One project a day- 2nd thread!

[BlueLobelia]

Welcome to everyone, old hats, lurkers and newbies.

This is a thread where we try and achieve something, no matter how small, a day.

This was the preamble to the previous thread ;

''......many years ago when i was first on MN I started (or maybe just actively participated in, cannot quite recall) a one (house) project a day. It made the most profound difference to my home. The project could be time consuming or not. It could take seconds, minutes or hours. I recall things like changing the lightbulb and lampshade in a hallway table lamp for example as a single day project. One day i also threw away holey and raggedy cushion covers and bought news ones. Little things, that really mattered.

If anyone is interested I wish to start another thread.

Today, as my one project a day, I cleared out my dehydrated and weed-ridden window boxes (2 of them). I put new compost in them and planted them with lobelia (obviously!); red geraniums and some dianthus. I am happy looking out (and in!) my front windows now. :) ''

everyone welcome!

Hi, I'm new! So good to find others like me who don't have an immaculate house. It's got to the point where I am ashamed of my home. Will definitely take a trip to the dump and recycling centre today.

• Two loads of laundry done (the second was not the load I had planned because I accidentally poured bleach into the machine instead of detergent so white towels went in instead of undies)
• went to a bbq breakfast this morning and deserve a gold star for being super sociable at stupid o’clock in the morning
• sorted out a cupboard full of party/entertaining stuff

Still hanging over my head is the sewing stuff which remains uncut, unstitched and under a pile of crap in my office.

I went upstairs to get washing and decided to look in a box of stuff that needs to go back in the bathroom. I’ve just made DH an art installation in the bathroom of his shower gel stash. 18 bottles! He bulk buys. He bought a load of loo roll this week on Amazon Prime Day too. Drives me mad. He looks all put upon when I comment.

But we have decided on the paint colour for the walls so that’s good. Painter is coming tomorrow. I may actually get two rooms fully sorted this week. Main bathroom and downstairs cloakroom. No excuses now not to do the rest of the sorting out!

I'm Down Under and we had a surprise lockdown this weekend, for two weeks! I hadn't seen it coming so I was really surprised! I don't mind following the rules and staying at home, it just took a couple of days for the shock to wear off. The kids are on school holidays so I don't need to do at home learning.

I've been keeping myself busy with a few jobs that I'd not been wanting to do!

I enjoy sewing, patchwork and quilts. I have a massive fabric stash and thread, needles, pins and all sorts. It is not organized at all. I can never find what I want or need. I'm starting to think I could start organizing that during this lockdown. I'd be happy if it was even somewhat organized. We moved house almost three years ago, and I'll be honest, I haven't really sewn since moving house. But I'd like to, so I think the first step is to just start organizing anything. Sometimes the hardest part is when you think "I don't know where to start", but I've been learning that just doing anything towards a project is helpful and once you get started you often get a lot more done that you had anticipated.

So if I can find a specific ruler I have been searching for I'll be very happy, and if I can organize a few bits I'll also be happy. If I find this ruler for hexagons you might hear me shout with joy!! haha.

DownUdderer, I hope lockdown passes quickly for you. I am in a part of the country that isn’t (currently) in lockdown a d we have actually been really lucky as we haven’t felt much impact of COVID here. But I did the recycling today and was handed a mask as I checked in with the QR code. It was quite a shock! But new rules were introduced here last night.

So my list of things done so far today:
Recycling
Meal planning for the week ahead
Filled up the car
Two loads of laundry
Changed the cat litter
Started a clear out of my old clothes

In other news - I have just become a permanent resident!!! I was in the process of assembling more ‘evidence’ to support my application and go the happy call from my lawyer. But it has messed up my meal plan because we are now going to go out to celebrate! 😂😂😂

Today's project, clean, dust and sweep the hall, and wash the hall floor.

