The House Project List for 2015

This is a very good idea.

Assignment #2 of The January Cure by Apartment Therapy is to make a list of ALL the things you want to get done round and about the house this year.

I've already identified a few large projects I want to accomplish this year. (Those are in different colours below.) This list, however, is supposed to more comprehensive and more detailed. I debated about whether to include things to clean: but I decided I would just because that makes the list more useful to me. I intend to tackle the cleaning chores as we "Cure" each area they belong in.

I don't expect you to read this. Not all the way through. Heavens. It is a great for me, though, 'cause it's all here and won't overwhelm me the way a paper list would.

The timeline for this is loose, though I suppose it should be for the year. I just completed the bulk of my "Summer 2013 To Do List" with the kitchen refresh--so a year and a half sounds about right. I've transferred the left over items from that list to this one, so this one now officially replaces it.

Outside:

I want to plant flowering perennials that will survive zone 3. For the front, I have small flowering shrubs in mind. That may be too ambitious. We have a few hostas growing. That may be all we can do besides some cedar which I may or may not want. (Ferns are too water intensive.)

I just want a few small shrubs to hide the ugly foundation.

For the sunny back yard, I just want a lovely "tapestry" type hedge along the fence. I may delay these plans for the summer of 2016, however, as I really want to get the debt paid down rather than spending the money on plants.

Front Entryway:

From the stairs, looking back towards the front door.

• Fix the light fixture. I just replaced the lightbulbs and it isn't working. I think either the wires inside the fixture are loose (it's been acting up ever since I took it down to spray paint it) or the wires connecting it to the junction box are loose. I need a tool to figure out which it is. I replaced the fixture entirely, but wasn't sure how I liked it, so I never posted it. I think I should.

• Clean the rug.Instead, I replaced it. Housekeeping Challenge Day 5: Company's Coming.

• Wash the wall  Done, not posted.

• Paint the wall. (Part of the ORC challenge which starts April 2nd.) Done, not posted.

Back Hallway:

• Remove popcorn ceiling Day 8&9

• Paint walls Be Gone, Yellow-Green!
• Paint doors (4) Inspired by Dressers All Dressed Up.
• Paint trim Inspired by Dressers All Dressed Up
• Clean out dresser done, not posted.
• Paint the dresser--or just the top? We made a new top! Makeover Magic: The Back Hallway, Before and After.

Stairwell:

I taped out the dimensions of a mirror we have. Then I realised I had to do something about the wall colour first!

• New light fixture? (Problem is the same one as above, only I didn't spray paint a thing! done, not yet installed. 
• 
  
• Sand stairs done
• Stain stair treads a "medium brown?" painted instead
• Paint risers white done

• Find, buy and install runner? no.

• Sand handrail. done
• Stain handrail (black/ebony?) stained badly. Needs to be redone.

• Put up mirrors? no.
• Sew new curtains for window 
• Make or buy and install screen for window. (summer breezes!)

• Edit bookshelves done. Minimalism and Me. Decluttering.
• Paint bookshelves done.

Coat closet:

• Install a hook for the step ladder

Living Room:

• Put another coat of wax on the coffee table Done. Project Day.
• Declutter dvds, done, not posted.
• Wash slipcover Done in April. Put it back on in August. Housekeeping Challenge Day 7: Not the End
• Mend the cover sheet on the slipcover. Done.
• repot cacti with better soil mix. Done. (It died anyway.)

Dining Room/Home office:

• Hem curtains (Hung the pole higher.)

• Edit bookshelves. Done. Took down shelves over the desk, a bookcase and re-stocked and re-styled the Expedit. Styling the Bookshelves.

• Declutter papers, files, office drawers, command centre.
  
  
• I completely overhauled the dining room/Home Office during 2015. The end result (and a conversation about the process) is in this post from April 2016.

Kitchen:

Chris made me this lovely pull out shelf where the old wooden cutting board used to be. It fell apart when I removed it last summer to paint the cabinets. It's a great place to put the cookbook when I'm cooking--but it needs some protection!

