You Are Not Alone: HELP! Twenty-One Things To Do
You Are Not Alone: HELP! Twenty-One Things To-Do
I am working on several things right now, which has given me the perfect excuse not to work on the house. I have twenty-one items on my list. No sub-categories or ratings. This is my first time after many years to have a list, let alone, having sub-categories on a list.
You may see my 21 things to-do below. Will it look less frightening if I break it down into sub-categories, or will it just look longer? As my great grandmother, Alda, used to say “my get up and go just got up and went!” My motivation, my get-up-and-go is gone. Formerly I was a woman who had a place for everything and everything was put away as soon as I was finished with the item. I was a clean-freak so that others were annoyed with me at times. My husband still is annoyed with my germ-phobia which I blame on my father—he still lives it due to cancer years ago. Does anyone every lose the urge once it is established? Cleanliness appeals to me, but piles of things do not. I’ll post photos of what I am up against, this will be my admission that I have a problem and I am ready to crack. I look at my stuff, his stuff, my grandparent’s stuff and his parent’s stuff in the middle of the floor in every room.
I grew up in this house at the beginning of my third-grade year and moved out when I married after high school. My parents, two sisters and one brother continued to live here. My husband and I moved several times for his job over the years (married 44 years) and after my siblings married or moved out, my parents bought a small farm and moved. They rented this house to my maternal grandparents in an effort to help them since they lived on social security. After they both passed away, we moved in to rent from my parents. We needed to be closer to our parents since they were aging and had health issues. At first, we both worked full-time and I was taking master’s classes. I retired from my job, August 2020, due to health issues and am currently trying to find part-time online.
Both my husband and I are first-borners and believe, at this stage of our lives, we needed to live closer to our parents in case of an emergency. We moved into this house which was still full of my grandparent’s furnishings and clothing. For three years, our personal items have been boxed up, stacked along walls, yearning to be used. We have replaced a crumbling deck, replaced all of the plumbing beneath the house, put in a new water softener, put on a new roof, repaired flooring where critters had chewed through, had a few years of extermination because bugs beneath the house were horrible, especially breeding camel crickets—yuck! We’ve repaired some walls, had inspectors and people to evaluate what all needs to be repaired or replaced. In the meantime, my husband’s parents passed away and he was responsible for selling their home, truck and trailer. We had to rent a storage unit to put furniture which we had no room for. All of this was out of our pocket.
I have posted furniture on yard-sale sites and have been answering questions, wheeling and dealing in the middle of this house of disaster. BAM! Now here is Covid-19! My husband had the virus in a mild form this past Christmas and we believe I had Covid in the beginning of March 2020 which depleted my energy so completely that I retired from my job by that August. I still have no sense of smell and my sense of taste remains poor. My back still hurts when I stand or walk too long, so I still have to take frequent breaks. My house remains a disaster and my 21 things to-do list is untouched.
I need good ideas from others who are struggling like this, and no, I will not burn down the house and contents! Ha! I just do not know where to begin. I pray about it and ask for the strength to complete this monumental task, and I have faith my prayers will be answered. My faith in God has not waivered and I rely heavily on morning Bible study. Between Bible study and my writing, I usually do not finish until approximately 4 p.m. I usually bake breads and goodies after this time. Yes, I wish I could sell these items from my home. The problem is, delivery and also the small town where we live. Between thinking about my 21-things-to-do list, my writing, and baking, I am booked. I will never give up these three things. Do I have it in me to complete this huge list of chores considering I still have to clean sinks, toilets, clothes, and other household chores. I don’t know how to tackle all of this and the part of all of this that bothers me most is, formerly I would not have had an issue. All of it would have been completed immediately.
My age is nearly triple the length of my to-do list, and I am out of ideas and momentum. Do you have 21 things to do? How will you do it? When will you do it? Please share your thoughts, ideas, words of consolation—whatever you have—in the comments.
“I thank my God every time I remember you” Pilippians 1:3 (Life Church Operations, 2021).
“give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (Life Church Operations, 2021).
21 Things To Do:
1. |
Patch holes in walls, 2 bdrms & kitchen |
12. |
Paint cab & add counter, craft room |
2. |
Paint walls, master bdrm & hang blinds |
13. |
Paint & hang pegboard, craft room |
3. |
Paint walls, front room |
14. |
Remove carpet & clean floor, craft room |
4. |
Paint walls, family room |
15. |
Organize craft room |
5. |
Remove paneling in kitchen, leave brick |
16. |
Clean all windows & screens (15) |
6. |
Paint kitchen walls, top, & ceiling |
17. |
Dust tables & fans |
7. |
Remove paneling in back bedroom |
18. |
Clean walls in bathroom |
8. |
Remove floor nails, master bedroom |
19. |
Sweep & mop bathroom & kitch floors |
9. |
Lay laminate flooring, master bedroom |
20. |
Purge piles of things in rooms, organize |
10. |
Refinish kitchen cabinets & new handles |
21. |
Unpack boxes & put things away |
11. |
Replace kitchen counter tops |
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