird sensation. Yes. You are getting high on all the fumes. You may also be getting a headache. You may feel like jumping out the window… but it’s only a few feet from the ground… so you pass.
But take heart there are only 6 more rooms to go! Thus far you have learned several things:
1) Outside air is a great thing. Lots and lots of air.
2) It’s all in the wrist. All in the wrist.
3) Not too fast, not too slow. Medium and steady wins the race.
4) Many hands make light, well, lighter work.
5) You didn’t want that shirt/carpet/sock/lamp anyway
Time passes and you knock out rooms two and three. You hit a slump in room four and just feel like getting out. Just get me out. No more painting. I can’t take it!! Aaaaahhhh.
Then, all of a sudden you get a second wind and room five gets done and in the strength of that wind (the second one) you begin room six. Halfway through room six you hit it. The wall. You hit the wall. It’s over. You are ready to be done. You get to room 7 in a daze. You are not sure if you are really painting anymore. The old and new paint start to look the same and your vision is blurred. Finally, the seventh room is completed… you think.
A year later you ask yourself, “what were we thinking when we painted this room?”