WEEK 1: Front Porch and Lists

[Myron's Mom]

It’s here!! I thought I would get us started. My apologies if I’m a little in left field. I never saved the plan and I don’t do Facebook, and I’ve pretty much do things out of order, so I just looked at some old posts. Sooo…
If you haven’t already, it’s time to get started!
The plan starts with cleaning your front porch and making all those holiday list. Lists for everything, holiday groceries, gifts, events, cards, donations, holiday clothing, and anything else you can think of.
For me, the list also includes winter prep items. Fire wood, propane, batteries for the smoke detectors, servicing the furnace, winterizing the mowers and tractor, when to put the snow blade on the tractor.
If you are planning on making gifts now is a good time to get started if you haven’t already.
Special holiday events are being posted in my area. If you are wanting tickets for something now is the time to get them. I know here the polar express tickets are gone within the hour once they go on sale.
What are you all cleaning and prepping this week?

 

[Myron's Mom]

I’m doing produce this week. Finishing up my tomatoes today and tomorrow plum butter.
I started cleaning a few weeks ago so I’m a little ahead. I usually don’t do my porch until after they harvest the 100 acres across the road from us because of all the dust. I do need to put my new fall door mat out! Forgot I got that last year in a clearance sale.

 

[luludou]

Unfortunately, not sure anything will get done this week with work, grandchildren (daycare closed for the week) and parents, sister and bil coming by this weekend. NEXT week I will be starting things around here.
I LOVE making lists ... in fact my 'BER' months calendar has been ready since JULY... just have to look at it now.

 

[Lori K]

For me, this is where I always start -- the Front Porch. When I was in the Chicago house, we had a small front porch, but had shrubs to trim, a large yard to rake and fertilize, and flower beds to tend to before winter weather set in. I'm now in a townhome, so some of that has gone by the wayside (the gardens are still there, but the Association's landscapers handle that), yet there are some things that I can't let slide. I absolutely have to have the cobwebs swept down and storm door and side-light windows clean. It drives me nuts, looking at the neighbors windows and storm doors. And there is so much satisfaction knowing that mine is the clean, shinny one.

The big job this year is to get my front door painted. The previous owner did a poor (to put it politely) job, and I don't know that they used the correct paint. Plus it's very faded. I still have to use the same/similar color (dark green), but at least it won't be all scratched up. The way my week has gone, I may not get to it this week, but it will get done before the holidays.

I also need to schedule carpet cleaning (at least for the stairs, and other high-traffic areas), and start looking at carpet for the guest bedroom and ultimately my bedroom, too. The pup found the seam in the guest bedroom (formerly a baby/toddler's bedroom, so there may be some scent?) and has dug through to the padding when I wasn't looking. At the very least, I want to get that carpet replaced; the rest can wait, if need be.

I have an inquiry in with the Association about replacing some missing exterior vent covers (because they are for bathroom vents, they're saying it's my responsibility, but access is 3 stories up from the driveway which is common area, and no handyman will touch the job because the covers are affixed to the soffit, a common element that is Association-maintained) and another one, asking about seal-coating the driveway (Association may do it next year or in 2024, depending on the budget. But it really needs to be done now; trying to nail down procedures, if I want to pay to have it done now).

This week is also when I put the furnace tune-up on my calendar, with a reminder to call them in a couple of weeks. They are always a quick turn-around on these, since the owner lives in the neighborhood and he and his son do these as the last stop of the day, on their way home. Appointments are usually only a couple of days out.

Spotted a pine tree in the neighborhood this morning with huge pinecones on it. Some are still pretty green, but many were already brown. It served as a reminder that Fall and Winter are just around the corner.

 

[Lori K]

I’m doing produce this week. Finishing up my tomatoes today

That's how I spent my Monday. Good to be done until apples and squash come on.

 

[PamelaG]

Spotted a pine tree in the neighborhood this morning with huge pinecones on it. Some are still pretty green, but many were already brown. It served as a reminder that Fall and Winter are just around the corner.

We had leaves falling as we drove out of the driveway this morning. Fall is here!

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

Lori, some great reminders. I need to look at carpet cleaning and I will schedule the air conditioning service when I have my housing inspection in September.

We had leaves falling as we drove out of the driveway this morning. Fall is here!

My favourite time of the year.

 

[Lolwlias]

I am sticking with the front area. I have some weeding to do tomorrow after work, spider webs to sweep away & I am hoping to get the deck railing painted. That may not happen, but unless it rains, it shouldn't be too horrible on my hip & knees to complete.
I also plan to get my notebook back in order.

 

[jampss]

Planning on the front porch this weekend!!

 

[luludou]

Thinking the front area will be next week... the guys are finishing up the front of the house... don't know when they will put in the grass (dh must know) and then he can power wash the whole front of the house and wash off windows. It'll be good for winter!

 

[MinnieCo]

Because my schedule was wide open this week I went for a room that would take ALOT of time and that was my kitchen and dining room. I've been diving in head first and just covering it all. Even putting all my extra dishes and nik naks through the dishwasher becuase it's been awhile and they needed it badly. I even dug back into the far back depth of my corner cabinets that I can't see into or reach and pulled out some dirty, DIRTY stuff. I have 2 sets of mugs that were my mothers and grandfathers I haven't used in 20 + years. One is a White milk glass set that says Irish Coffee and the other set is similar to beer steins, but they are glass with gold rims and say Sullivan. I've been holding on to them because I feel guilty to get rid of them, but I don't ever see me using them so my daughter and I decided we're both going to take one of each as a keepsake and I'll sell the others.

As I'm cleaning this stuff i feel horrible, like I"m some dirty person, but the swamp cooler and open windows just bring in so much gunk into my house. I'm so looking forward to seeing the difference next year when we've had the a/c up and working through summer. Plus I'm having the ducts cleaned, so I think that will help with the crud everywhere.

