Running Out of Things to Maintain - Honey Do List

gathermewool

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I've recently done a bunch of necessary maintenance of the vehicles, which is my favorite way to decompress and burn off some steam.

I need to rotate the tires and I'll probably end up changing the sparks plugs early on the Legacy (55k miles --> 60k miles spec), but that's it. Everything else I've been putting off or neglecting to do is done or something I don't really care about.

What about you? What have you been catching up on recently? Does any one else find it easier to continue to perform maintenance on vehicles, OPE and the such than other household chores?

Now that that's out of the way, don't get me started on the honey do list. It's too long to even list, but includes:

1. Completing chopping down apple tree close to house. I limbed it so that we don't have to duck under the branches to take the trash out, but it needs to be gone completely

2. I've got two other apple trees that are more eye-sores that make it more difficult to mow than practical. The apples aren't tasty, either.

3. I haven't touched our little plot of garden since we moved in. I need to cut out all of the massive growth before Spring comes and then lay down some black stuff to heat up and kill everything beneath.

4. General trimming and pruning of the ten dozen bushes and plants around our property

5. Spray insecticide along the perimeter of house. Despite my wife's pleadings I refused to do it last year since the coating from two years ago seemed to work all through last season. We saw maybe a dozen or so ants, but nothing like when we first moved in.

6. Organize the basement with new shelving and storage. I built a bunch of Gladiator shelves and have a bunch of 22 gal bins to start organizing things by purpose. For instance, I have a bin full of detailing products, etc.

7. Update the garage for better storage and organization. I've got a nice Craftsman tool chest and a Gladiator Armoire that need to be setup and utilized.

8. The a-hole previous owners tossed a bunch of junk into the woods, surrounded by a briar patch. It's not visible when the foliage comes in, but bugs me all winter, when I walk the property. My plan is to take the old junk there and slowly break it down and add to the normal trash over the next winter. I should have done it this past winter, but all well.

9. Replace all ancient GFCI

10. Replace all old smoke detectors


The hardest part of organizing is figuring out where I want everything. What exactly do I put in the garage vs in the basement vs in the outdoor shed. I like to keep things I use all the time easily accessible, but don't want to lose rarely used specialty tools, like the T70 bit I only use during gear oil changes, the caliper compressor I only use during brake jobs, etc.

I'd love to hear what you guys do to keep organized. I realize I should have posted this at the beginning of the weekend to get the most visibility, but I can't sleep. Here's hoping that some of the rest of you can't either! Actually, I don't wish insomnia on anyone else!
 
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Every time I think I am getting caught up, two or three new things to do pop up. Like Roseanne Rosannadanna said "If it ain't one thing it's another."
 
So, I have 3 1/2 year old and 11 months old. Wife works from home anyway, and my job is whatever, but now also confined to home. Trick is, kids are at home and she has set hours, so that means I babysit during the day, work in evening.
That is first thing.
Second thing, if I ever run into Peppa Pig and her brother George it will not end well!
This weekend I did some garage organizing, helped wife with some garbage since she is redoing some closet stuff, making room for 11 month daughter. The way things are looking, I am being evicted and probably will have closet in basement.
I thoroughly cleaned Sienna, found two pairs of my boy's underwear (clean luckily) and some pants, several diapers (clean) from 11 month old.
Next weekend it is Tiguan, after that BMW.
I am planning to upgrade audio in BMW and that will require all speaker replacements, head unit, adding two amps, new cables, probably installing small subwoofer behind armrest in back seat, so overall I am looking at 10hrs of work, but all things considered, probably start disassembling car and slowly doing it and probably it will take me 2-3 weekends to do it while juggling kids around.
In December I should change brake fluid in all three cars, I actually might tackle that now, just because.
 
I did a tire rotation. I'll do brakes for a friend, an o2 sensor, air filters in two vehicles, and adjust a steering box. There's more I'm sure. My son's room will get painted now, the weather this week isn't going to be great. I have a feeling I'm going to be home longer than expected, finding things to do is very easy. I wish it were under better circumstances.
 
