In Focus

Now that the light show is up and running, I’m back to the growing list of things to fix around the house.

But, since it’s the holiday season, there isn’t much I can do until the decorations are put away. I can finish my bedroom and clean out cupboards.

I don’t know why, but the last few months I have been in purge mode. I just want to go through everything and get rid of stuff we don’t need or use. I feel like we have just accumulated too much random stuff.

Something I have been wanting to do is build a storage pantry in the kitchen. We currently have three different types of cabinets and they are all open. I hate looking at the piles of towels, pet food, canned food and other random stuff. The problem is I am not a carpenter. I have the vision in my head of what I want but have to figure out dimensions and what kind of doors I would need to conceal everything.

The closet in my bedroom needs a little help. I bought some new brackets but I wish it was that simple. The only thing holding the rod to hang my clothes on are two holes in the walls. And it’s also dormered so that will be fun to fix. If the chimney issues taught me anything, it’s that plaster is horrible to fix. Another thing is how do you organize and add shelving to such an odd-shaped space...with no light available? The rest of the bedroom is nearly done. I just have a few pieces of furniture to cover with contact paper and install my new light fixture.

My main goal this winter is the stairwell and upstairs hallway. It desperately needs a fresh coat of paint and the trim is going to get stripped and painted. That will be a process in itself. The biggest issue is the stairs themselves. After spending hours pulling two-inch-long staples out of one stair I had enough. The risers are going to either get ground or replaced. I can’t even sand them with all the metal in the stairs.

Well, here’s hoping I can get something accomplished this winter...