Get It Done Weekly Challenge

mothernerd

Include some physiotherapy exercises and some warm up activity (possibly housework) each day. Limit time up ladders.

SMALL BEDROOM
1) Check curtains (put up last week after painting and papering but been in cupboard for a while - spritzed them and hoping creases will fall out).
2) Finish laying carpet (off cut from mum's room of doom - only 2 small bits + screw down doorstrip, possibly add tacks at window wall) Only difficulty is getting down to floor level - and back up again:rotfl:.
3) Repair/ improve bed - doesn't need to be perfect but it has a crack and I can either make it useable again or it will fall apart. I may need to sleep in it mid-month (hosting DS3's gf's birthday).
3a) (NMJ- not my job) DS3 to move bed back into small bedroom (may need to wait till DS1 comes round - solid wooden bed, needs wrestling into place)
4) Make up the bed and 'room set' (ready for selling - anything necessary to be hidden in wardrobe and cupboards).

OUTSIDE AT THE BACK
5) Replace damaged piece of guttering - logically this comes first. however have already spent most of a day trying to tackle the job and only finding more jobs - see 6 - 11. May skip, especially as will need another pair of hands for part of it. (NB only on french windows - not house level)
6) U/c fascia board
7) 'Gloss' fascia board - have found matt exterior paint (for beams) which will make it 'disappear'.
8) Touch up wall with masonry paint - have taken off the flaking bits. Found half a can at mum's and it may be easier to go over bare bits than strip off the paint that isn't flaking. (De-cluttering mum's is an ongoing project).
9) Clean french windows, kitchen and side (leaving the front as they need the big steps).
10) Break up thin cracked concrete (roughly 10' x 2'). Thought there were slabs underneath, but no.
11) Dig out, lay weed suppressant fabric and fill in with stone chippings (from elsewhere in thee garden).

OUTSIDE AT THE FRONT
12) Fill green bin with weeds - started on Saturday so shouldn't take long. Priority job as bin is emptied Tuesday.
13) Plant hollies - potted up at Christmas, was going to take them with me but need to fill in the gaps and use what I have (big jobs - DPC, crises - under bath leak brought down half the kitchen ceiling and ill health have left me less than broke).
14) Lay weed suppressant fabric and remaining 2 bags of bark.
15) Fill red containers with soil and bulbs. (I gave them to mum, she painted them red, her garden was broken into 3 times last weekend and I was asked if I wanted anything from the vandalised greenhouse before it goes to partner's grand-daughter's - luckily I took all the pots/ bulb bowls before Christmas as they would have been smashed too).
16) Add home grown lavenders - cuttings from past 2 years, now big enough to go back as path edging.

ADDITIONAL JOBS/ CHALLENGES
17) Learn 3 new bits on the computer - have had laptop for over a year and don't know what lots of the twiddly bits do (struggled for years with old computer which didn't even let me have my e-mails some weeks).
18) Front room - back up in case it is too wet for outside jobs. All the seedlings are now outside so large bay window (plant nursery since January) needs cleaning, sanding and varnishing. Tiny paint job on wall (soil/ water splashes). Then prepare for laying laminate flooring (couldn't move more than 3 pieces a day and only managed to move sofa a few feet).
19) DS3's room - this will be next week's big job but he needs to be awake (he's mainly nocturnal) and co-operative. Little stair mender (DS3's friend) was in residence last week and gf (+ at least 2 friends but I have said we can accommodate more - big meeting in city, people already asking for places to 'crash' overnight) on 19th (gf may be coming for longer - she has booked time off work). Room is tidy from previous efforts (once surface rubbish/ pots and pizza boxes are removed) but we need to go through things to see what can be thrown (I don't know what a lot of them are). Aim is to move with as little as possible - last move was rather rushed and too much junk came here.
20) E-bleugh/ f-b/ pre-liked - don't care, I have to start getting rid of anything not nailed down (want to keep my bed and my coat-hangers, still thinking about everything else). Not good at this so need to have it down here as a reminder.

Think that is it - well there is loads more but this is where I am starting.

dannie

From last Sunday until the end of Saturday:-

1) Decluttering/making use or using up resources.
2) Gardening - repot tomato plant with compost and put on a sunny window sill, check other indoor plants, sort out some compost for where potatoes will be situated and sow seeds.
3) Catch up on unwatched tv. programmes.

dannie

1) This consisted mainly of decluttering existing food "stocks", three toiletry items, an old shrunken jumper made into rags and then used for cleaning a bicycle, emptying a compost bin, plus rubbish and recycling bin items. More like housework in a way with the more difficult decluttering still existing.
2) Tomato plant sorted out so hopefully free tomatoes as the plant had grown where courgette seeds were supposed to germinate. Indoor plants were regularly checked, compost put into the soil for potatoes and sowed more seeds.
3) Watched some TV programmes but still more to do.

dannie

Sunday - usually a tidy up day with plans for the oncoming tasks. Hope to make a list soon.

dannie

From last Sunday until the end of Saturday :-

1) Food related - keep checking for bid items on ebay ("speciality" ingredients that are normaly expensive), costs of regular purchases for any price decreases or increases and don't waste any food.
2) Gardening tasks - (overlap with the above), one more compost bin to check, plant potatoes if ready, see if free mint from a shop can be transplanted and prepare more land for sowing more seeds.
3) Keep decluttering something but especially look at my C.V. as this may mean other files can be sorted/reduced.

mothernerd

mint will probably be easy to move but keep it in a bucket or similar (I have just planted some in the plastic liner from an old tall pedal bin - have had several over the years, think the pedal bit breaks and people just throw them out). Mint will rampage and take over your whole plot if you put it in the garden.