My project list is down to little stuff like waxing my riding mower and cleaning crack in my garage floor with a tooth brush :))
 
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^^^ waxing the rider. I need to add it to my list.

I "hoarded plywood" (bought 2 sheets) in case I get stuck at home (we're still on site). I don't know yet what I'll do with them, but I'll have them to do something with.

There's a hole I've been digging into the sloped yard beneath our deck. Trying to level the ground beneath it, allowing easier access to store items down there. I'm taking that dirt and using it to direct the heavier rain flows we have away from the exterior walls of the house. It seems best if I limit to 1 lawn-trailer-load of dirt per session, though, so it goes by pretty quickly.

May scrub and paint all the trim in the house?
 
My first step in organizing is to collect the tools I have left around the house and put them where they belong. I too have a basement workshop and garage. My main work bench is in the basement. I have some basic hand tools there. The big tool chest is in the garage. As are my table saw and drill press and welders.

Next thing is to cut some tool drawer liner to line the rest of the drawers in my larger tool chest.

Looking for warmer weather to get outside and start doing things outside.
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
2 years ago we started building a fence around her garden. I got a whole side put in yesterday lol.


I laughed out loud!

Originally Posted by edyvw
So, I have 3 1/2 year old and 11 months old. Wife works from home anyway, and my job is whatever, but now also confined to home. Trick is, kids are at home and she has set hours, so that means I babysit during the day, work in evening.
That is first thing.
Second thing, if I ever run into Peppa Pig and her brother George it will not end well!
This weekend I did some garage organizing, helped wife with some garbage since she is redoing some closet stuff, making room for 11 month daughter. The way things are looking, I am being evicted and probably will have closet in basement.
I thoroughly cleaned Sienna, found two pairs of my boy's underwear (clean luckily) and some pants, several diapers (clean) from 11 month old.
Next weekend it is Tiguan, after that BMW.
I am planning to upgrade audio in BMW and that will require all speaker replacements, head unit, adding two amps, new cables, probably installing small subwoofer behind armrest in back seat, so overall I am looking at 10hrs of work, but all things considered, probably start disassembling car and slowly doing it and probably it will take me 2-3 weekends to do it while juggling kids around.
In December I should change brake fluid in all three cars, I actually might tackle that now, just because.


I feel you, brother. I've got a 4 1/2-year-old and a 16-month-old. The little one does mic drops with her toys, binky, milk bottle, etc. all the time. She picked up a milk bottle the other day and made a funny face before we could get to her. We could see the curds.
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Good luck with your TEN (10) hours plan for your audio upgrade
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Originally Posted by demarpaint
I did a tire rotation. I'll do brakes for a friend, an o2 sensor, air filters in two vehicles, and adjust a steering box. There's more I'm sure. My son's room will get painted now, the weather this week isn't going to be great. I have a feeling I'm going to be home longer than expected, finding things to do is very easy. I wish it were under better circumstances.


I know exactly what you mean. There's a difference, unfortunately, in what I want to and have been planning on doing (car stuff) and other things that just need to get done (yard work). I'm new to owning a large yard, and while I find my 1.5 hr mow time to be cathartic, I do NOT enjoy other yardwork. Well, chopping trees down is pretty fun, but then breaking everything down and disposing of... not so much!

Originally Posted by Lubener
Check on my elderly neighbors.



Good on you, brother! Are you they actually letting you in or are they just coming to the screen door to say hi, which seems to be more common now.

Originally Posted by WyrTwister
I have been trying to get caught up on naps ! :)


I've been sleeping like crap and napping during the late afternoon - it's becoming a vicious cycle!

Originally Posted by meep
^^^ waxing the rider. I need to add it to my list.

I "hoarded plywood" (bought 2 sheets) in case I get stuck at home (we're still on site). I don't know yet what I'll do with them, but I'll have them to do something with.

