Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We moved into a fixer with great bones 3 1/2 years ago...there were hundreds of things that needed to be done inside and outside and it is amazing what we have accomplished during that time.
My husband has always been a list maker - each day he will make a prioritized list of tasks he plans to accomplish that day and he literally checks off each item from his to-do list as he finishes. At the end of the day, he will drag out his list from his pocket and say "I got everything done on my list." LOL - we are a youngish retired couple so we have some time most days to do things around the house and yard, although we are off Sundays and Mondays .
I'm a list maker too, but only when we are having a big party, going grocery shopping, or getting ready to go on vacation - things like that - I make mental lists which arent' nearly as effective.
It really does help your sense of accomplishment to write things down and mark them "done" as those tasks fall off that big to-do list one by one - it is a visual reminder that you really are accomplishing things.
Stop making lists. Put each job on a 3x5 card and write out all the parts to the job - including the estimated time to do each PART and what supplies you need. Next, take a red/pink 3x5 card and write on it each part of a job that is critical or priority - include on the card the approximate time to complete and the parts/supplies needed.
Next, take a yellow 3x5 card and write on it all the parts of jobs that are really important but of less priority and finally, take a green card and write on it parts of the jobs that just "want to get done" but have no safety concerns.
Collect these cards in a small file box separated in TO DO and DONE
Stop making lists. Put each job on a 3x5 card and write out all the parts to the job - including the estimated time to do each PART and what supplies you need. Next, take a red/pink 3x5 card and write on it each part of a job that is critical or priority - include on the card the approximate time to complete and the parts/supplies needed.
Next, take a yellow 3x5 card and write on it all the parts of jobs that are really important but of less priority and finally, take a green card and write on it parts of the jobs that just "want to get done" but have no safety concerns.
Collect these cards in a small file box separated in TO DO and DONE
Each day, week, weekend, whatever, do one card.
You are kidding right?
A small 3-ring binder or flip notebook would suffice for everything. You could spend weeks just making up 3 x 5 cards with all that information on them. Talk about overwhelming and time consuming. Determine your tasks, write them down in your notebook, determine the materials needed if any and write them in your notebook. Check supplies, go to the hardware store if needed, come home and start your projects. Pick 5 tasks and do them sequentially - then pick 5 more. End of story. We are not talking about remodeling a kitchen or building a rocketship here, we are talking about little honey-do projects around the house, right?
Not knowing what your "to do list" looks like consider the following. Think of your house like a body and pay attention to them important parts/systems first:
If there is bleeding it must be stopped (attention to plumbing and foundation leaks)
Without good bones it will not stand (attention to foundation, walls/framing, roof)
A fit house has a good respiratory system (HVAC, working windows/storms)
Without appropriate clothes one may suffer in the heat/cold (insulation, calking, paint, etc...)
Then, when it comes to the cosmetics, seperate your needs from wants and go from there as your budget allows.
I don't even bother with a to do list. I KNOW what needs to be done. No need to write it all out, amend it, edit it, obsess over it.... LOL!
Instead, I do a Ta Da list. On my daily calendar, I write what I DID over the course of the day.
That way, at the end of the day, I see what I got done, not what I still need to do.
PLUS, my way comes in handy at the end of the week when I wonder what I got done this week!
I have been struggling with maintenance for a long time due to my age and physical condition. However, I have 3 daughters that are now 30ish. One is married to an electrician, one is getting married to a carpenter, and I am looking for a plumber for the third daughter. Life is getting a whole lot easier and not as expensive because these guys "hate" to take money from me. I make them take it although it may not be full price. Now everyone is happy and I can finally cut back on my blood pressure meds!
I don't even bother with a to do list. I KNOW what needs to be done. No need to write it all out, amend it, edit it, obsess over it.... LOL!
Instead, I do a Ta Da list. On my daily calendar, I write what I DID over the course of the day.
That way, at the end of the day, I see what I got done, not what I still need to do.
PLUS, my way comes in handy at the end of the week when I wonder what I got done this week!
LOL - oh I wish I had that good of a memory....once upon a time I did, I think....my husband does the maintenance around the house and there seems to always be something that needs doing and new materials needed for a repair or for building anew - a new piece of molding, a heavy mirror that requires special anchoring, a bit that needs to be bought for the screw driver...a lamp that needs to be rewired (with a certain kind of dimmer on it)....he needs to make notes when he is doing 5 or 6 projects like this in a day. He carries this little flip notebook in his pocket when it is project day - sometimes making drawings (he builds me things sometimes and fortunately he is ever so beautifully mathematically inclined), side notes, shopping lists. He will work tirelessly for days until everything is done...consequently our home is in excellent repair. I would be in trouble without him (as would our house and garden)...the man aims to please.
Lucky you! My husband is the smartest man on the planet, but he is not handy around the house.
Which is just fine, as I LOVE doing those things. I DO avoid anything electrical or involving plumbing, though.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. 
