Transform Your Home with Family Work Days: A Collaborative Approach to DIY Success

Home improvement projects, especially larger ones, can often feel overwhelming. They linger on our to-do lists, sometimes for years, draining our energy and enthusiasm before we even begin. What if there was a way to tackle these daunting tasks, not just efficiently, but also joyfully, turning them into opportunities for connection and lasting memories? This is exactly what we discovered with a brilliant new tradition initiated by my sister: the seasonal family work day. It’s a concept that has revolutionized how our extended family approaches major projects, transforming chores into cherished shared experiences.

Last week, I shared with you the incredible before and after pictures from her backyard makeover, a project that exemplified the power of collaborative effort. On another occasion, a dedicated work day saw us rally together to help my other sister’s family prepare and spray the exterior of their home, achieving in hours what would have taken them weeks. So, when it was our turn to host the fall work day at our cottage, can you guess what monumental task we enthusiastically assigned to our eager family members?

The Long-Dreaded Painting Project: A Recurring Saga

Perhaps not, so let me provide a little background that will make our choice perfectly clear, and hopefully, relatable to anyone who has ever faced a seemingly endless painting project.

Years prior, my husband and I embarked on the ambitious task of painting our city bungalow by ourselves. What seemed like a straightforward DIY project soon revealed its true colors – literally. We dedicated an entire weekend to the painstaking process of taping every edge and carefully spraying the exterior, eager to bid farewell to what I can only describe as a rather unfortunate “band-aid pink” hue. Believe me, I wish I were exaggerating about the color! The transformation to a creamy white was a moment of immense satisfaction. However, the subsequent phase, painting the green trim, stretched into an agonizing year. Yes, an entire year passed before those intricate details were finally complete. And that house didn’t even boast a sprawling front porch or the extensive, detailed trim work that characterizes our current cottage. Recalling that arduous experience, the thought of undertaking all the trim painting on our charming but trim-heavy cottage filled me with a deep sense of dread and procrastination. It felt like a monumental task, one that would inevitably linger on our to-do list for seasons, if not years.

Which is precisely why, when my sister proposed this brilliant concept of trading family work days to conquer our most significant projects this fall, I was practically jumping for joy. The relief, the sheer excitement of envisioning these long-deferred tasks finally being completed with the help of loved ones, was palpable.

The Family Work Day Tradition: More Than Just Helping Hands

This tradition isn’t just about getting work done; it’s a beautifully structured system designed for efficiency, enjoyment, and connection. We meticulously coordinated our schedules, ensuring that each family had a dedicated work day during the crisp, productive months of September, October, or November. To optimize our efforts, painting projects were strategically assigned to the earliest slots in the calendar, taking advantage of the milder weather, while tasks like yard work and leaf raking were scheduled for later in the season. Beyond the labor, these days are also a wonderful excuse for fellowship. Everyone contributes by bringing a delicious salad or a selection of finger foods to share for lunch, transforming our break into a delightful communal meal. It’s truly an incredible deal – accomplishing major home improvements while enjoying quality time and building stronger family bonds. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved, proving that many hands indeed make light work, and add a lot of laughter along the way.

So, armed with this context, you might now have a clearer guess. When it was finally our turn for the fall work day, there was no hesitation. We proudly brought out cans of White Behr Paint, specifically chosen for our extensive trim, along with an abundance of brushes (a little tip: did you know dollar stores often carry brushes that are surprisingly effective for projects like this, making them incredibly budget-friendly?), and a pile of clean rags. We then lovingly directed our family to the myriad of trim work awaiting their skilled hands, eager to see our cottage transformed.

Conquering the Porch: A Five-Year Primer Predicament

While I absolutely adore our front porch – it’s a quintessential cottage feature that adds so much character to our home – one of its undeniable downsides is the sheer amount of painted wood it requires. In fact, after we added the porch as part of our major garage remodel shortly after moving in, we never actually progressed beyond a single coat of primer. This wasn’t just a few months ago; umm, that would be five years ago.

