Git 'Er Done 2009

As many of you know, Brian & I bought his family's farm around Labor Day of 2007. We've been working on the house and yard since the early spring of that year, even before we bought it. Things are far from finished as we start 2009, and I don't want to deal with this again in 2010.

I've made a detailed list, room by room, of what projects need to be completed this year. I first posted about all this work in this post. I wanted to share my list but wasn't sure how to set it up. After reading over at Green Resolutions I really like the way she sets up her checklist and shows updates. I've decided to use a similar format for my project list. Thanks for the inspiration GR!

I'm going to title this segment "Git 'Er Done 2009". This will mostly be for my benefit, to keep me motivated and accountable. I'll try to include some before and after pictures and maybe even offer some good how-to advice. I avoid debt like the plague so these will all be pay as you go projects.

Feel free to read along. If you would like to join in, go ahead and grab the doodad, link over here, and post your updates whenever. I'll be doing most of my work on Saturdays. I started out working all day Sunday too but got burnout very quickly. I would recommend limiting yourself to one full day per week or a few hours here and there. You don't have to renovate your whole place, maybe you just have one small project you want to stay on track with.

In any case, I hope this is a valuable addition to the blog!

Okay, here's my master list. Red = done last year. Black = to be done. Blue = done in 2009.

Bedroom:
New bedding (received as wedding gift)
Paint walls & ceiling
Move closet (tear it out and rebuild in a different spot)
New TV (flatscreen - eliminated stand and gave us more floor space)
Mount lamp on wall
New trim
New curtains
Add 2nd clothes rod in closet
Cover hole for access to pipes (we cut this when changing plumbing in bathroom)
Rewire (and new switches/covers)
Decorate!
Curtain on closet
New light fixture
Headboard
Paint window frames

Bathroom:
Paint walls & ceiling
Eliminate old rust stains
New faucets/hardware
New shower curtain & rod
New curtain over window (in shower)
Curtain around base of sink
Refinish cabinet
Get a quote for recoating the tub
New trim
New lighting
Replace mirror (or make it look better)
Decorate!
Rewire (and new switches/covers)

Office
Find Brian a desk
Get a deal on a desk chair
Organize/rearrange
Paint walls & ceiling
Decorate!
New lighting
New curtains
Rewire

Kitchen
Removed wallpaper/patched/painted (Thanks Mom!!)
Refinished cabinets/rearranged them
New countertops
New trim (started)
New stove
New (used) dishwasher
New faucet
Paint window frames
Curtains in front of sink/trash
Finish trim
Baseboard for long cabinet
End caps on countertops
Paint baseboard on sink
Paint fridge
Hook up range hood
Rewire
New lighting

Back Room (entryway):
Paint walls/ceiling
New trim
Paint window frames
Refinish cabinet door
Build/buy a bench/shoe rack
Coat rack
Rewire
Clean off/organize stair shelf

Living Room
Paint walls & ceiling
Refinish trim
Decorate!
Have floor refinished
New area rug
Furniture
New light fixture
Curtains
Rewire
Make slipcovers for couches

Rabbit Room aka Guest Bedroom
Paint walls & ceiling
Furniture
Reorganize
Move rabbits out
Fix window screen (where rabbits chewed through it)
Touch up paint on trim
Decorate!
Rewire

Basement
Start cleaning/getting rid of everyone's junk
New washing machine
Buy laundry tub
Build corn storage bin
New corn stove
Finish cleaning
Install laundry tub
Install shower
New cabinets/tables/shelves (build or buy)
Dust/vacuum rafters
Clean out cistern (Baxter thinks it is his litterbox...gross)
Curtain @ base of stairs
Paint?
Rewire

Outside
Landscape around 1/2 house
Plant 2 pear trees (one died already)
Create garden
New porch roof
Tear our overgrown bushes
Repaired bad spot in shop roof
Built lean-to on back of shed (burned)
Get rid of lots of junk/scrap that is filling backyard
Install fence/plant pasture
Finish landscaping
Plant more fruit trees
Paint foundation of house
New exterior doors on house
Shutters?
Farm sign/flagpole/strawberries?
Flowers by mailbox/along road
Repair shed fire damage/build new
Finish/repair fences
Tear down little red barn
Paint new OSB on shop ceiling
Paint small shop door
Tear down garage?
New stonecrete in driveway?
Better plan for black walnuts (help!?)
Plant corn & pumpkins
Improve pasture
Poultry tractors/fence

I put question marks next to things that I'm not sure we'll get to or things that need more thought put in to them. I'll try to add links to specific posts as I go. You can always click on the above doodad on my sidebar to pull up all related posts.

Thanks for putting up with these long posts. I think this will really help me! I'd love to hear about your own home improvements.

Homemade Laundry Soap

My Mom & I have been using this recipe for years now so I thought I would share it. It came from our local paper, author unknown.

