Week ending 1/15/10

On Monday I spent an hour on the windows and got shades ordered for windows 5, 6 and 7 (out of 12, windows 1-4 are already done). Once this order arrives and is installed all the windows visible from the street will have a shade which will make the front of the house look a lot better.

I also spent 1/2 hour decluttering and today's project was a section of the garage. I have it in my decluttering goals to do a bag, box or section of the garage every 10 days and yes, we're still unpacking 4 years later. I had run out of plastic bins for the box I'm working on and already ordered them but since they haven't arrived yet I did a section of the garage instead. I picked a top shelf for extra finish materials from the house (tiles, grout, trim, etc). It will get them out of the way until the loft is ready for them. There is a loft over the center of the garage that will be perfect for long term storage of these items but I can't get to it to clean properly yet. It felt really good to at least get this spot done.

Wednesday I spent 1 hour sanding the side door and it's still not done. I probably need 1-2 hours more to sand and then it has to be buffed. After that, the shade can go up! I will order this and the back door after the current order arrives. The shades are big, fragile and expensive and I don't want them sitting around so I've been ordering them close to when I'm ready for them. The long time I've spent sanding the door does not bode well for my estimate of total time left to finish the windows and doors. I gave myself 4 hours for sanding the whole last coat, and this door alone will use most of that. I'm probably closer to 50-80 hours than 33.

I also spent 1/2 hour on the garage and finished the section I started on Monday. It's the top of an 8' x 2' shelving unit that is now cleaned and dusted. The only stuff up there is leftover materials which can stay up there until we can get it in the loft. It already makes a difference, but still can't believe how many more hours I have to go in the garage. At least I've established one more spot for one more type of thing so now when I come across leftover material I have a place for it. It's a small step, but it makes a big difference in my state of mind and in my efficiency in continuing to sort the garage out.

On Thursday I spent another 1/2 hour sanding the side door and it's still not done. I've already spent 2+ hours on it so yeah, this does not bode well for finishing within my current estimate of 33 hours. Sanding is not fun. It's gruelling, unrewarding, tedious and takes forever.

Hours to date on woodwork so far: 338.5