I also packed up my red, white, and blue decorations I keep out all summer. I pretty much have them out June, July, and August because I enjoy them so much. I'm really trying to incorporate my decorating into a set schedule and I'm doing pretty good this year. I'll get Halloween to my house and probably up the last week of September.

 

[Ahorsesoul]

After dinner I decided to clean the front porch. Hauled the bench off and hosed it down, even turning it upside down to clean. Then put the summer wreath in a bag to spray with bug spray before putting it in storage. Then swept the walls down, sprayed with bug spray and swept the carpet. Next it was haul out the vacuum cleaner outside to vacuum the carpet. Then put everything back. I forgot to take a before and after photo. This week I’ll put out the fall wreath.

 

[Lori K]

I made a big dent in my Front Porch cleaning list this week. All the cob webs and spider clusters have been swept away. The porch can light cover has been cleaned, as have the sidelights, transom window, and storm door inside and out. The landing and steps have been swept, and I reaffixed the doorbell push button. Thought I was going to have to completely replace it, but it just needed to be reattached. Thank you, industrial strength velcro! I'm planning on painting the front door on Sunday (or Monday, weather dependent). And, as part of doing that, I'll readjust the pressure arms on the storm door and see if that does the trick. If not, I'll buy replacements. The carpet cleaners have a wide-open schedule, so I decided to hold off on getting that done for another couple of weeks. Still waiting for approval on seal coating the driveway, and am going back and forth with the Association re: vent covers -- have had two handymen come out and neither will touch the job because it's exterior, Association-owned property; Association says vent covers are owner-responsibility, but it's not clearly stated in our documents. These are in the eaves of the soffits, 3-story townhome. Argh!!!!).

One thing interesting that DID happen this week is DSis#4 (who lost her DH a year ago) has decided to downsize (completely cleaned out her house, in 2 weeks time from decision to listing it for sale) and is returning to me (after 20 years) my paternal GMs ruby red glassware. These are more of what I would call party dishes, the size I'd use for serving relishes, small cookies, etc., as well as coffee cups, juice classes, maybe a few larger tumblers, creamer and sugar, and the like. My dad always said they weren't that valuable -- they farmed, all boys in the family, and she'd gotten them a few at a time at the dime store. From what Dad said, GM liked a festive table. It will be my honor to use them during the holidays. (I never knew her; she passed away 10 days before I was born.)

 

[Miss JoDee]

I had decided to start bedroom but DS call and want to take us to lunch for DH's birthday. I can work on my files this afternoon instead.

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

It will be my honor to use them during the holidays. (I never knew her; she passed away 10 days before I was born.)

What an amazing thing to have. I hope you enjoy using these beautiful items.

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

After dinner I decided to clean the front porch. Hauled the bench off and hosed it down, even turning it upside down to clean. Then put the summer wreath in a bag to spray with bug spray before putting it in storage. Then swept the walls down, sprayed with bug spray and swept the carpet. Next it was haul out the vacuum cleaner outside to vacuum the carpet. Then put everything back. I forgot to take a before and after photo. This week I’ll put out the fall wreath.

Nice that the weather is lovely enough to work after dinner. I like the idea of a wreath for every season, I do not have any but would maybe like a few.

 

[Ahorsesoul]

Just put the falls wreath up and the swag under the front porch wall light. While putting away the other wreath I noticed water on some of the fall totes. Yep, just took a shower in the bathroom right over head. So we will put in a call to the plumber for Tuesday. Will do it tomorrow with a message that it doesn’t seem to be an emergency but do want to get in line since it’s a holiday weekend. (Tomorrows job is now to clean out the room downstairs where they plumber might need to use. It is out store room so it is a mess that I have wanted to do for some time. There is some wet carpet to shop vac. )

Since we have moved here (3 years) I have wanted to power wash the porch steps in the garage. So today was the day. I was just going to do half the garage (my half of course, lol) but Dh said we might as well do it all. So he did haul out the really heavy items and did run for items I needed. I power washed the step, some carpet by the steps and then did the whole two car garage. After I had swept, leaf blowed and shop vacuum. Love to power wash. Makes so much difference. Then I sorted all the items we had hauled outside. Decided to power wash the rugs by all the doors and the rugs from the garage. Washed all the 5 gallon buckets and the terra cotta pots I had in my garden cabinet and the car dog kennels. Then I shop vacuumed the wet garage floor and set up two fans. Oiled the hinges on the door going outside. I just kept going slowly. Started at 9 am and finished about 5:00pm. I did clean out my garden cabinet while waiting for Dh to find an attachment for the shop vac. Turned out he couldn’t find it so was just reading facebook on his computer. But it did give me time to do my cabinet. Only thing left is to treat the clean steps with the stuff we put on the deck. I’ll put a darker stain on the edges of the step for DD in the morning.

 

[Miss JoDee]

I just kept going slowly. Started at 9 am and finished about 5:00pm.

Slow and steady wins! I am finding that doing things this way I am less tired, making me more thoughtful regarding decluttering and productive when I look back. An audiobook (novel) really helps set the pace for me.

 

[Lori K]

There's light drizzle out now, and it's very humid. So no painting the front door this morning. It's supposed to dry out and just be overcast this afternoon. Will have to check humidity. As this is my front door and I'm in a metropolitan (albeit generally safe suburban) area, it needs to be closed and locked overnight. And that means totally dry. Will read Week 2 this morning and plan out the week ahead.

 

[HouseElf]

My projects always take longer than I plan for, but front sunporch and kitchen porch projects are well on their way. This year has required some painting touch-ups so its been a bit more involved for time. As we move into week two we will still be working on these areas, but I feel so hopeful they may be finished soon