• Clean oven  Done. Scenes from the Kitchen Cure
• Clean fridge Done. Scenes from the Kitchen Cure
• Touch up cabinets
• Paint and finish pull-out board. Done.
• purchase glass door to the back door landing (again, one of those things I may put off until the debt is paid off.)
• Put up hook for pendant light cord by plug in. 

Downstairs Bathroom 

• Clean grout (replace?)
• replace caulking around tub done.
• repaint
• make hole for fan bigger or buy a better fan. Chris made a bigger hole. We still have moisture problems.
• figure out why the toilet isn't flushing properly and fix it.
• Prime ceiling boards with shellac based primer and repaint. Chris did this for me: knots are still bleeding through.

Upstairs bathroom:

• Wash walls done.
• Remove wire shelving? done.
• Remove clog in toilet plumbing We bought a new toilet! 

Bedroom:

• Edit Clothes. AT Closet Cure in September.  Assignment #2, Assignment #3
• Purge magazines Done! Scenes from the Weekend: The Bedroom Cure
• Get a longer extension cord for the closet light Done. Project Day

Basement Laundry Room/Pantry area:

• Clean and organize pantry Done. The Pantry: At Last and Experimenting on my Face
• Reconfigure area between the sewer stack and the stairs (pictured above). done, not posted.
• Hang curtain?
• Wash stairs Done. Comings and Goings
• Paint stairs and retack stair mats

Other:

1. Declutter and organize the following areas:

• Christmas and Holiday items. (Under the basement stairs, china cabinet, basement shelves.) I want to get this done this month. I am committing to spending at least 15 minutes a day on it--except for days when I work more than six hours. The Christmas Decorations are done. Christmas Decorations Tidied.

• Basement storage and recyclable area.

2. Sell/Donate the boxes of books in the garage. Mostly done, not posted.

3. Begin the process to wire the house properly.



Whew. I was wrong. It is overwhelming--no matter where I write it down!

May Goals: Anti-Procrastination Project Month

The goal: It is June 1st and I am a master of my To Do list, I am calm and content and ready to look forward to the summer with a clean slate.

Several things came together.

Firstly, I found a list of projects I put together in September of 2012. Although decluttering the basement meant I was able to put a check mark beside several of them, many, many more remain.

Secondly, as the Fundamentals class draws to a close, I've been discussing how to capture my on-going projects (make a list) and then how to remember to do them (review that list). I can make lists 'til the cows come home: where the system fails is in my review of the things which need doing. Quite simply, I don't. So, I hauled them all out to see what was what.

I thought I might focus on four projects this month--one a week. Then, I realised that would not be enough. I really need to get out from under all these nagging to-dos.

Thirdly, Tsh of Simple Mom devoted the entire month of April to various projects. Unfortunately, I only found out about it last week or I would have participated more fully.

The last project for the month, is, as she put it, that put-off project. You know, the one you are always putting off. I started looking around for such projects--and I did not have to look far.

My dining room table is sporting at least three projects all by itself.

The dresser in the back hallway? Well, that's the contents of the top drawer all over it. (There's more on the kitchen table.)

I came up with 35 projects that I have been procrastinating--some for a few days, some a few years. One is major (paint the backyard fence) but more than 13 of them can be done in 1/2 hour or less.

Of course, you realise that all of this is in addition to building and insulating a wall in the basement with my husband this week and painting all the shelves.

This:

 

 

is now this:

 

sometimes I think it's a miracle this house is still standing

 



As well, there are other garden related tasks which must be done this month too, if we're to take full advantage of our short growing season.

Oh, and I am already behind in my Clean and Simple Class at Big Picture. I need to catch up and stay caught up with that, too.

So, my plan is to blog every day in May about at least one project done.

Done! Crossed off. Check marked. Completed.

I have forty to choose from. Let's see if I can do it.

The Little To Do List: Summer 2012

Since I wrote the Winter To Do List, priorities have changed. The biggest by far, of course, is the fact that we're now focussed on getting out of debt as quickly as possible. As a result, anything I want to do has to be able to be done with whatever we already have on hand: or with minimal expenditure. So, the list is full of littles (and one big).