Did you know that primer, if not promptly sealed with a protective layer of paint, will meticulously peel off year after year? We certainly learned that valuable, albeit frustrating, lesson. Not just once, but like, three times. The other two years, in a shameful confession I can hardly believe I’m making public, we simply resigned ourselves to leaving it peeling. We just couldn’t seem to muster the motivation to get past the laborious scraping of the previous year’s primer and then re-priming everything, all before the unpredictable Pacific Northwest weather would inevitably turn against us. The cycle of peeling and procrastination felt endless.

But then, the miracle of family work day arrived. After my lovely family, armed with brushes and a collective determination, dedicated a couple of hours to the task, the porch now literally glows. Its clean, peel-free paint makes it look brand new, finally protected and pristine. And honestly, words genuinely cannot describe the profound sense of joy and relief I feel when I gaze upon it. It’s more than just paint; it’s the culmination of years of waiting, finally brought to fruition by the generous spirit of our family. Can a person’s heart truly dance? Mine certainly does every time I step onto that porch.

The French Doors and Other Primed Predicaments

After having just confessed our five-year struggle with the porch primer, I suppose it’s only fair to admit that a remarkably similar situation unfolded with the beautiful French doors we added to the dining room. These doors, with their numerous panes and intricate frames, are another feature that demands a significant amount of time and patience to paint properly. And just like the porch, they, too, had been stuck in a state of perpetually primed, yet unpainted, limbo.

Did you know that primed surfaces are incredibly difficult to wipe clean from everyday messes like dog mud and inevitable fingerprints? Yes, we learned that the hard way, too. The porous nature of primer meant that every smudge seemed to become a permanent fixture, adding another layer of frustration to our ongoing painting saga. Somehow, I think we all could have navigated life quite nicely without acquiring these particular lessons about the practical downsides of unfinished primed wood.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: High Peaks and Arbors

Does your home feature challenging high peaks or other hard-to-reach areas that normally require ladders, scaffolding, and a significant amount of courage? How about simply sending a capable brother-in-law to tackle it for you! Having extra hands, especially those willing to climb to dizzying heights, makes all the difference in accelerating project completion and ensuring every corner is beautifully finished.

Throughout the day, everyone commented on the excellent quality and thickness of the Behr paint we chose. This was particularly perfect for the extensive trim work. Its consistency meant it didn’t drip as much when reaching up to paint those high spots, and it offered fantastic coverage with fewer coats. This small detail significantly contributed to the overall efficiency and satisfaction of the day’s work.

And when, by some incredible feat of efficiency, you actually run out of primary areas to paint? That’s the perfect opportunity to tackle another long-standing project! What an immense blessing it was to not only complete all the intricate trim painting but also to get our garden arbors beautifully finished. These are tasks that, left to our own devices, would undoubtedly have lingered on our list until next summer, or even beyond. Yet, thanks to the collective effort and incredible teamwork of our family, all these diverse projects were completed in a single, remarkably productive day!

Embrace the Tradition: A Priceless Investment

I’m telling you – this family work day concept is an absolutely brilliant idea. It’s an innovative and heartwarming approach to managing home maintenance and improvement projects that offers benefits far beyond just ticking items off a to-do list. It’s an investment in family bonds, shared accomplishments, and invaluable memories. Do whatever you can to make it work for you and your loved ones!

I simply must leave you with this charming picture of Brian, our family’s designated painter, perfectly channeling some laid-back southern papa vibes. He consistently cracks me up with that particular straw hat! Here in the Pacific Northwest, one might expect a classic cowboy hat, but he clings stubbornly and adorably to his distinctive little straw hat. It’s these small, personal touches that truly make these family work days so special and memorable.

And see that can of paint next to him? By the end of our incredibly productive day, it was completely empty. Every single piece of trim on our cottage was painted, restored, and gleaming. Whoo, hoo! It was a day of hard work, yes, but also a day filled with laughter, camaraderie, and the immense satisfaction of transforming our home together.

Update: You can go here to see the fully painted cottage and appreciate the final transformation.