Fix-It Friday is an occasional series that details the projects I’ve done around the house. Check out some past posts here and here.
Right now, the Northeast is again the grip of a snowstorm of epic proportions. We’re going on 24 hours of a 48-hour storm, and I can’t even see the street from the window, that’s how insanely the wind is whipping around the snow. The phrases “paralyzing blizzard” and “snow hurricane” (“snowicane” for my Tweeps) have been bandied about. I know other parts of the country deal with this kind of weather every winter, but here in the NYC metro area, this is a cause for mass panic.
I’ve decided to take a vacation day today if we are indeed called in to the office; the commute was just too scary on Thursday. As a result of the long weekend, I’m hoping to get some more things done around the house, despite the busy social schedule we have (weather permitting) — Mr. Saver’s godson is turning 1 and his parents are throwing a party in his honor across town, and his aunt and cousin are driving in from Wisconsin, which means a dinner across the street at the in-laws.
But in between those events, there are some projects I want to finish/tackle:
- Replace the thermostat. I bought a programmable, digital version (for $25), but this project is a bit intimidating. What if I screw it up? Will I be able to reinstall the old one?
- Replace a light switch. It’s stuck in the “ON” position, which means we have to turn off the lamp that’s plugged into the corresponding outlet by hand. And since the switch is by the front door, it means there’s no light to turn on when we walk in.
- Finish painting the office. It’s all taped up and has two coats of white semi-gloss paint on the trim; it needs another two coats to be complete. The minimal furniture in the room is all pulled away from the walls to accommodate the project, and it’s driving me batty.
I haven’t gotten too much done this week around the house, but I’m working on it. Are there any projects on your to-do list?
You'll get it all done. You always do! It feels good to make lists, doesn't it?
I have such a long to-do-list I don't even want to think about it.
I started turning my blog entries into a book and stopped after like page 10, so I need to get back to that. I need to work on the freelance and I need to catch up on the 300 blogs I follow then there's sending as many resumes as I possibly can.
Enjoy your snowy weekend. Did you hear another storm may be in store for mid-week? Ouch!
Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nothing
@Patti: Ambitious list — but first, get some rest and fully recover from your flu!
@Christine: That's a lot of painting, but I bet your daughter is thrilled with her princess room. I think I'm pretty painted-out, myself. This is room number six for me for trim-painting — did the walls of those six when we first moved in. I could go without having to look at a paintbrush for a few years…
We just got done painting my daughter's room "Invite a Princess" Disney Pink. the room came out tres beautiful, but painting a darker color… Oh Ye Vay! I may have become good at painting but I do NOT want to paint anymore of the house (we just got done with kitchen, living room, daughter's room… we have about 3 more rooms to do). So this weekend, I am going to a hockey game & drinking beer to relax. 🙂
Projects on my to-do list:
1. CLEAN – this goes w/out saying as we were away last weekend and this weekend doesn't look too promising as we're both battling the flu.
2. Organize the closets – our master bath has a beautiful closet and it is currently a major mess.
3. Launder all the curtains in the house (minus the ones that we've recently put up in the living/dining room)
4. Frame and hang up a few pictures/degrees
5. Have another paper shredding party and organize all our paper files.
I'm planing a small vacation at the end of the month that maybe I can tackle all these things and more. Good luck with yours!!!
-Patti
@Lillie: And congrats on the book!
@Money Beagle & Lillie: I've doing (minor) rewiring before so I'm well-versed in the turn-the-power-off thing! 😉 Like MB said, the trick is watching which wires go where.
The painting is the easiest, I've done many rooms over the years. Money Beagle is right though, gotta take the painter's tape off carefully.
It sounds like you have your work cut out for you. Like Money Beagle said, make sure the power is turned off when working on the switch. My weekend won't be filled with fix-it projects, instead mine will focus on "getting it done projects instead. I am currently working on a book and I hope to have at least a good start on another chapter.
The thermostat should be no big deal. It's just a couple of wires. Probably the toughest part will be drilling new anchors into the wall to hold the new one in place.
The light switch should hopefully be pretty simple as long as you remember to turn the power off at the breaker box and I'd recommend switching the wires out one at a time so that you don't lose track of what goes where. Sometimes the wires on the old and new switches are in different places which always makes it fun. If you turn the breaker back on and it trips, you know you've done it wrong 🙂
You might find the toughest part in the paint job. Sounds like you have the painting under control but the tape removal can sometimes be tricky. I've learned that leaving it on for too long can lead to a greater chance of it peeling some paint away when you remove it, so be careful.
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