Curiously, the Nester recently crafted a small post on how satisfying it was to her to get the little things done. I hope she's right. I tend to prefer the adreneline rush of a big project, though.

I have big projects in mind, too. I'd love to repaint the kitchen, the dining room, the living room, and the master bedroom. I want to slipcover our couch, beef up the bookcases and finish trimming out the livingroom, properly. For that matter I want to redo our hardwood floors, sand and restain the stairs, finish insulating the basement and rewire the house. And, more than any of that, I want to take my family to Europe before the oldest turns 18 (in four short years!) So, this list, in the context of the real big list right here is "little."

So, without further ado, here we are:

Living Room:

The Rocking Chair. Embarrassing, actually.

--Slipcover the rocking chair

--Turn Ritva curtains in living room from hidden tab tops to pinch pleated drapes. Hem them. Put trim on leading edge.

--Sew zipper on pillow
done! May 31:
William Morris and Four Small Projects.


Kitchen:

--Paint second coat on baseboards behind stove.

Back Hallway:

Enjoying a bit of a neutral look for now.

--Paint the back hallway (grellow) to match the front hallway, BM Edgecomb Grey (already on hand).

--Finish painting trim and doors BM Cloud White. (Mostly on hand)

--Scrape "popcorn" off of ceiling.

--Decoupage the dresser top. I had been thinking of painting the old IKEA melamine workhorse (above). I've collected all sort of images to pinterest and I've been thinking about all sorts of cool colours. Then, I saw this:

addicted to decorating

The damage on my dresser is confined to the top--and a little bit around the holes for the hardware for the top drawer, that's all. I have scrapbook paper and modge podge (and acrylic sealer, too.) I'm thinking about it.

Downstairs Bath:
--Paint trim, ceiling and door.
done! Though not all at once--or even in the same month!
William Morris and The Bathroom

--Sew window shade.
I made curtains instead.
The Bathroom Curtains

Master Bedroom:

--Make a drop cloth slipcover for the love seat.

--Move my curtain brackets further away from the frame, and put them at the same height! Iron and hang curtains.

Outside:

This is really an annual thing, but we only planted the boxes for the first time last year, so it still feels new. Hubby and I have to:

--Plan what to grow where.
done.

--Dig out the even numbered beds and add compost.
done!

Those are my tulips coming up ever so slowly. I have to transplant them in order to use this bed for vegetables. Not sure when or how to do that!

--For the front flower pots, I think I'll just plant yellow pansies this year.
done!

My house has been my hobby for a long time. May be too long? I don't know. But, I ant to finish up these projects as quickly as possible and see how I feel. I will be antsy, I will  have itchy patches and I ill want to scratch. The question for me is: do I want the scratching to continue to look like decorating and organizing--or something else?

I'll keep you posted.

PS: I'm working on something special for a final wrap up of the Spring Cleaning project. Hopefully, I'll have it together, soon!

Finish It Up Friday

Yeah, OK, it's Saturday, but whatever.

My Big To-Do's this weekend have to do with getting the newsletter and Christmas Cards out and preparing for the Big Shop on Tuesday. Here's the list:

Cards:
1) Finish editing Christmas newsletter and print.
2) Stuff envelopes with newsletter, photos and cards.
3) Address and stamp cards.
4) Buy Christmas stamps.

Food:
5) Plan Christmas eve menu
6) Plan New Year's Menu
7) Plan all the other meals for December
8) Do the pantry and freezer inventory

General:
9) File papers on desk
9a) Take action on anything needing it.



Looking Forward:
10) Purchase scrapbook calendar for project
11) Start gathering supplies for Science Experiments

Depends on Hubby:
12) Take down cement board
13) Cut and install backerboard
14) Plan tile layout

Fun:
15) Go to the Festival of Trees.

Target Date for Completion: Monday.

The Daily Housekeeping Report:

Make Bed: Yes. And I got the bright idea to take the kleenex I've been picking up off the floor for the past three days to the closed bathroom garbage instead of putting them back in the bedroom garbage basket. Dratted dog.

