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anniedeighnaugh

Annie's punch list

Annie Deighnaugh
10 years ago

Good news: I found my old punch list of things to get finished on the house.
Bad news: There were a lot of things on the list.
Good news: Some of the things have actually been done!
Bad news: Lots of it has yet to be done.
Worse news: I added more stuff to the list.
Good news: It did get me to finally shorten my bed skirt today, so that's one less thing on my list!

Hopefully refreshing the list will help encourage me to tend to these items...nothing major, just lots of little stuff, like a bracket in the garage to hang brooms and mops, paint the in wall speakers to match, add a shelf to the PR, etc. etc.

Anyone else running a punch list?

Comments (45)

  • lynninnewmexico
    10 years ago

    (Sigh) Me, Annie. DD headed back to college yesterday, so I sat in bed this morning after DH headed off to work, and made my punch list of things I need to get done around here . . . and soon!
    Have I done any of them yet? Only one this entire day, so far. I finished transferring my (Living Cookbook) program from my crummy, old, dying laptop to my new-ish one . . . finally!
    Next up is repacking all of our Christmas decs, which are (I'm embarrassed to say) stacked all over our living and dining rooms. I need to throw out some and then reorganize all the rest from their previous 32-gallon storage bins, into more easily carried 18-gallon ones.
    After that, I need to do the same for all the rest of my holiday decs.
    That's only the first 3 of my long punch list. I do this every January. Do they all get done eventually? (LOL) No, but it makes me feel good to write the list and get at least some of them done. Reorganizing and packing away the decs will get done for sure, though. Crafty me stacked them all in rooms I see every day. I can't live with clutter, so I'll finish those quickly.
    Lynn

  • maire_cate
    10 years ago

    A punch list? - I have a punch notebook. It's usually close at hand so that I can add to it as need be.

    I have lists of things that need to be done at home, at our vacation home, movies I want to watch, tunes I want downloaded on my iPad, a list of questions to ask about my new Kindle Fire (I haven't mastered it yet), and I even have a to-do list for this summer when DH retires - ssh don't tell him, he might decide to work longer.

    I don't know what I'd do without it....and my DD has even inherited the trait. She has a little notebook that she carries in her purse for the same reason.

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    10 years ago

    Yes.

    But it makes me sad to look at it. We spent unpteen hours documenting it and arguing it with the GC, who then blithely announced he would not actually do anything on its 22 typewritten pages, despite us holding up our end of the bargain.

    Glad you asked?

    Today I am working on ordering all the plumbing for Maine. Part of me feels a little guilty that the punchlist HERE lies fallow ...

  • sjhockeyfan325
    10 years ago

    I really have four:

    1) Construction - but everytime I cross something off, I add something else.
    2) Decorating - Somehow we have managed to order most (but not all) of the big pieces - dining room table, chairs, rug and shelving, living room sectional, chair and media cabinet, front hall console table and floor lamp and runners. Unfortunately, that doesn't include a single "ornament" (like like fixtures and lamps, other rugs, or bedroom furniture), so we still have a long way to go!
    3) General "life" to-do list
    4) List for upcoming trip, which in this case is Peru in early March.

    I'm a list-keeper. If I do something that wasn't on my list, I add it just so I can cross it off. It gives me a sense of satisfaction.

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    10 years ago

    Not to hijack, but I to have a to-do list that goes on for pages, and covers everything from "some day it might be nice to take a watercolor class" to "tomorrow I have to bring in orange slices for the girls' basketball team".

    I think it was KSWL who suggested Workflowy.com. I LOVE this little simple software. Favorite part --- it autosaves!

  • luckygal
    10 years ago

    I've always been a list maker but haven't updated this year's yet. Still have Christmas decor up so that will be the first thing on the new list. I have put a few things on the calender that need doing by a certain date.

    My favorite thing to do is to strike through items on my list as they are completed. However sometimes I use this sign --> to move an item to a future list!

  • bac717
    10 years ago

    Wow! I just installed Workflowy on my phone. I think this will be a great way to write things down and never lose them.

  • MarinaGal
    10 years ago

    Yay - I am so glad you like Workflowy, mtn, and bac - I hope you like it too. I love it - it assembles all the random things floating around in my brain so I can settle down to take a yoga class, for example. :)

    I have a large punch list for the house we moved into last year. Getting the powder room door to shut and lock is a big one. I think our guests are tiring of using a door stop. My biggest goal for this house in 2014 is to make sense of our family room which is the most unfinished room in the house and it feels empty and disjointed. I have decided that I need to start by finding a great area rug.

    We have also just started a much needed, long overdue kitchen remodel in our house on Cape Cod, which also has a LOT of kitchen-related and unrelated deferred maintenance "issues." Although I did work on this last summer, the emails I am getting emails from our architect/GC that I can't keep ignoring.....that to-do list isn't even started yet.

  • outsideplaying_gw
    10 years ago

    Got to look for Workflowy...my kind of list making. I have lists everywhere. Lists of things to do to the house; lists to do for myself; garden projects; work to-do lists; etc. Of course, they are 'somewhat' consolidated, and they are ever-changing. We've actually managed to work-off some of the house lists this year and are in process of getting a few more done soon (if weather cooperates). If I don't procrastinate, I plan to get some of my gardening list checked off this year too (with a little help from 'my garden guy'). Biggest was to get the master bath reno done and checked off!

