These days I’m finally making progress on a bunch of lingering tasks I’ve been putting off. It feels good to check things off the list and reclaim little pockets of order around the house. A reader recently asked if I’d ever bring back my “Dude, Get On That Already” updates, the posts where I finally tackle small projects that have been sitting around forever. As it turns out, I have made some headway — here’s what I’ve actually managed to complete.
#1: The dining room table is clear. In a recent house tour I admitted that the dining room and guest room had gotten cluttered while we worked on other spaces. After living with the mess for a while, I finally found better homes for the clutter. Craft supplies moved into my newly organized craft closet upstairs, and decorative pieces found space in the lower cabinets in the living room alongside other vases and cloches. It’s such a relief to see the wood tabletop again — and yes, I wiped away a fair amount of dust before snapping a photo.
Some people asked whether I’d use the dining table as a workspace now that it’s uncluttered. I tried it for a bit, but I still prefer the kitchen table because I can keep a better eye on Clara playing in the living room. The dining room is more isolated, so it’s nice to know the space is usable when I want solitude, and we can actually host a slightly fancier meal if the mood strikes.
Meanwhile, the kitchen counter still looks chaotic thanks to an in-progress pantry reorganization. All the cabinets are painted and drying, so we’re waiting to install the new storage systems. It’s amazing how one cleared surface can be followed by another area waiting for attention — the cycle continues.
#2: I hemmed Clara’s overly long curtains. The curtains in her room were about six inches too long. I liked the drapey look, but the excess fabric read sloppy. One afternoon while Clara played with her dollhouse, I hemmed them using heat-activated hem tape. Cutting and hemming took about half an hour for all the panels. I left them slightly skimming the floor for a relaxed feel, but the finished result looks much tidier. It’s funny how a small sewing task can feel so satisfying after weeks of noticing it and not doing it.
#3: Extra pieces of our sectional are gone. We had leftover pieces from a full sectional that didn’t fit our living room, and they sat in the attic for months under a drop cloth. We thought about listing them cheaply, assuming incomplete sectional pieces wouldn’t fetch much. Then, surprisingly, someone contacted us and offered $250 for them. It turned out she needed those exact pieces, was traveling nearby, and was able to pick them up and drive them home. Now the unused pieces have a new life, and we have a little extra money in the bank — win-win.
#4: I sorted and distributed Clara’s outgrown clothes. I had several large bins of hand-me-downs, donations, and items to return to friends sitting at the end of the living room for weeks. Finally, I went through them and distributed everything: some things were handed back to friends, others donated, and a few were taken to a local secondhand children’s store. I received a small check for the items the store accepted, and the remaining pieces went to a donation box. The piles are gone, and the corner looks so much better.
#5: Clara’s birdcages finally have birds. I picked up a set of colorful decorative birds on clearance and used their clips and ornament loops to perch them inside Clara’s birdcages. I added a small wooden dowel in one cage to create a proper perch, and the birds now brighten the room. Clara named one “Prince Sam Bluebird,” and she says goodnight to him every evening. Little touches like this make the room feel finished and playful.
In other household news, our new washer arrived recently. After dealing with a broken machine and the inconvenience of living without it, having a fully functioning washer again feels like a small miracle. I might even find myself humming and doing a little dance while loading laundry — at least for a few days.
So those are some of the small but satisfying wins: cleared surfaces, hemmed curtains, sold sectional pieces, distributed clothes, and bird-filled cages. I still have more tasks on the list, so I’m thinking about setting a future check-in to hold myself accountable and encourage others to make progress, too. Want to join me? What are the things on your “gotta get on that” list right now?