My Things To Do lists are pretty legendary in our family. I make these crazy long lists of what I want to get done and everyone jokes about the time frame because what I tend to expect to complete everything quickly.
I’ve adjusted my expectations the last few years, but I still make lists that make my husband and children wince. I’ve found that they really help me focus a lot, though. By seeing everything in writing, I don’t wander around wondering what to do next or forget something really important. It also helps when I only have a small window to work on something, I can look at my list and see what I could get done in that amount of time, or when the weather is favorable for outside work.
I made one of those legendary lists last week, and in the midst of a very busy week – with soccer games and dance classes, homeschooling and appointments, meal prep and general “keep the house functioning” work, I got a lot done!
- Paint window hardware discs black (those little things my husband made to fill the gap between the window opening hardware and the countertop).
- Paint front porch posts
- Paint front porch step risers
- Order floor stain/oil
- Clean out goat shed
- Mow path in the field
- Fix the dog bed (she chewed some of the stuffing out)
- Harvest herbs
- Order laptop for Zach (school)
- Seal the wood shelves for the dining room side cabinet
- Clean up the front garden bed
And then there was the really big one – sand down and refinish the floors – and we tackled that this weekend. We were able to get the kitchen and dining room done, but not the living room because we couldn’t just leave the house – we had to work around seven people, one dog and four cats and meals and snacks. It was interesting. Now we’re walking around on paper paths until the oil dries completely, hopefully only one more day. We had a couple of areas that resisted the new floor color and finish, so we’ll have to go back and fix those later, but I love the rich color we have now.
The new deeper floor color is making us revisit our paint choices for the walls. All the cabinets will be white, and the window trim is the same white. The wall color we were going to use is a warm white though, and I’d rather go with a cooler color. I’ve been pondering color chips for the last few days and my eyes are tired. It needs to be not only in the kitchen, but also in the dining room because they’re mostly one big space. The rooms are north facing and never get any direct light, but the light changes depending on the time of day and the season – right now we have a beautiful warm yellow glow coming from the fall leaves that are changing.
I’m adding “pick paint color” to my list. That way I’ll feel even better once I have it figured out. I’m also adding “process green peppers”. We were gifted 2 bags of peppers over the weekend and I need to get them in the freezer before they spoil.
Do you write down your “To Do” lists? What are you working on this week?