Five on Friday

As I mentioned last week, I have really been feeling the need to simplify my life lately. I read another great book over the weekend, The Power of Less, by Leo Babauta. A couple of things that really stuck with me and that I tried to implement right away were: focusing on completion, and to choose tasks that you know you can accomplish. Too often, I get caught up in the main portion of a project which consumes my time and energy. When the project gets to a point where it is mostly finished, or it is good enough, I many times leave out some of the little finishing tasks that would complete the project all of the way. Using the Power of Less as my inspiration, I am once again going to use this blog to help with the motivation part.

So here is how it is going to work: every week, I am going to choose one room in my house or one project to focus on and pick five small 10-15 minute tasks that I can work on to help actually complete some of the major projects that we have been working on. Then on Fridays I can post them, knowing that I have accomplished some of the little things that have been on my to-do list forever. Some rooms will take a few weeks worth of tasks, but I am going to limit myself to just 5 little tasks per week so that I will be more likely to complete them.

For this week, I choose to focus on our Master Bathroom because there were a few finishing touches that I have been wanting and needing to do for awhile. It was actually crazy that I have put them off for so long because they really were easy to complete.

1. Hang the light fixture above the vanity.

We had that ugly hole with wires poking out of it sitting for way too long, but after a trip to Lowe's to get the anchor piece that we needed, Jared had it hung in no time.

Total Time: 30 minutes

2. Touch up paint.

I don't have pictures for this one, but it was one of the reasons that some of the other tasks sat for awhile. I needed to touch up around the light switch, around the toilet paper holder, and also around the heat vent.

Total Time: 10 minutes

3. Put the light switch cover on.

Another ugly hole that sat for way too long. It did need some touch-up paint, but once that was done it was really quick. 

Total Time: 3 minutes

4. Hang the toilet paper holder.

Simple right? Yes and no, this was one of those tasks that ended up taking longer than it should have because the old screws were stripped and it took forever to get them out. It was still relatively simple though, and so nice to not have the toilet paper just sitting on the counter.

Total Time: 20 minutes

5. Put up the window screen.

Back when we were doing demo on this bathroom, we took the screen off so that we could throw the garbage out the window and into the trash can. It has been off ever since because it couldn't be put on from the inside and required a ladder.

Total Time: 3 minutes (including setting up the ladder and putting it away)

There you have it, five simple under 30 minute projects that were crossed off of the to do list this week. It feels great to finally have them done! So, now the challenge is to keep this up, and to encourage others to choose some simple tasks to work on that will help them get a few steps closer to finishing a project.

Have a great weekend!

-Mandi