I moved to a new house in November and the outside of the house and the lot is literally a blank slate. Every time I pull into my driveway, I’m greeted by…well, nothing. No flower beds, no shrubs, no house numbers, not even a mailbox. She has absolutely no curb appeal at all. A blank space waiting to be transformed.
One of the things you don’t think about when you have a new house is that you need a mailbox. My mailbox can’t be placed on the street and since the winter made it harder to dig a hole for the post, I decided to use a large container filled with concrete and put my mailbox in that (post office suggestion). It seemed like the perfect temporary fix—sturdy, practical, and something I could later incorporate into a front garden bed. I’ve obviously put that off.
Today, I started looking for the perfect container but was immediately sidetracked by the shrubs, the flowers, the outdoor lights—all the things I know I’ll want. I didn’t find the perfect container today, but I did realize that I needed to take a step back.
It took everything I had to leave the Home Depot parking lot pretty much empty-handed. (I did buy my splash guards for the gutters). As I sat in my car in the parking lot, resisting the urge to impulse-buy an entire yard’s worth of decor, I realized I was about to make the same mistake I always warn my clients about when they start a website project. I was ready to push forward and get what I wanted, rather than figuring out if what I wanted would actually work in my space.
I’ve always, ALWAYS told clients that we need to start with strategy and planning. I tell them that because it helps us to figure out our goals, what job each page should have, and how all of the internal and third party tools should work together.
The blank slate can be very overwhelming, and a good strategy session can start a project off on the right foot. Whether it’s a website or a front yard, a clear plan makes all the difference. And just like my website projects, I know that patience and strategy now will save me from wasted time and resources–and extra work–down the road.