Dishes:
Last night, no.
Today? My son did a load. He's re-washing it. Then, I'll step in and finish up.

Laundry: folded one, transferred one, started one.

Pick up and put away: As well as I was able.

Swish and swipe: down, yes. up, yes!

Review Calendar, make to do list: yes!

One Essential Task: (Print off newsletters): in progress.

November Goals.

First and foremost, I'll be planning and preparing Christmas for the family. I want to keep it really low-scale this year: but I want to make sure our time together is planned and deliberate. For example, I have to put "skating" or "sledding" on the calendar--or it won't happen! This way, I can also plan to have hot chocolate and maybe a cookie or two on hand when we get back! Stuff like that.

As for house projects, I'm torn between not wanting to take on too much--and to take on everything that's been nagging at me and just get 'er done!

To keep this easy to follow, I'm going to break this down by room.

First up: The Horrid Bath.

You could call this Bathroom month there's so much to do in there! But let's not.

1. Repair the wall.

2. Tile tub and shower area.
Thanks for all your input on that! I've decided to forgo the black tile: but now I'm wondering if I should use white bullnose to finish things off around the edges. I'll have to see if that'll be easy to get or not.

3. Faucet. (above)
It leaks. We need to fix it.

4. Enlarge exterior hole for larger exhaust fan vent egress. (This would be a project for Daedalus (my husband, not his real name) but he doesn't have a clue about what's involved (neither do I!) --so we're not sure how exactly to proceed with this one.)

5. Paint wooden ceiling planks white.
Not only do we have a dropped ceiling in the shower area--but we have one over the sink and toilet, too. It is currently outfitted in short pine planks. (It's hiding the exhaust fan and ventilation tubes.)

Yes, the bathroom really is that small.

Living Room:

1. Finish re-sizing slipcover.



2. Hang curtains from clips and rings and hem.

3. Spray paint lamp, find new harp and lampshade.

Kitchen:

1. Finish stenciling.

2. Sew cafe curtain #2.

3. Hang some black and white plates.

4. Reframe duck needlepoint.

Finally, I know what I want to do with it! I just hope I can find the frame I want.

Basement:

Get wrapping station ready.

Yes, there is a table in there somewhere.

Exterior: Put up storm windows.
Interior: Put up plastic for extra insulation on interior windows on second floor.

Oh, there's more I could list, but I won't. That's plenty!

Decluttering and Project Report for October

"murdered pumpkin" in leaves, plastic, wood and metal.

The most surprising thing to me about keeping house during the 31 day blogging project was how much time it took. Doing the routines themselves wasn't too bad. Taking pictures for the posts and editing them were time consuming on some days, but not on others. Writing the blog entry took time. A lot of time. I mean how many ways can you talk about the same thing over and over again? (It turns out the answer is 31.)

But the project as a whole did not leave me a lot of time for decluttering or getting things done on my project list. Still, looking this over, I managed to get a fair bit done what with hosting Thanksgiving and a family Birthday party for my newly minted fourteen year old son.

The Project List: (from this post)

1. Finish slipcover
2. Finish the kitchen cabinet project: doors back up, hardware cleaned and back on.
3. Insulate and construct wall in basement
4. Paint son's room.

Optional:
1. Stencil soffit in Kitchen
2. Sew cafe curtains for Kitchen.
3. Paint window trim in Kitchen.

Kitchen projects:

I'd started painting my kitchen cabinets. I finished them--and I did the window trim. I love the brightness!

I couldn't resist starting the other two "optional" projects too.

I've painted most of the soffit with a stencil I found free on the web. That took an enormous amount of time and it's still not done. I have to stand almost completely motionless on the counter and it is very hard on my feet.

What do you think? It looks a bit "off" somehow to me--does it seem that way to you? Any suggestions? I am thinking of painting the bottom cabinets a deep dark teal blue--would that restore some balance?

I managed to sew one curtain for the kitchen. Have yet to do the other.



Laundry Room Wall:
The basement was completely my husband's "staycation" project. He worked leisurely and almost finished.