Laundry Soap Recipe:

3 pints water
1/3 bar Fels Naptha soap, grated
1/2 cup Super Washing Soda
1/2 cup borax
1 quart hot water
2 gallon bucket

Note: You may be able to get your local grocer to order the Fels Naptha for you, or you can find it online. The grocery store should have washing soda and borax, looks near the stain removers and other laundry aids.

Step #1: Mix grated soap in a large saucepan with 3 pints hot water. Heat on the stove over low heat until dissolved. Do not allow to boil.

Step #2: Stir in Super Washing Soda and 20 Mule Team Borax. Stir until thickened. Remove from heat.

Step #3: Add 1 quart hot water to 2 gallon bucket. Add soap mixture and mix well. Fill bucket with more hot water, leaving a few inches at the top, and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours or until mixture thickens. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load.

I like this mixture a lot and find it to work well on my clothes. My husbands really dirty/greasy jeans don't clean well in it but they didn't respond well to store-bought detergents either. We have pretty hard water, my Mom has soft water, and it performs well for both of us. I like that it is a liquid and that it lacks dyes and perfumes, since they sometimes irritate my skin.

Let me know if you try it or if you have any other laundry tips/recipes! :)

(Note: I took pictures of this entire process but they won't load right now so I'll try again later!)

Today, as I sit and look at my list of errands to run, I am thankful that we have the funds and vehicles available to do these little everyday tasks. One of the things on my list today is to drop off recycling. I am so lucky to live in a place where we have a wonderful recycling company and great people working there. I was very disappointed in our roadside pickup service so I'm glad to have found an alternate drop-off point. If you're local the place is Tuscola County Recycling.

Independence Days Update

1. PLANT SOMETHING: Some of my watermelon plants are coming up now. I planted three different kinds of cucumbers: one for slicing, one for pickles, and lemon cucumbers. I also planted my six little blueberry bushes in front of the house. One of them is mysteriously missing now and since ordering season is over for them I guess I'll have to get another one next year. I have a feeling that the puppy must have dug it up but I couldn't find it anywhere in the yard. What a bummer. On a good note, the potato plants that were accidently run over with the rototiller are coming back up again. I'm not sure if it is the same stems or new ones so hopefully it didn't hurt the yield too badly. At least we'll have some! :)

2. Harvest something. Not much ready right now. Next year I've got to plant some lettuce! My gooseberry plants have some pretty big berries on them but I don't think they're quite ready yet. I guess you could say we are harvesting hay because that is stockpiled feed for our animals all winter. We got 85 good bales off before a hailstorm hit and then the rest of a 7 acre field got poured on and will be cattle feed. Brian cut a couple rounds on the 15 acre field today. He has decided to say forget the weatherman and go with his gut instincts. I think he'll be better off.

3. Preserve something. *sigh* This is become more of a to-do list then notes on what I have done. I'll have to e-mail my Mom after this post and see if I can get more of her rhubarb to freeze. Oh, and my friend at work did leave some in the fridge for me so I'll get that tomorrow. Who knew I would love rhubarb so much. Plus I found a new recipe for it today so I'll try that.

4. Prep something. I have a couple of things to do here:

-Build a compost bin: we currently have to haul the table scraps across the road to avoid having them end up as dog food. Even then sometimes the puppy sneaks over and grabs a bite.

-Clean out the little red shed: this is the place where my chickens are housed and my sheep were at originally. I need to clean out the thick bed of hay and straw before the slatted wood floor gets rotten. Then I can finish the chickens' coop.

5. Cook something. Not much new here. I did make another patch of rhubarb muffins - Mmm Mmm!

6. Manage your reserves. I'm still doing okay here with the pantry. I was a little bummed when my fiance proudly announced he found a great sale on Powerade and then bought 2 cases of 15 bottles each. A few months ago I would have been excited about his find (and I was still a little proud at how price-conscious he is!) but it sucks to buy all those plastic bottles. We do reuse them until they get slimy or smelly but I'm afraid that probably isn't too healthy. Of course they go in the recycling bin after. So in an attempt to prevent this problem in the future we also bought a huge thing of Gatorade powder so I can mix up our own batches at home once the other stuff is gone.

7. Work on local food systems. Okay I still need to find a local source of feed for the sheep and chickens but I've got my flour source now! Atleast I think so. I called and talked to Shirley at Hampshire Farms and learned that they have several different kinds of flour and beans available. The flour is sold in 2# packages but larger quantities are available for order so I am going to try out a few different kinds and see what I like. Funny thing, as we got to talking we figured out that the farms' owner went to school with my fiance's parents and although there main farm is about 30 minutes away they also have an organic vegetable patch only 2 miles from our house! What a small world. I am so excited to get my first flour from them!