Page 4 | To ask how much I can realistically achieve in 4 days?

JustLyra · 12/09/2021 07:51

If your office room is one you use to WFH I’d focus on that. If you spend most days in there then you’ll get the benefit of feeling like you’ve achieved something every time you don’t have that feeling about everyone else’s space on teams anymore.

sjxoxo · 12/09/2021 07:54

No one is decorating their house in a week. Without a team of 5-10 people! It’s lies. DIY and decorating always takes longer than you think!
We are 3 years into a house renovation, doing it ourselves. Now I think whatever time I estimate something will take; double it & that’s about right! Don’t pile on pressure on yourself - it’s unproductive & doesn’t help you. Write a list and then focus on one thing - your hallway job - for the 4 days. Book the rest in for weekends etc across the next 2-3 months. You’ll get there! At the start of our house project I was so overwhelmed. I had everything heaped up in one manky room, which was going eventually to be a bathroom. There was a mirror being stored in there and I used to look at it & think ‘one day that won’t be in here anymore’ and it stressed me out so much! Now the mirror is on the wall in our downstairs loo, and the room of crap is a lovely relaxing bathroom.. you will get there. Tick them off one at a time! Give yourself a pat on the back xox

Original poster

Ajaxe · 12/09/2021 12:13

I think you possibly could decorate a house if it's a small house/ empty of furniture and also if you don't do a great job, so either skip the prep or the glossing or whatever.

I'm trying to stop comparing myself to others. But also not to use that as an excuse for doing nothing!

OP posts:

Elenorrigbywoes · 12/09/2021 14:19

I would pick the hallway and complete that fully in the four days. I make lists on my phone and love ticking off a completed job. I have a similar issue with the good local trades people being booked up so I booked the next available datw with one six months ago and he is coming in two weeks. Would you contact one and book in a date for the office or next room you want to decorate?
Have you any local cleaners? I would book three hours with one and let them work on the kitchen, living room and bathroom. I like when these rooms are clean and tidy.
Pick one day to go to the tip/recycling centre and get as much out as you can - you can't clean clutter - I came across that somewhere and I try to tell myself that when I am unsure about whether to keep it or dump it. Good luck and pencil in some time to relax and recharge during your break.

LannieDuck · 12/09/2021 14:44

I would vote for the hallway too.

It's already started and would be great to finish it so it can be ticked off your mental list. And it reads like it might be a 3-day job, leaving 1 day at the end of your leave for you to have a rest.

Youdoyoutoday · 12/09/2021 14:49

I mean this in the nicest way possible..... stay off the Internet!! MN is my biggest distraction, I have a to do list every day and by the end of the day I moan that I've not it all and then my phone tells me I've spent 5 hours on the Internet!! What a waste of bloody time!!

You have 4 days so create a list for each of the first 3 days starting with the most important things you think need doing. Leave your phone on loud but leave it in the kitchen and then crack on, have a set lunch time. Use the 4th day to do the big clean you need.

Good luck OP!!

AmelieLovesAutumn · 12/09/2021 15:08

@gerispringer

Hire a decorator and a cleaner.

Love your thinking!

Original poster

Ajaxe · 12/09/2021 16:04

The tradespeople situation is ridiculous here, they are so booked up (it's not even a Covid thing it's been like that for years) that the good ones won't come out to give a quote, because they are booked out indefinitely, and you can't book any time with them as they refuse to do this until you've had a quote from them. I need my downstairs loo refitting at some point - if a reputable plumber said I'll quote you now but I can't do it for 6-12 months or even longer I'd be fine with that but you can't get them out in the first place!

The only thing that is easy(ish) to arrange are garden/ tree people. But plumbing and electrics, and even general handyman stuff is impossible.

I can't do basic DIY, I have tried and painting is my limit, DP is too busy (and lives too far away to just pop round) plus he thinks I should just pay people - if only it was that easy!

That said I was watching some TV earlier (as I was cleaning!) and saw a beautiful house renovation. Right up to the point where the owner said it cost £80k. I mean it looked lovely and they'd built an extension new kitchen etc but it was only a 2 bed house I spent £15 on a plant and pot yesterday in Lidl - to cheer up my office - and thought I was being extravagant

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Polkadots2021 · 12/09/2021 16:30

@Ajaxe

I'm off work for most of next week.

