six of one, half dozen of another (and is there space in between?)

Sometimes . . . I think, I'm an enigma even to myself.

On one hand, and personally, I can be fairly impulsive. And when you work around homes, in construction, this probably is not a good way to be. In fact, it is the antithesis of what I preach. Building Moxie, I have hinted at this, is about doing your homework and making smart decisions.

So there, on the other hand – professionally – I have a way of breaking things down, well, systematically. I find that by looking at “data,” organized by task or system – you can set yourself up to analyze efficiently . . . and, hence, allow yourself to make good decisions. I can help you with this, and this is what I bring to the table.

Some are big . . .

Back briefly into the way-back machine, I think about my time when I was “right out of college.” I was working for the League of American Bicyclists as a part-time editorial assistant. After about nine months of doing this, and at 23, they offered me a full-time position. Doing what? I honestly don’t remember.

Conditional.

Now, at 23, I looked at myself. Was I ready for a full-time job? I don’t know – I guess I had a decision to make. So I did. That flowchart, and its path, lead out to Winter Park, CO for sun, fun, and one of the most beautiful parts of our country.

Wow – what an impact that decision probably made on my life. Good? Yes. Bad? Yes. Good/Bad, Bad/Good. Yes and No. In retrospect, that time, along with the few other rhombuses I have faced, was just a bit of the experience that makes up . . . me.

Will I ever have a chance, ever again, to be an editor at, say, Remodeling Magazine? Probably not. But hey – that decision I never regret; it freed me up, and I did other things.

End Process?

. . . and some are small

Decisions – now, that one above was a little life impacting; a “what if I would have went that way?”-type of decision . . . and I lead with it. Truth told, though, that really wasn't what got me thinking about this piece. It happened on a much more insignificant scale.

Maybe you read, in the summer, about my goings-on in our laundry room. The idea hit me there when I was, innocently, hanging the shelves in the room’s now refinished closet.

I mean – do you know the formula? Builders, thanks to the big brains of architects, know exactly the height at which shelving should go – designers/builders too . . . but me – working impulsively; I figured I could make that decision . . . on the fly.

I looked around, and I thought – hmmm wall cabinets; hmmm where is the wife? OK . . . out with the girls, and of course the bottoms at 54” from the floor.

What was this closet going to be used for? The wife and I had talked about it briefly; I mean -- about what was going into it. Was a decision made; was anything put on paper? Nope.

So as I sometimes do – I went with it. I thought to myself, "I need a broom." OK, and I grabbed a couple standard-sized sweeping brooms. (Judging from what I saw, and at least in my house, each -- right around 50 to 52 inches in height.)

That’s it! So I’ll set the bottom shelve at about 54”, and space the rest at about 11 inches apart (roughly the height of a standard liquid detergent bottle).

Yeah – that’s it, and in a matter of an hour, my salvaged wood shelves were installed. Two, at least. "Should I go for a third?"

Just about that time, my wife returned home from the pool, the grocery store, from shopping, or from wherever. “Hey babe. Do you like what I have going on in here?”

She said, “Yep, (long pause) the vacuum cleaners will fit, right?”

Data! Vacuum Cleaners! and they did fit easily.

Cons and Pros

There are many, many, many . . . decisions that we as hi-functioning and reasoning mammals must make in a lifetime. And there are few that must be made in the course of executing any home project.

In life, you’ll agree, there are big decisions, and there are little decisions. The big ones should not be taken lightly – and that statement may seem trite. But it is the little decisions, to me, that sometimes seem to get all of the attention. No?

And, well, as far as home decisions, are they all really six of one and half dozen of another?

Probably not, but a lot of times -- maybe it is just a matter of the language you use, or how you are keeping score.

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More Moxie:
*Standard closet shelving height: http://www.closetmaid.com/Install/How_To_Guide/measspace.cfm

*Leaugue of American Bicyclists: http://www.bikeleague.org/

*The authoritative source for information on the remodeling industry, and the home of one rock star cool senior editor: http://www.remodeling.hw.net/