Left of the sewer stack before:


Now:


Right of the sewer stack before:


Now:



Slipcover:
The slipcover will have to be put on November's list of projects, I'm afraid. Actually fear is the reason it will now appear on its third monthly To Do list. I will have to cut the fabric--and once that's done, there's no going back. Perhaps the third time's the charm to undo the paralysis.

My Son's Room:
When I mentioned painting his room to my son a few days before I'd planned to start, he told me he didn't want me to paint it red and blue. He said, "I thought we were just talkin'" As money is tight, I didn't really like the colours chosen and I was up to my eyeballs in work already, I let it go. He doesn't like change--that's all it is--and it's OK.

There was one spontaneous shelf paper project in the kitchen just before Thanksgiving

I also worked on two unplanned projects in the dining room.

1. I lengthened my curtains. (Outstanding from the summer project list.)

2. I installed lights over my desk.

Decluttering:

As for my decluttering I did take time during the 31 days to do the seasonal clothing switcheroo. Here's the donation pile.



I also purged old tablecloths from a drawer in this dresser while searching for my table linens for Thanksgiving.

I snapped a picture of everything on the floor but I didn't notice there wasn't a card in the camera until I was finished.

I was ruthless. So ruthless, in fact, that when I went to set the table for my son's birthday, I had only my winter snowflake vinyl tablecloth. I had purged the all because my (new to me)kitchen table is round--which is where I usually use the vinyl--except, of course, for birthdays.

There was one other small bit of decluttering. I decided I could get rid of a few books and dvds from the shelves over my desk including one with the title: "Everything that Linguists Have Wanted to Know about Logic (but were ashamed to ask.)" It's obviously a book I purchased while I was in University--and I kept it because I thought the title would impress anyone who saw it on my shelves.

Are you impressed?

Good. I can let it go now.

And that my dears was that. A fairly productive month, I'd say. I'll be making my plans for November, soon.

Welcome October!

From my Fall mantle.

September was a fantastic month! I worked with my son on decluttering his room--he did so well!

We also transformed the laundry room. It is amazing how differently the place feels! I'm hoping for the same effect upstairs this month.

I have lots of things planned for this month, but, first and foremost, my focus is on establishing habits and daily routines to keep my house clean. That's what the 31 days series is all about and why I'm committed to blogging about it everyday.

That said, there are a number of projects in progress I don't want to drop--as well as two doozies planned. Throw in Thanksgiving and my son's fourteenth birthday--and we'll have what is often the busiest month of the year around here.

In Progress:
(sounds so much nicer than "left-overs"....)

The slipcover for the couch. This involves cutting and resewing a slipcover I purchased for the sofa two years ago. I just need the courage to cut it and get on with it already!

The kitchen cabinets. I'm painting them from yellow to white. Almost done! Can't wait to show you that one. I'm very nervous about it. Have I painted out all the charm in my kitchen?

At least the model is charming! This is where we are at this morning. Yep, that's all the cabinets.

I think I have to resist the urge to take on two other kitchen related projects; a) to create (or buy and use) a stencil for the soffitt, and b) to sew up some fabulous cafe curtains. (I can see them in my mind's eye. I want to make them real!!)


A piece of old sheet looks very simple and pure...and kind of like a piece of old sheet. Ugh. And looking at this, I have to get that trim painted!

New Projects.
The doozies. Hubs is on vacation from October 16th to the 22nd. We had originally planned to take that time to fix the wall and tile the bath tub area in the bathroom.

We also planned to insulate and construct another wall in the basement laundry room.

However, last night as we sat down and discussed this, we realised he has another week of vacation coming up in November. That's the time to do the bathroom. Whew. I am greatly relieved.

I will however, take the time to make good on a promise to paint my son's room red and blue. I'm very anxious about it--it is not what I would choose to do--but it really isn't my room.

So:
1. Finish slipcover
2. Finish the kitchen cabinet project: doors back up, hardware cleaned and back on.
3. Insulate and construct wall in basement
4. Paint son's room.

