My Tireless Retirement – Week 170

 

Hello, hello!  June has finished itself up and it is now July.  Our year is already half over and looking back at my journal and dayplanner I am quite pleased with all that I’ve been able to do and accomplish this year.  I’ve done some really big things this year so far and not to boast, but I’m rather proud of myself.  Needless to say, I am feeling super charged to take on the latter half of 2025!

 

I got a few things done 😁

Unbeknownst to all of you I challenged myself to take on at least one practical project a day in the month of June, one useful project to improve my quality of life.  While it certainly did that I was surprised by how much these projects also impacted my mental health in a very positive way.  I walked away from the month of June feeling absolutely AMAZING!  I decided to continue my useful projects in the month of July as well however, I’m going to take on fewer projects, perhaps not every day and go at a much more leisurely pace.  I’m not all that good at the leisurely pace part, but I thought I’d give it a try.  We shall see how well that works out for me.

 

Nailed it!

When I did my home reset I had printed off a fresh copy of my housekeeping checklist and re-cleaned.  After six weeks I had accomplished what I normally now spread out over a six month period of time.  Plus, I did all of the additional projects and a TON of decluttering.  I made four trips to two different thrift stores to drop off donations during the month of June.  June was definitely my best and most productive month so far this year.

 

I cannot tell you enough just how much I enjoy opening my cupboards and cabinets in the kitchen and seeing those lovely and cheerful shelf liners.  It is so nice to see some open spaces in my cupboards and drawers, less jam packed.  What a joy it is to cook, bake and put away my dishes.  Who knew such a simple little thing like making those shelf liners and doing some more decluttering could make such a difference?

 

Refreshed & clean

As the month was coming to a close one of the things I wanted to accomplish this year was to give my entry way a freshen up.  Since the last time it was painted there were some dings and gouges from clarinet and violin cases heading out the door not to mention my own special touches when I moved furniture out during my first big declutter a couple years ago.  A touch of kitty activity as well.  I spackled the imperfections and then gave it a good coat of paint.  It was a bit sad to cover up some of that history, but now those memories are safely entombed for all eternity.

 

Before with a little bit of spackle work

After!  Nice!

Also on the never ending “to-do” list to complete was to repaint the wainscot in the upstairs bathroom.  I had already repaired a bit of wall damage some time ago and all it needed was a fresh coat.  I had planned to paint it before my house guests arrived, but ran out of time.  It is done and now as I sit on the potty I am no longer reminded I have an unfinished project patiently waiting for my attention.

 

I made this table matte

and a candle matte using some of the leftover pieces

I made it back into the sewing room to finish up the hanging dish towels I had stitched together.  I made myself a table matte as a nice treat to myself for all the hard work I had completed.  Everything I used to make it came from my sewing stash so I did not need to purchase anything new.  I like to make these mattes in various holiday themes to decorate my dining room table.  This new one is very patriotic and will remain on my table until I decorate for Fall.

 

"You should do something about this deck!"

The deck in the backyard has also been patiently waiting for me to give it a refresh.  I started off by power washing the entire deck and letting it dry for twenty four hours.  Over the course of a few days I sanded the entire deck and the steps.  I worked on it early in the morning while it was still cool and in the shade.  I used up some sandpaper I had that had been hanging around in the garage for ages.  I was hopeful it would be enough to get the job done, but ran out and had to go buy more.  Shoot!

 

"About time you got started on this!"

Power washed and ready for sanding.

On the way home from work on Monday I stopped in at Home Depot and picked up another package of sandpaper.  A heatwave hit us so I had to put this project on hold because it was way too hot to safely work outside, but I will get it done now that the temperatures have gone back down and then you will see pictures of the newly refreshed deck.  In the meantime have a great week!