Today was
sort some brownies stuff
Drop forms at school
Do the cat litter
Mop the kitchen floor
2 down 2 to go

I hhad a major operation a month ago and recovery will be long and slow. I managed a Tesco Metro today and did an unload and reload of the dishwasher.
Tomorrow I intend to attempt the clean washing pile!

Yesterday and today was more woodwork painting. Tomorrow will be the same again!

Today I managed to:

• Clean the kitchen counters & cooker
• Used the last of the veg box & made a giant roast veg couscous
• Left over veg peels in kitchen waste bin for tomorrow's waste collection
• Sorted out paper recycling boxes x 2 for tomorrow's collection

Tomorrow's jobs:

• finalise online food delivery
• research children's ISA accounts
• call ds clinic to reschedule apt
• Clean kitchen cabinet doors
• vacuum & mop downstairs

I hope you have a good recovery Gilead!

I called the shoe repair shop about getting my Birkenstocks resoled and also have the whole of the footbed replaced. They are 16 years old, DD also borrows them and they’ve certainly been a good investment for the amount of use. So, get them back next week : )

Finished the revisions and sent the manuscript on to my coauthors. As I’m not working at the moment, it’s more of a chore that needs to be done pronto.

I took the afternoon to hang out with DD and it was nice to have that time together. They don’t stay young nearly long enough

Well good day all! We seem to be spread over this beautiful planet and I can imagine sparks of joy in many places as we surprise ourselves with the beauty of small or large projects coming to fruition. Thank you again BlueLobelia for starting these two threads 💐

So, another surprise piece of writing popped in and I’ve completed my bit. Need to go over the other manuscript and get that finalized. It will likely be my tomorrow project but so far, it’s rolling!

I need to run a couple of errands outside the house, book some appointments and there’s the usual housework. Haven’t yet painted the bathroom walls but probably Thursday will start the prep work and taping. It will get done!

This evening after work I have done two coats on the other side of the kitchen/dining room door. I was only doing undercoat but had enough left to go round again and it had dried enough to do the whole thing again and DH is out so I cracked on. You may be able to tell which part was being painted while watching football though 😂
I have also rewashed and rehung the curtain so things are veeeery slooooowly coming into place.

Morning all.

Hope you are recovering well @Gilead.

I haven’t felt I’ve been achieving much but I have managed to:

Take five black bags of clothes to recycling
Sort my PJs drawer
Sort my gym clothes drawer
Sort through a box of jumpers - now have an empty box
Wash sofa throws
Put some of DS’s clothes away
Move two shelves of books from a cupboard that needs to be moved

Today:

I have five more bags to go to recycling
Finish emptying cupboard
Move cupboard
Change DS’s bed
Do some more sorting in his room
Sort through some more of my clothes
Vacuum
Washing

I was supposed to be visiting a friend today about an hour and a half away but that’s now off so I will get on with my list.

Hope lockdown goes quickly for lockdown people. I usually go to Australia most years to see my best friends and am desperate to go back.

I've put 5 bags of clothing out to be collected. I'll be relieved once they're gone..

My kids are coping with locked much better than me! They just get on with it, I'm feeling fed up. But I'll kick myself up the bum tomorrow.

I still can't find my hexagon ruler.

I did a few gardening jobs today.

Afternoon! yesterday i cleaned the car.

Today I decluttered one carrier bag full of stuff. I am going to aim to declutter a bag a day until the house looks better.

Later I need to book the oven cleaner.

Thank you!
Went out today, ouch!
I will be doing nothing else, but tomorrow I plan on a strawberry tart!

Hello everyone, apologies but I fell off the thread. Also haven't been keeping up with one job a day (hangs head in shame...).
There are a few reasons for this: our school bubble burst so have been homeschooling, taken to comfort eating too... and the other reason is because I have been researching emigrating with my family. Dh has had an out of the blue job offer from Australia and we have no idea what to do. So in between researching I have been trying to work out what to do... no further forward in my decision but we only have a week left to decide. And I cannot keep my mind on any task at the moment. Sucks to be a grown up sometimes .