Optional:
1. Stencil soffit in Kitchen
2. Sew cafe curtains for Kitchen.
3. Paint window trim in Kitchen.

As well, there are several seasonal items which I will do: Aby Garvey at Simplify 101 has conveniently placed them all on a printable checklist.

This completes item #1: Set your goals for the month.

Mid-Month Progress Report

I just want to take a minute and absorb the fact that there are a full two weeks of September left. I do not have to panic.

Here are where things stand project-wise:

1. Finish re-sizing slip cover for the couch.

I have torn apart all the seams and washed all the pieces to within an inch of their life. Now, I need to lay it on the couch and start pinning, cutting and sewing. Probably start on Tuesday.

2. Finish the basement project

• insulate and seal wall done!
  
• put up wall board done!
  
• paint dresser it went to the curb. Instead, I bought and painted GORM
  
• paint folding table done!
  
• repair or buy new hampers we bought new ones.

3. Paint Master Bedroom

I don't think I am going to do this. I'm really not sure I want to paint it the colour I purchased. I think I'd rather use the paint in the hallways instead. (It's the same colour of paint I used for the front hall, Benjamin Moore's Edgecomb Grey.) The hallway is a massive project though.

What I will do, though, is paint my kitchen cabinets. I want to paint the upper cabinet frame and doors white. That's all. The weather is supposed to be beautiful again this week with unseasonably high temperatures. Going to take full advantage of that!


See? Five doors. That's it. How hard can it be?

4. Schedule repairs for bathroom wall.

They are scheduled. My husband says he'll get it done on his next round of holidays--a week off in October. (That's also when he's scheduled to put up another new wall in the basement. Cross your fingers.)

So, there we have it.

Not at all overwhelming, really.

The endless long-standing Master To Do list--you know the one last updated in November of 2010?-- it's just making me feel antsy to get it done and out of my life. This article --on staging your home for living-- helped, too.

Welcome September

(taken today.)

I've some fall flowers in the planters this year!
(The trim still isn't painted, though!)

Aby Garvey has a checklist of things to do this month.

I've added a few things to it:

September's Projects:

Finish re-sizing slip cover for the couch.

This is when I first put it on. It took a long time to get it this tight! photo from August 2010

Finish the basement project

• insulate and seal wall
• put up wall board
• paint dresser
• paint folding table
• repair or buy new hampers

Paint Master Bedroom


Schedule repairs for bathroom wall.



Oh-- and I'll be working with each child on their rooms in Aby's course, "Organizing with your Kids." That is a priority!

There's lots more to do--but I really want to keep the list manageable. I can be overwhelmed so easily!

AT Fall Cure: Days 9 & 10

Day 9: Find a New Recipe and Cook Tonight

UPDATE: My husband hated this soup. He asked me for permission to toss it after a couple of days of taking it to work. I let him: and then I tossed the book the recipe came from!

I cook every night. Nonetheless, I found this new recipe to try:

Autumn Celebration Soup
from Canada's Best Slow Cooker Recipes, by Donna-Marie Pye.

1 lb (500g) rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1" (2.5cm) cubes (about 4 cups or 1 L)
1 onion, chopped
1 potato, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 cup (250 ml) chicken stock
1/2 ( 125 ml) cup dry white wine
2 cups (500 ml) water
2 tablespoons (25 ml) brown sugar
2 teaspoons (10 ml) caraway seeds
1 tablespoon( 15 ml) paprika
2 cups (500 ml) milk or light (5%) cream
Sour Cream
Crisp Bacon bits

1. In a slow cooker, combine rutabaga, onion, potato, carrots, stock, wine, water, sugar, caraway seeds, and paprika. Cover and cook on Low for 10 to 12 hours, or on High for 6 to 8 hours, until vegetables are tender.

2. Strain the vegetables, reserving stock. In a blender or food processor, puree vegetables in batches. Transfer back to slow cooker; add reserved stock and milk, Heat on Low for 25 to 30 minutes or until warmed through.