I have what feels like 1001 jobs to do at home. I started making a list but it was overwhelming...but to give you some idea:

I started decorating my hallway and stairs last year but never finished it, I need to gloss all the woodwork on the stairs, paint all the doors and architraves, need to do some filling round one of the door frames...

I need to completely decorate my spare room (which I use as an office) and another room downstairs needs doing, and there's some other finishing off/touching up to do in the living room.

Then I've got a load of stuff in the box room (some pots I got to recycle, other things that need fixing or throwing away, the whole room really needs a Good clear out.

Then outside my garden is a mess, a lot of it I won't be able to do as I don't have tools but the stuff I could do is mow the lawn, strimming of some other patches, my decking needs oiling and I also need to stain all my fences. Oh and jet wash all my front driveway/weed the edges and so on.

Plus the whole house could do with a bloody good clean.

I look at that list now and already feel overwhelmed and have no idea how or where to start. I don't want to waste this time off like I did my last break and end up achieving nothing, just wasting the week sitting around on my fat arse.

So if you were me where would you start and how much do you think a fat, slow person like me could reasonably expect to do in the time available?

I'd blitz the garden so you can go out there and feel both proud and relaxed every time the housework does your head in.

LakieLady · 12/09/2021 16:35

It took my friend and I a week to decorate my (completely empty) spare room.

And friend used to be a P&D, so she knows what she's doing.

Anordinarymum · 12/09/2021 16:37

@Ajaxe

I'm off work for most of next week.

I have what feels like 1001 jobs to do at home. I started making a list but it was overwhelming...but to give you some idea:

I started decorating my hallway and stairs last year but never finished it, I need to gloss all the woodwork on the stairs, paint all the doors and architraves, need to do some filling round one of the door frames...

I need to completely decorate my spare room (which I use as an office) and another room downstairs needs doing, and there's some other finishing off/touching up to do in the living room.

Then I've got a load of stuff in the box room (some pots I got to recycle, other things that need fixing or throwing away, the whole room really needs a Good clear out.

Then outside my garden is a mess, a lot of it I won't be able to do as I don't have tools but the stuff I could do is mow the lawn, strimming of some other patches, my decking needs oiling and I also need to stain all my fences. Oh and jet wash all my front driveway/weed the edges and so on.

Plus the whole house could do with a bloody good clean.

I look at that list now and already feel overwhelmed and have no idea how or where to start. I don't want to waste this time off like I did my last break and end up achieving nothing, just wasting the week sitting around on my fat arse.

So if you were me where would you start and how much do you think a fat, slow person like me could reasonably expect to do in the time available?

Oh bloody hell OP. Just reading this............

.. anyway I've had a lie down now and feel able to comment.

One job at a time. Start with one job and finish it and then you can start to think about the next one.
It will all still be waiting for you tomorrow, and if you were to do everything, there would still be something else to do.

RareritySparkles · 12/09/2021 16:38

Oh gosh be kinder to yourself. You could do the hall and empty some of your spare room and feel fantastic about yourself. Sod the rest!

mum2jakie · 13/09/2021 20:14

How did you get on today, OP? Hope you've had a productive day!

Original poster

Ajaxe · 15/09/2021 16:12

It's gone terribly. Everything has taken much much longer than expected or else I'm completely useless. I've spent 4 hours today doing the jetwashing and sorting out the shed cupboard. I'm oiling the decking tomorrow, and later today am going to do some of the filling bits and pieces in the hall, before hopefully finishing off some of that painting tomorrow.

Not had time to do any other stuff in the garden, or paint any of the fences. Or any of the other painting jobs. Feel like a bit of a failure really, had a big crying fit earlier about it because I feel so useless.

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Lavender24 · 15/09/2021 16:35

Hey it's still progress! We were supposed put our house up for sale last month and we still have about ten jobs to finish cause my DH is lazy cause it's taken a lot longer than we thought. You've made a start which is great, just don't give up .

TwoLeftElbows · 15/09/2021 16:45

Oh @Ajaxe ICM sorry to hear you're still feeling so down on it.

@Polkadots2021 nailed it with this bit:
"Oh bloody hell OP. Just reading this............