Still struggling with last weeks list. Ladder work not going well, can climb up and down (have to use good foot leading going up and poorly foot leading going down). Cannot move much at top of ladder - would normally kneel with one leg on a higher step, then swap. Tried putting everything I need on top of ladder but if I drop anything, get tired rapidly coming up and down.

It's frustrating as I only need to do a little bit (10 minutes tops) but no point cleaning windows before painting and can't start arranging plants in pots to 'frame' house until jobs are done. Half the concrete is broken up, the rest is in 2 large (2' x2') thick slabs and I need the sledgehammer/ lump hammer and bolster chisels which are in the attic (attic stairs dismantled).

So not as much progress as I had hoped (have added lots of other jobs in as well) but trying to be positive and believe that all these bits - a basket of weeding, another corner tidied will all add up. Had a bad week after 'helping' my mother make cakes for her church Summer fair - only had 2 really good days and 2 1/2 where I could do nothing at all - physio will be cross with me. Last set back was due to running about after sick son.

Will persevere with as much of the list as I can (bully/bribe DS3 into going into the attic again - was hoping DS1 would come to do a few bits but his parcel mustn't have arrived) but need to concentrate on house (inside) as visitors are expected to celebrate DS3's gf's birthday this weekend. DS3 seems to have forgotten I said I needed help to get house ready when I agreed to it.

Adding an additional job - going to try to strip and re-paper attic staircase walls as they are. This will give little stair mender free rein to put them back how he wants - there are 2 steps of stairs and 2 positions. We are going to use the thick stairs (builder's plank thickness) and have made supports (2" x 2") for them but the forward and back positions both have advantages and challenges. If I can get the papering done (and it looks reasonable) then which ever is quickest and easiest is fine. If I do it now, there is a chance little stair-mender can do it at weekend (he is a party guest). Must find money to give him so he can afford to come back asap (preferably before he goes to visit his dad in Jersey for a month).

Have a good week.

dannie

mothernerd - Thanks for the information regarding mint. Mine are just stems in a container with water waiting for roots to appear. Have put some into pots already. The others, maybe, I will put staight into compost in pots if they don't grow roots.

Sounds like you have a busy schedule made difficult by other circumstances. I have also found whatever is done "add(s) up."

Good luck.

dannie

dannie wrote: »

From last Sunday until the end of Saturday :-

1) Food related - keep checking for bid items on ebay ("speciality" ingredients that are normaly expensive), costs of regular purchases for any price decreases or increases and don't waste any food.
2) Gardening tasks - (overlap with the above), one more compost bin to check, plant potatoes if ready, see if free mint from a shop can be transplanted and prepare more land for sowing more seeds.
3) Keep decluttering something but especially look at my C.V. as this may mean other files can be sorted/reduced.

1) One bid item obtained and a good saving, checked costs of regular purchases to see that other stores don't follow the trend of another who have raised prices and did well with not wasting food.
2) Compost bin too soggy to complete emptying, potatoes planted and bits of land cleared for new plants.
3) Always the most difficult but made a little progress.

dannie

From last Sunday until end of Saturday -

Sunday - tidying up and planning the week ahead (done).
Monday onwards - two themes which are to continue to look at my C.V. file and also do activities that balance out "work and leisure."

Hope anybody doing lists are doing okay (or if just following this thread) finds anything useful?

mothernerd

SMALL BEDROOM
Curtains and carpet done. 1 + 2
Need help to repair bed (DS3 doubtful/ evasive) 3
Was asked not to put bed back in little room so they could use it for the party (was not asked about them putting pizza boxes on my carpet)

OUTSIDE AT FRONT
Have planted hollies (5 plants) and lavender (6/7 plants), done loads of weeding (still more to do) 12/ 13/ 16
Hope to put down fabric/ bark and fill containers when cooler 14/15

OUTSIDE AT BACK
All done except replacing gutter and breaking up thick concrete (DS1 coming Tuesday so hope he can help/ bring tools down as well as finishing the shed roof he started last summer)

ADDITIONAL JOBS
Attic stairs stripped
Kitchen cleaned and mopped (was driving me up the wall)
Bathroom cleaned (DS3 did bits I couldn't reach)

Apologies for lack of progress. Had problems at physiotherapy appointment - couldn't put weight on bad leg when I stood up, so after 15+ weeks of exercises I am now being referred for a scan as there is obviously something wrong in addition to all the muscles we have already worked on. Very embarrassing but at least the physio (and his boss) saw me at my worst - boss had gone off to get me a wheelchair before I could finally stand properly. Had some painful days since and am struggling to stay positive. Really need the house up for sale and my finances aren't great. Still will just keep plodding on and do what I can.