3. Spoon soup into bowls and garnish with dollops of sour cream and a sprinkle of bacon bits.

I will skip Step. 2. (and likely Step 3!) This soup will be put in the fridge and kept all week for my husband to take to work for lunch.

(One of the disadvantages of frozen home made soup stock: takes a while to thaw, even after microwaving it).


Day 10: Make a List of Top Six Home Needs.

I already have a list.

It goes like this:

Daughter's Room:

• Hang curtains
• Sand ceiling
• Find solution for “hole” for Chandelier
• Shorten chandelier
• Buy inserts for organizing desk
• Paint ceiling
• Paint shelves in alcove
• Framing Horse Picture project
  

Laundry Room:

• Paint paneling wall
• Paint small dresser
• Re-hang drying cord
• Re-configure donation station table to hold four laundry baskets.

Upstairs Bathroom:

• build new shelves
• Paint new shelves
• Hang new shelves
• Add decorative bits to new mirror
• Install mirror.

Kitchen:

• Paint upper cabinet frames
• Paint upper cabinet doors
• Wash walls
• Paint walls
• Paint pine shelving?

Back Entry:

• Re-paint boards yellow
• Mount hooks on boards
• Mount boards to wall
• Paint walls and "ceiling."

Basement Storage Area:

• Hang new curtain line (attach to old, somehow?)
• Re-hang curtains

Or does Maxwell mean we ought to make a list of the repairs and structural sort of things we need to do? In which case, there is this list of six things:

1. Replace floor tiles in Kitchen
2. Replace flooring in upstairs bathroom
3. Re-wire house
4. Repair cracks in foundation
5. Insulate walls in Basement
6. Install exhaust fan for stove

Or as he did in the video, does Maxwell mean an off-the-top of your head "Today, this sounds good list?"


1. Purchase and install new bath tub surround.

I have long wanted simple, classic 4x4 black and white tiles here. (All white, with a horizontal strip of black.) Inexpensive and not that difficult to do, assuming the wall is sound.

But, it is never going to happen. It would have to be a DIY to fit within our budget: and given this is our only tub and shower--I can't see it being out of commission for the week (or more) I would need to get it done. I don't know. Maybe I'm just too exhausted by the whole idea.

I'm wondering if hubby and I can give each other a new tub surround (in white) installed for Christmas? Imagine, picking something out in a store: and then having someone else do the work. Wow. What a concept.

2. Spot clean or purchase new living room carpet.
My son is eating in there without permission and when we leave the dog alone, he leaves us "presents." Enough said.

3. Build a headboard for the Master bedroom
This has been on my Cure list for some time!

4. Hang the Photo from Montreal in Living Room

5. Do I really have to come up with something else just to prove a point?

6. Well, I'll consider the point proven. We have lots to do. Anyone who is remotely interested in their space can think of things to do. This cure is not for the likes of me, I think. The Eight step cure has room enough: but not this one. Oh well. I'm getting lots done, aren't I?

The Ultimate Planner

I am taking the Time Management course at Simplify 101. My session is nearly over--though there's another one starting soon.

This class has been challenging, to say the least. As a culmination of the course, as my graduation present, so to speak, I want to put together the ultimate Planner for myself, using what I've learned about time management in Aby's course.

There are many resources for a "Household command" book:

Organized Home has the Household Notebook: Planner for an Organized Home
Perhaps the most famous is Flylady's Control Journal

Then there are the "Mom Binders." These are mega Binders full of everything Mom might need for getting through her day. It is especially popular with homeschoolers.

• From one at Blessed Abundantly: The Home Management Binder
• Starry Sky has her Home Management Journal
• An extraordinarily extensive binder and super clear post (with lots of pictures) from Lizzie's Home: The Home Management Binder
• The Orderly Mom Notebook page has links to other planners as well.
• This Homemaking Journal is colourful.
• The Foss Family Home Companion book is both comprehensive and colourful!

But do I really need all that?
And if I do, do I really want it all in one place?

These binders above are mostly concerned with how to run the home. Nothing wrong with that. But I want my journal/notebook/binder to be focused on how I use my time.