.. anyway I've had a lie down now and feel able to comment."

You have so much whirling in your head, it's clouding your appreciation of what you've achieved. What's your plan for tomorrow? I hope it involves a bit of a rest. Please please treat yourself more gently. Imagine if you had an employee who was panicking and drowning in lists trying to do all the work you'd given them. Would you tackle it by berating them for having taken "too long" on what they have done? No decent human being would, yet somehow this is how we treat ourselves.

Gladioli23 · 15/09/2021 16:53

That sounds like quite a lot to me!

I am terrible for having lists of things I need to do and feeling so overwhelmed I can't start them.

I find often jobs aren't as bad as I think though. I've been doing loads of woodwork recently and have found it a lot easier by starting with zinnser 1.2.3 as it seems to stick to the wood really well and make things nice and white and is an easy bottom coat. In terms of how distractible I am I actually failed to gloss the bathroom at all after I'd covered up knots and stains with a coat of it but you really can't tell. I've also been recently introduced to frog brand tape which seems to make cutting in a lot easier.

Is there a time your partner can come down and help? I often swap jobs with my friends, because it's a lot more enjoyable with two people, even doing twice as much work (your jobs and theirs), and it forces me to start, and also forces me to decide which bits to start on.

LittleOwl153 · 15/09/2021 16:56

Focus on 1 thing OP. One job or 1 space which will make a difference to you. Something you will think afterwards - look what I did!

SkankingMopoke · 15/09/2021 18:33

It sounds like you've done loads! Maybe tomorrow take a few pictures before you start so you can look back at the end of the day/week? Sometimes you are so busy seeing all the things still to do, you forget the starting point and miss how much better it is.
I have spent the last two days clearing the spare room, which had become a complete hole. Progress feels like it should have been much faster and it didn't look much different to me (and was particularly awful last night as it was still very much in the first stages of 'got to get worse before it gets better). DD1 got home from school and when she saw it came running to congratulate me on how amazing and much improved it looks 😊 She only saw the differences, not the unfinished bits.

Original poster

Ajaxe · 15/09/2021 19:04

Thanks for being so kind everyone, you have made me feel a bit better.

I just keep thinking how many jobs there are to do and it feels overwhelming! It seems everywhere I look there is something to do ☹

I've decided to give up for this evening (I might do a bit of sorting out, and I have some laundry to put away etc but I'm leaving filling and painting to tomorrow) and start early in the morning instead.

My partner won't really help when he's here, he'll do the odd thing that I can't manage like drilling a hole to put up a picture, but he says that when he comes to see me he wants to spend time going out and doing things, or relaxing at home, not get involved with endless DIY. He also thinks that for a lot of jobs I should just pay someone to do it.

OP posts:

SkankingMopoke · 15/09/2021 20:34

That's a shame he's not willing to help, even if just a day. He must see how down it's all making you feel.
If you can afford it then it's definitely worth paying someone to do a bit, even if it is just a tiny bit (maybe DP can pay as it was his suggestion 😉). I have a trade and can do most of our DIY, but sometimes there is just too much to manage all on my own in the time available (DIY is not DH's forte!). If it is something outside my trade, I will be a lot slower than, say, a qualified tiler; I find it is sometimes more worthwhile for me to work an 8hr day and pay all the money earnt straight over than do it myself and take 12hrs - obviously can't afford to do that very regularly though! Paying someone has the clear bonus of striking something off your list, but can also kickstart you to do a bit more. I find I get loads done if I do DIY whilst the tradesperson is here too - the urge not to look lazy and unwilling overrides the overwhelm and procrastination!

If it makes you feel better, we have lived in our house 11 years. When we moved in, we chucked everything without a home into the spare room. That is the room I mentioned in my last post - 11 years it's taken to get there! You are but one person, and it sounds like you are doing a great job.

And just think, by tomorrow night you will have beautiful and Winter-ready decking...

Squishable · 15/09/2021 20:40

Don’t be mean about yourself! We all feel overwhelmed now and again! Put on some good music get the hall done and clean the house all the rest can wait. Listing everything you need to do isn’t prioritising as your to do list is too long. If you have any spare time maybe do the drive as it will make your house look smarter and shouldn’t take too long! Good luck 🙂