Report for Week 1: If you missed last week’s post, go check it out to get a better understanding of my objectives here!

Day 1: 10/29/20 I planted paving stones to line my front flower beds!

Paving Stones

Cost: I bought the pavers over four years ago at Home Depot, but I don’t know how much they cost now

Time: 3 hours

Background: I started this one in the spring of 2020. We leveled our yard by getting rid of a lot of top soil. I had had pavers around those two flower beds, but dug them out last fall thinking that we wouldn’t need them anymore. I started planting them in June, but only planted four before I started procrastinating.

Was it worth 3 hours to weed and dig and plant pavers? ABSOLUTELY!!!! Have you ever been in the mode of getting so used to something that you no longer see it as it truly is? That’s how this flower bed was for me. A week later as I look at my “before” pictures I am so surprised and shocked that I ever let my flower bed get so overgrown with weeds, but a week ago it was my normal. I would hardly glance at it as I walked by it. But I created a new normal for myself when I got rid of the weeds and created a pretty space for my flowers! It feels good to have this one checked off of my list! I smile every time I go outside and see my pretty flower beds.

Day 2: 10/30/20 I started painting the front outside trim of my house and I finished caulking the trim in my bedroom.

Painting the Front Outside Trim

Cost: ~$80 for two gallons of paint/primer combo, paintbrush, one tube of caulk

Time: I spent about four and a half hours working plus another 45 minutes going to the store to get the supplies I needed.

Background: I got ambitious one day and thought that with the help of three other friends I could get all the brown trim painted white in one day. Nope. That was four years ago. I got so overwhelmed by this one that I stopped. Four years ago I had painted around the windows and some of the eaves. Now the front eaves and trim are almost finished! I can finish, and I will this coming week! Pictures coming soon!

Caulking the Trim in My Room

Cost: $3 (caulk is around $3 a tube and a caulk gun costs about $4–I’ve had the gun for awhile)

Time: 15 minutes

Background: I noticed the large gaps in the trim probably seven-eight months ago, so I’ve been putting this off since then. But now it’s done! The next step will be to paint it, but the caulking is done and it really improved the look of the trim. I don’t notice it a whole lot, it’s not as big a change as the pavers or the outside trim, but I notice that when I’m in my room it feels more seamless.

Day 3: 10/31/20 I started sanding down the office door trim and I finished taking nails out of the wall in the dining room and I caulked all the holes.

Sanding the Office Door Trim

Cost: I bought the sander a couple of years ago, I think it was $40ish. The sandpaper was some I had on hand too, I’ve probably used about $3 worth so far.

Time: I spent an hour and a half on this on Saturday.

Background: I (or my mom??) painted this a little over a year ago. I thought that it would be fine if we didn’t sand it first, but there was a varnish over the old stain and the paint has peeled as it’s been nicked by things. And my kids love to peel paint (what kid doesn’t?), hence the huge spot of missing paint. We have a pretty French door we’re going to install in this doorway, but first I want to sand and paint the frame.

Dining Room Walls — Hole Fill-in

Cost: $0 (I used a bit of caulk, but just a little bit and it was some I’d had for a long time)

Time: 10 minutes

Background: I had a plethora of family pictures hung up on this wall around my giant clock, but all the family pictures were missing our two youngest kids. Plus, they wouldn’t stay straight so I decided to take them down and put them in a box until we move to our new house. I’d left the nails though (this was probably three months ago…maybe two) so it felt good to take the nails out and fill in the holes so now the wall is ready for some paint touch ups.

Day 4: Sunday was my rest day. I have been working on changing habits for a long enough time to know how important rest is. When I start something new here are my three keys to success:

1. Accountability
2. Don’t expect perfection all at once (this is why rest is so important, if you give yourself permission to not do it, you’ll have less time spent trying to make up excuses to get a break you need but feel like you can’t take)
3. Consistency

Day 5: 11/1/20 I sanded down the office door trim some more (complete pictures next week) and I finished fixing the towel holders in the upstairs bathroom.

Fixing the Towel Holders

Cost: $0

Time: 5-10 minutes

Background: These came loose a few months ago and have been sitting on a shelf in the bathroom ever since. All I had to do was use a screwdriver to tighten the brackets and tighten the little screw on the bottom of the towel holders.

Day 6: 11/2/20 I painted the front outside trim, but I did not finish anything on my list.

Front Outside Trim

Cost: $0

Time: I painted out here for about four hours

Background: This section of the trim has always been the most daunting because (A) I’m scared of heights and (B) I thought it would take forever to do.

Process: I climbed up using a ladder, but the window turned out to be the easy way to access this area. I had to scrape some of paint off, but it came off easily with a putty knife. I used a 2 1/2″ paintbrush for a majority of my time outside until my neighbor (who has a history as a painter) suggested I use a 4″ roller brush. That made a world of difference! To get the high up places I just used my broom handle. The broom unscrews and then I was able to screw on the roller brush handle. I need to do at least one more coat of paint, but it’s coming along!

Day 7: 11/3/20 I didn’t finish anything on my list or even work on anything. I could give about twenty excuses as to why, but I won’t. What I will do is recommit to finishing something everyday. I’ve learned that I need to prioritize my commitments I make to you. It was alright this last week to do my really big projects and then find a little project to do at night to get something checked off my list, but this week I need to plan to make time to finish before I get too tired to do a project that will take an hour or two.

Thoughts: This week as I’ve been working on all of these different projects I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on my habits and behaviors. One big thing I’ve noticed and appreciated is that as I have been keeping myself so busy I haven’t had time to overeat and snack like I usually do. I have been wanting to get healthier for a long time, and one unhealthy behavior I have noticed in myself is that I tend to snack on things when I feel stressed or whenever I’m procrastinating. It’s really cool to me how all things are connected in someway. As I’ve been working to improve my house and stop procrastinating projects, the good habits I’m forming are starting to spill out into other areas, like my health. It’s absolutely not been perfect and I’ve had a lot of moments where I’ve gotten impatient with my kids, my sink has overflowed with dirty dishes, and my mountain of dirty laundry has doubled in size. But you know what? Dishes and laundry will always be on my to do list. These projects will not. These are things that take work and effort, but have an end. I want to finish them because I won’t have to do them ever again (or at least not for several years). Plus, it feels SOOOO good to finish things — shout out to dopamine!