My yearlong project to spend 15-minutes a day tackling projects around the house continued.
For this final post of the year, I’ll highlight what happened in Q4, discuss how the project “drifted”, and on what I learned, and consider the year ahead.
The Progress
Like Q3, some days had fifteen minutes.
However, sometimes there were days with 0 minutes and other days with an hour.
The projects were a little tougher to dive in and out of like some of the other quarters.
The two big projects I tackled were the master bedroom shower and the bay window in my office.
There is an overview of each below and a summary of my observations from the year at the end.
The Projects – Shower
The master bathroom needs serious updating. I decided to try some “refreshing” on my own.
After deciding to start on the shower, I investigated what could be done.
Research quickly led me to one primary solution – spray paint.
The sustainability side of me was saying “no” – spray paint isn’t good for the environment.
However, with a bit of research and weighing options I moved forward.
I found was that water-based spray paints don’t contain the same level of VOCs I wanted to avoid.
I also believe that a few cans of spray paint have a lighter impact than the production of a new shower base/surround and blinds. Not to mention the waste created by throwing away what I had.
So, I moved forward.
I spray painted the base, the doors, the fixtures, and the frame. Along the way, I also replaced the 20+ year old rollers on the doors. Below is the before and after. Each day, this update makes me smile. It’s like a whole new shower.
The Projects – Blinds
The blinds were a little different.
New windows were installed in the room 3-4 years ago. There haven’t been any window treatments up since – leaving the big open space to let the light in. That was great…. until I rearranged the office and put the desk in a new position. Now, the winter sun is low, and it shines RIGHT in my face all morning.
My first solution was tension rods with curtains. They didn’t work (kept falling) so I returned them.
Then, ironically, I found my solution in the basement!
I had kept the bay window blinds when the windows were replaced.
The challenge was that they were an almond color that matched our old trim – not the new, white trim.
With a bit of research, I found that cellular blinds could also be spray painted.
This set me on another spray-painting project.
Below is the before/after of the color (before on left) and an image of the “new” blinds installed in the second photo.
Observations from the Year
To assess how it went, I went back to the intentions I set, here are the headlines:
- Take the philosophy of “Start by Starting” – just dive into the project that needs done.
- The Daunting Basement – I took a photo and declared this as the 15-minute project.
- 90 Hours – I calculated that 15 minutes a day would add up to 90 hours of time spent.
Looking at my summaries from Q1, Q2, and Q3, I see drift from the above – kind of.
I started as intended in the basement.
In Q1 organized my jewelry equipment & supplies the nook under the stairs, moved my photography equipment from the basement and many other areas to a closet upstairs, and brought a desk up from the basement to put in the master bedroom.
Then, I drifted….no more basement work.
While I could feel bad about that, I don’t.
My projects shifted to things that made my life “upstairs” better daily.
In Q2, I completely overhauled my office, clearing out things I no longer want/need, paining, and moving the furniture to a new configuration. I LOVE my new office and spend many hours there. This contributed much more to environmental wellbeing than a clean basement would have. I also cleared out the upstairs hall closet and made it a “shop” for bathroom supplies.
In Q3, a rotting wall in our backyard was replaced, the garage was cleaned, an audio recording nook was created in a closet, and the office supplies from all over the house were consolidated to create a supply “shop” in a credenza.
As we just reviewed, this quarter focused on the shower and blinds.
My Final Assessment
Looking back at all the positive forward progress in my home, this experiment was a success.
It’s hard to say if I spent a full 90 hours, but it was close.
Next year will have another 15-minute project.
I don’t know yet what it will be.
Maybe I get back to that basement…