Wow @Iceisnice you have been busy in other ways. Good luck with your decision. I would go for it, we looked into it but DH wouldn’t leave his Mum so we made our life here.

Kitchen door paint was finished this evening so I can get it rehung tomorrow and get another one down to start painting it. Hopefully I will be able to get the whole thing done tomorrow on both sides- I will definitely be able to if I paint them while they are still hanging but I will get drips. Hmm 🤔

My charity shop bags got collected, I'm really pleased. Sometimes I worry I'll put them out on the wrong day and they won't get picked up.

Everyone seems tetchy today, we're on day 6 of lockdown. I think I need to drag the kids out for a walk.

Morning everyone

Wow @Iceisnice - big decision. We almost made the move a few years ago after around 20 years as expats in various countries. I chickened out in the end as my parents were getting older etc. DH and DS moan at me sometimes that we didn’t go. And my best friend is in Sydney so I try to go most years although of course COVID has stopped that for now. I would say to be very careful though. I’ve known of a few cases where couples with DCs move there or to NZ and one loves it and wants to stay and the other doesn’t or the marriage breaks up for other reasons. You would have no rights to move back with the children.

Jobs wise for me yesterday:

Finished emptying books from cupboard
Tided DS’s room a bit
Changed his bed

Today:

Bags of clothes to recycling
Move cupboard- it’s going from a bedroom to a funny alcove on the landing - need to figure out how to make it look ok and not just shoved there.
Sort some more of my clothes - jeans and other trousers next

Had some bad news about my Dad yesterday. They have withdrawn treatment and are moving him into a hospice. He’s resistant but it’s being sold to him as respite while they get him sorted to go home. So I need to decide when to go back. We think he may have about six weeks.

I am so sorry @Peridot1 about your dad. Thinking of you.

@Iceisnice I would say go for it and I am VERY envious. :) We had the chance a few years back to live abroad but my FIL was ill so we stayed. I'd love to do something like that now.

I am going to declutter another carrier bag full today. Plus I need to prune the roses around our door otherwise DH is going to get thorns in his head.

@Peridot1 so sorry to hear about your dad. I was really hoping that the news would be better.
Thank you for your advice re not being able to move back with children, I didn't know that so much appreciated.

I visited Australia 10 years ago, although not to the place that we would emigrate to, and I loved it there. I felt that I had 'come home' and it really resonated with me and swore if I ever had the opportunity I wouldn't hesitate. Fast forward a decade and I have no idea what to do, uprooting 3 children (although it would mainly be the eldest dc who would be affected the most) having to clear the house, sell it, apply for visas, all the cost that goes with it feels insurmountable. Especially as my dh will leave 90-100% of it to me... I don't have an emigration problem but a dh problem....I am also worried that I would struggle to find work, am a sahm at the moment but planning to start a career in 4 years but due to nature of dhs job it is likely that we would see less of him than we do now. Plus what if we don't get permanent citizen status, we could have to come back in 4 years and then I will have 3 children who have been uprooted again. But on the other hand is it something I will regret not doing....
Sorry, don't mean to hijack thread, just flummoxed.

How old are the DCs @Iceisnice ? And where would you be moving to? (If you want to say that is, dont feel pressured!). We are in a situation that we are considering moving to where my parents are, and mine are 12 and 10. It would have to be soon I think. Do you know what the schools are like- or would a fee paying school be part of the package?

Giving you a week to decide is insane though.

to you for having to make such a huge decision with everything around it.

Hi @BlueLobelia dcs are 6, 3 and 16 weeks. Perth is the place, and schools aren't included. We have had two weeks already but I feel more stressed about it now than I did then. Thank you for the , I just want to do the right thing for the dcs because this will affect their lives more than mine whatever decision is made. Where are you thinking of moving to?