There's a hole I've been digging into the sloped yard beneath our deck. Trying to level the ground beneath it, allowing easier access to store items down there. I'm taking that dirt and using it to direct the heavier rain flows we have away from the exterior walls of the house. It seems best if I limit to 1 lawn-trailer-load of dirt per session, though, so it goes by pretty quickly.

May scrub and paint all the trim in the house?



Oh, yea. How did I forget that I haven't waxed either car since 2017! ugh!

You also reminded me that my wife wants to pull the faux window shutters and repaint them; they're pretty faded.

Originally Posted by Donald
My first step in organizing is to collect the tools I have left around the house and put them where they belong. I too have a basement workshop and garage. My main work bench is in the basement. I have some basic hand tools there. The big tool chest is in the garage. As are my table saw and drill press and welders.

Next thing is to cut some tool drawer liner to line the rest of the drawers in my larger tool chest.

Looking for warmer weather to get outside and start doing things outside.


That's what I need to do. I've got 3 large tool boxes (two of which are filled with old tools that my grandpa gave me before he died - it smells like OOOOLD tool shed in there!), a bunch of bins, shelves and other places where I can store things. The tools that come in a case are easy, but I have purchased several dozen one-off tools over the years for various projects.

With modern technology, I guess I could just email myself with the location of certain specialty tools. It takes two seconds to email myself, "T70 torx - garage - Craftsman chest" or, "Drum brake spring removal tool - basement - orange toolbox"

Originally Posted by BigCahuna
The main thing to do is Pace yourself. It might feel good to get all the chores done in a day, But what are you gonna do tomorrow?.,,,


One thing I haven't mentioned is that I believe I cracked a rib a few months ago and reaggravated it while trying to get the Legacy's front diff fill plug loose. It bothered me since then; however, I actually had a lot of trouble getting off the ground after re-installing the last door card after installing new speakers in the Legacy.

Nothing a handful of Advil can't handle! On a serious note, I've been putting off other things around the house for this very reason, which might also be a good thing regarding tool organization. I'll take my time and get some steps in, moving a few things at a time, instead of my usual handfuls of tools being dumped into temporary storage (e.g., tool boxes). I'm good at wiping tools down and adding a light coating of oil, as appropriate, but then I tend to just toss them (gently) into a box or on a bench.
 
I definitely prefer working on cars than working around the house. Well, there are few exception, like playing around with... I mean "installing" security camera system, I like doing wiring, stuff that does not require a lot of work.

Speaking of lots of work, wife wants to rip out ALL carpets and ALL tile downstairs, and install hardwood floor, which will be luxury vinyl so we don't have to worry about water or moisture. I'm not going to enjoy this one.
 
Originally Posted by KrisZ
I definitely prefer working on cars than working around the house. Well, there are few exception, like playing around with... I mean "installing" security camera system, I like doing wiring, stuff that does not require a lot of work.

Speaking of lots of work, wife wants to rip out ALL carpets and ALL tile downstairs, and install hardwood floor, which will be luxury vinyl so we don't have to worry about water or moisture. I'm not going to enjoy this one.


Yuck - no, thanks! We paid someone to remove carpet and install HW in the master BR. We have crappy laminate tile down in the basement that will hopefully be there til the day I die!
 
Was under the truck replacing a NVLD pump trying to solve a Check engine light thats been on for years which drew my attention to the fact that the rear diff had not been serviced in 30k miles so I did that and decided to do a cooling service flush and replace the hoses which has now led me to decide to get rid of the frame rust that has started getting a bit heavy on all the aftermarket bolt ons and a good surface rust on the frame. This is not going to be fun. I wanted to replace the last 2 original hydraulic hoses on my tractor before I did the spring fluid and filter changes but the shop that makes the hoses is on limited hours now.
 
Maintain your golf clubs and go knock the balls around the golf course. Even invite the person that gives you constant Honey-Do Lists.
In other words, don't use this unexpected time-off from work to only do more work at home.
 
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