There are essentially three things to capture when it comes to time:


1) Things to do at a certain specific time

• These can be one time events, such as attending a Girl Guide meeting, or
• they can be events for which you need to plan (like a Birthday bash).

2) Things to do later

3) Things someone else will do

4) Things to do regularly, over and over.


1) Tools to capture things to do at a specific time:

a) Calendar which everyone can use and see. This lives on the back of the door in the kitchen. Not too practical in the summer when the door is propped open: but it is BIG and everyone writes on it. Essential.




b) This, however, has a backup. It's something I put together in Aby's Paper Clutter course. (One of the best Simplify 101 classes offered.) It doesn't really have a name. It's a reference Binder: a place to hold Really Important Stuff. For example, my son's scout leader gave us an Agenda for the next few months--places and times they're meeting until Remembrance Day. After I enter all the info onto the wall calendar, I put the papers in this binder.

I could call it the "Ask Me" binder as it is used whenever someone want to double double check the info on the calendar, or someone says, "Hey, where's the soccer game this week?" Or, "When is the next PD day?" and even, "Where's that Scout Potluck this weekend?"

I also have a "Tickler." I use a binder. I put this together in the Time Management class as well.

Inside, I use tabbed dividers labeled 1-31, and monthly dividers, hole punched pockets to hold things like forms and envelopes I need to send in every month to our dental plan for reimbursement, and other things which can't be hole punched. I also use page protectors for smaller items like tickets.

As well, I also have a homeschool planner. That is a post in and of itself (and likely for another blog) but suffice it to say that I have plans in it for each and every subject we study, broken down. I make our plans weekly on a form I designed that captures six days on a two page spread. I love it.


2) Tools to capture things to do later:

In this category, I'm specifically thinking of things which you want to do, which you may need to do, but which do not have clear cut deadlines. For example, decorating the house for Fall. It sort of has a deadline, (I wouldn't want to procrastinate this and miss the season, for example) but whether I go get little gourds from Safeway this week or next doesn't really matter. More importantly, tracking what actions to take in order to move forward on my goals would fall into this category as well.

These are the worst things for me to capture and remember to do.

They need a system:
1) a place to capture these ideas and tasks, like a list in a binder or something
2) a dedicated time to plan when these items will be done

(These may also need boxes or bins to keep items related to the project at hand, for example, if I'm in the process of planning our vacation, I need something in which to capture the brochures, maps and lists of things to pack, for example.)

3) Tools to capture things someone else will do:

This is a toughie. My husband has his own list of things he wants to do in his head. This fall, for example, he wants to sand down one complete window and re-paint it (He wants to do one or two windows per spring and fall, every year), put up eavestroughing on one section of the roof and paint some house trim. I think. I don't know. I'm afraid if I kept track, I'd nag him, and that would NOT be good!

However, I have been wanting to train the children in household tasks and chores (as well as other practical things like teaching them how to change the furnace filter) for a long, long time. So, for now, this is a project. Once it is complete, then I'll have to have a place to keep track of their chores and responsibilities. It could be a clipboard on a wall, it could be a chart on the fridge. We'll have to see.

4) Tools to capture things to regularly, over and over:

The "Mom Notebooks" and "Home Companion" Journals excel at capturing this, I think.
I am in the process of making check lists for me (and my children) with the following headings:

• Morning Routine

(this is posted with a bull clip on the wall in the kitchen at the moment. Clearly, I need a more attractive option!)

• Afternoon Routine
• (After school routine for my daughter who is in public school)
• and Evening Routine.

I make supper every day, of course, and I have the menu planning and shopping thing worked out. The weekly shop for fresh food is being tweaked.

Other than that: what I need are planning sessions. I spoke about this before, but I didn't do it long enough for it to become a habit.

I'm really hung up, though, on whether I want to plan things for the week: or break it down by day. I'd rather do the former: but my "tickler" is set up for me to use every day which has its advantages. But it is a lot of writing and re-writing.

In either case, I need forms.

There are a kajillion at each of these sites:
Donna Young
D-I-Y Planner

How will it all come together?
I have no idea.
Stay tuned.....