Every summer I make a list of what needs to be done. Usually these are in order according to priority, i.e. getting Danie and Jessi out of the same room or clearing out the dense jungle in the backyard so my neighbors won't stop talking to me (only the ones I like). Now my list has always been MY list. The importance of it for some reason is only seen by me therefore getting anything done takes great negotiation skills and sometimes bribery. Bribery is something I have learned through the years works very well but has to be used sparingly or the affect of it is lost. My negotiation skills are nowhere near as masterfully cunning as my husbands so I always have to be very careful how I word things for fear I have agreed to some unknown hunting trip or a new motorcycle just to get Danie's room done.
My list for this summer was about the same as it is for every summer. Some of the items that are on the list have been on my refrigerator since we moved in 8 years ago...yes, our life is a constant work in progress. Here is my list for this summer:
1. Sand and stain (dark chocolate) front porch...
This has been on my list for a number of years but always gets forgotten
whether its because I don't feel like putting forth the effort or it rains a lot.
This summer Ryan actually came up with the idea of extending the mini-
porch all the way to the garage hence the lack of staining action.
2. Finish Danie's room...
Last summer Ryan and his dad turned our "3 seasons" room into a bedroom.
What was supposed to take a few days was never finished for lack of time and
money. When they removed the paneling they realized they had to take
it down to the studs and start over. I'm hoping it will be finished by 2010.
3. Go through kids clothes and finish laundry...
Sounds easy enough right? I have a horrible habit of washing the clothes as
needed then the rest pile up. The kids put their clothes (and whatever else
they don't feel like putting away) down the chute in the bathroom which ends
up in the dirty clothes room. Labeled this because that is all it is used for.
There is a shower and toilet but they are non-functioning. After much pulling
and prying out of the chute they end up on the floor where I "sort" them.
If they aren't needed right away they are on the floor for an indeterminate
amount of time. I have been known to wash sweaters in the summer...and not
because it was cold out. After they are sorted I take them 4 steps over to the
laundry room where after lovingly stain checked, washed and dried they are
thrown into a basket. This basket is then put in my room (which is 1 step
away from the laundry and dirty clothes room) and left to sit until someone
says "Mom I don't have anything to wear." Needless to say I always have
good intentions to finish everything up but once I open the door I realize it
is much easier to just shut it and walk away!
4. Plant beautiful flowers in the front yard...
We bought our home from one of the top members of the BG flower club,
(or something like that) so you would think or yard would be a color
bonanza. Unfortunately they took all the good stuff with them. What was
left I probably dug up because I thought it was a weed. My friend Kirsty had
a fantastic secret concoction for massive plant growth on her blog that I used
on my few plants and it worked wonderfully. I envisioned bountiful flowers
and neighbors staring in awe at my gorgeous yard. First you have to
plant more than just groundcover for this to happen. I mean well but hate
getting dirty. Then there's the whole bugs and sweating factors thrown in.
Just not my idea of a good time.
5. Paint the girls rooms...
The last time I painted the girls rooms was when Jessi was in kindergarten
and Danie was in 3rd. That was 6 years ago. Jessi is no longer into
the brightest hot pink you have ever seen (just drive down our street and
you'll know which house is ours) and Megy (who has Danie's old room)
hates lilac. The plan was that Danie's room would be finished, we'd get her stuff
out, put Jessi's stuff in the middle of the room and after 15 layers of primer
I would paint it a beachy sea foamy blue. Since Danie's room is a continued
work in progress and she has more stuff then our whole family put together,
there will be no painting for awhile. I could probably do Megy's room but
once I start painting I want to paint everywhere.
6. Strip hallway/foyer wallpaper...
We have this perfectly harmless cream/pastel wallpaper in our foyer/hallway
that is shiney and for some unknown reason only bothers me when I am
walking in the front door. It's probably about 15 years old and I am assuming it
should come down easy enough because it is peeling off rather nicely on its own.
My reason for not doing this goes back to the whole paint thing. If I'm going to
end up painting I want to do it all at once.
7. Clean out the basement...
When we first moved in the basement had paneled walls and a painted cement
floor with a bar. We intended on fixing it up and having it be a family room on
one side and out bedroom on the other. Now it is 95% carpeted with the rest
linoleum and the paneled walls were sprayed with splattery stuff and painted
a terra cotta (brick red). It has ended up being my husband's domain and our
dogs hideout. It is very dark and cave like to me because of the original
drop-ceiling lighting. Also stuff tends to pile up. If I am cleaning upstairs and
have nowhere to put something I tell the kids to go put it on the bar or poker
table. The couch is the first one we bought for probably $300 that we thought
was a fortune. It is well past its expiration date and if I could actually move it
would have been at the curb the last unlimited pick up.
Now that we have seen a portion of my list, (yes there are many many more things) lets talk about what has actually been done.
1. Ryan put 3 newish cabinets (they've been sitting in our garage for a few years) in the kitchen so I could get better organized before school starts. I now have 4 different cabinet door fronts so we like to call it my "display kitchen". I don't care because it is much more functional.
2. I have de-flead (yes this is an actual term, if not it is now) my house at least 4 times this summer. This includes massive amounts of vacuuming which if you know me then you know it's right up there with laundry folding.
3. Ryan made our yard presentable which is a lot more than I did.
4. I made a huge dent in my clothes pile in the dirty clothes room by transferring a large portion of it to the laundry room and bags for Goodwill. Still there but in a different room...oh well, at least it looks smaller.
If you will notice, my to do list is much larger than my done list and they do not match up in the least. I look at my to do list as an outline of what could be done to get me rolling. Well, at least that's the excuse I'm using this summer!
