Projects.
Anyone seen the You Tube video “Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That?” If you haven’t you should. It’s funny. Make sure it is the original report, not the remix. So essentially it is an interview about a lady who had to climb out of a burning building and tells the interviewer…”Ain’t nobody got time for that.” LOVE it.
Well that is how I feel about projects. Everything is a project. I’ve got so many real time things happening that projects turn everything upside down. If I’m doing a project then I’m not cleaning, cooking, driving, washing, drying, sorting, home working, taxiing, paying, searching, organizing, calling, finagling…and then those things start to pile up. The life of a busy person.
My approach to projects is how many corners can I cut? This kind of makes my husband cringe a little. He is not a corner cutter. He is thorough. He is deliberate. He follows procedures. I don’t. I try. It’s hard.
I have two projects I am tackling. One is painting a dresser and the other is horror upon horror sorting pictures from, gulp, 2005. I’ve been putting that last project off since, umm, 2005. The painting project I’ve got down pat. I am the Queen of how to paint a piece of furniture fast. The other project, well, it’s taken me since 2005 to come up with a plan.
Here’s how to go at rocket speed through two projects you may be putting off.
The painting is easy peasy. I do it in stages and use disposable everything.
I get a box. A small roller if it is a small project. A disposable roller pan liner inside a heavy duty paint roller tray. A disposable medium to large leftover container with lid. A brush. Disposable paper tarp–it doesn’t blow/move around as easy as plastic, is cheaper, and is made from recycled materials (Ecodrop). A paint key or flat head screw driver to open the can. Paint stirrer. Paper towels. Spray cleaner. And most importantly–saran wrap. Oh and paint. And while I’m talking about paint. If I can get paint that says one coat coverage I do. Usually I still need to do touch ups but it is worth it for saving time. And if I am painting something glossy or dark buy the paint with the primer built in. IT IS AWESOME.
You need all these things so that you can do the project fast. Trust me.
So I throw all these things into a box. I take out only what I need. I cover the floor. I pour some of the paint into the disposable container (easier to paint out of). I save anything that involves rolling for when I really have time–like more than 30 minutes. I paint in stages. I might do all the trim or edges one night. The next morning I could squeeze in a base coat. A few hours later some touch up. In between I wrap the brush/roller in saran wrap–NO WASHING. It will keep like that for days. I keep everything in the cardboard box. If I’m rolling I paint until the paint in the tray is used up and then wrap the tray in saran wrap.
I’ve painted multiple rooms/ceilings/pieces of furniture countless times with small kids under the same roof and a husband on deployment. The key is keep it simple. Paint in stages. Don’t get a lot out at one time. Save the big stuff for after the kids are asleep. You can still bust that box out mid-day and cut in some trim–pull up the lid, use the brush, wrap the brush, put on the lid. Easy peasy.
So here’s me painting my 8 year olds dresser with 4 kids in the house. I put dresser on BIG tarp and painted in stages. I didn’t pull every drawer out until I had to. And when I’m ready to stop it takes about 5 minutes tops to pack it all up. Saran Wrap! It’s your best friend when painting…and paper towels.
I painted the drawers with the clothes still inside. I pulled the drawers out a few inches and rolled the paint on as if it were a large surface.
The dresser is almost done. I had help, clearly. I’ll show you the finished product in the Conclusion of Decorator Translator or John Mayer is My Muse.
As for the Picture Project…stay tuned til tomorrow.
I’ve got another project calling…