  • sjhockeyfan325
    10 years ago

    If I don't procrastinate, I plan to get some of my gardening list checked off this year too

    I've got a suggestion for how to get this done - do like we did, move to an urban loft where the only "outdoor area" is the fire escape!

  • neetsiepie
    10 years ago

    I have several myself. I also find immense satisfaction in crossing items off my lists. One thing I have found that keeps me motivated is to break tasks down into very small, manageable pieces. Things I can do in 15 mins or less-then I can cross those off and eventually a project is completed. They say to eat an elephant you must take the first bite.

    I got to.cross a few things this weekend, but like others, added a few more. But the nice thing is that the really irksome things are getting done.

    I need to check out that app. I have so many irons in the fire that i tend to get distracted by new ones. Keeping old ones in sight could help with prioritizing.

  • chucksmom
    10 years ago

    I have a "roundtuit" list does that count?????

  • williamsem
    10 years ago

    I'm afraid to list it all out, I might not want to get out of bed if I knew what was waiting!

    I do often make short term lists, like for a day or a given project.

    Definitely going to check out that website though, thanks for the tip!

  • Sandy1963
    10 years ago

    Yeah, I have a running punch list in my head. If I were to actually sit and write down all the things that need doing, or that I'd like to do in this house, I'd get depressed, lol !

  • peony4
    10 years ago

    Yes, I had a punch list. And then a water pipe burst in my kitchen... I'm not kidding when I say I was sitting down with a notebook, writing a punch list of weekly goals, when it burst. The irony was uncanny.

    I'm a big list-maker, and I'm most productive when the list is just week-by-week... not monumental goals, but easy-to-take steps throughout the week. I'm sure there's a Stephen Covey influence in here somewhere, but if it's small and manageable, I'm successful.

    The reconstruction process from the pipe burst means there are a few major projects that I'm going to have to plan for, and that's a whole different approach for me.

  • sjhockeyfan325
    10 years ago

    I'm a big list-maker, and I'm most productive when the list is just week-by-week... not monumental goals, but easy-to-take steps throughout the week

    What I do is keep a "master list" on my computer (I use Evernote) because as I always say to my DH, "if it's not written down, I don't do it". Then when I have time to do errands, or other items on the list, usually a Saturday or Sunday morning, I transfer those items I hope to accomplish that day to a hand-written list. I get done what I can (all those easy to manage "baby steps"), and cross them off both the short list and the master list.

  • desertsteph
    10 years ago

    I keep a notebook on the bed next to me to write a list each wk for when my handyman comes on the wkend... he usually gets everything done too. If it isn't done it goes onto the next wk's list. Sometimes it's just things like to have him measure for something or check something out or to ask him what he thinks about something I'd like done.

    He didn't seem excited when I asked how difficult it'd be to tear out the garden tub in my mstr bath.

    I also keep a list of things I need to buy for projects I want him to do - like screws, door stripping, shelves, picture wire, caulking, a faucet or light fixture. Big things he'll go pick up for me with his pu - like a tree or 2!

    I also keep a running grocery list - things I need in the next wk and another one for my once a month major grocery trip.

    A list of things to ask (or tell) my kids when I talk to them. A list of what to get each for BDs and Christmas. I try to buy those up during the year so it isn't a major money hit or physical hit (going to the stores).

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Pleased to announce that I've been making some progress...

    Finally painted the grill in the pr today.
    Hung a bracket in the garage to hold brooms and such
    Shortened bed skirt
    Repaired bird feeder
    Called solar people for an estimate for increasing the number of panels
    Bought the paints to faux finish the grill in the fr
    Had a small setback on the house numbers, but at least it is in process
    Installed motion detector light switch in pr

    So making progress...

  • kswl2
    10 years ago

    Marinagal suggested the software in a post about running lists (mtn's?) and i loved it immediately and added an enthusiastic endorsement. I keep several different lists on it, and the best part is that i can email a link to Handy Guy to his part of the list. He can go over it, email any questions, pick up the materials and pack the proper tools before he drives down each month to take care of my punch list. I am the luckiest homeowner alive--- HG can rescreen a porch, fix a fountain, patch holes in walls, move ceiling lights to more appropriate places, power wash the house, the drive, clean gutters, repair a table (he actually made a new wood stringer for a trestle type table and mixed a stain that perfectly matches the rest of the piece!). His talents are endless, and i am very grateful.

  • ratherbesewing
    10 years ago

    I have lists for lists! For example, a few weeks prior to a vacation or hosting a dinner party, I need a special list for that occasion. Sometimes, out of the blue,I think of something to add to it and have to write it down immediately. I am a Virgo - Is that the reason for my love of lists?

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Gives a whole new meaning to saying someone's "listing"!

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    DH has gotten into this punch list thing so yesterday he pushed me into getting another knocked off the list. So we went through the effort to remove the ceiling pendant in the PR so that I could get the medallion down and paint it in gold tones to match the canopy of the pendant. I think it came out pretty good. And, of course, since we had it down, we had to take it all apart and wash all the bobbles and put it back...

    Stuff like this is a pain in the neck to do...which is why it's on the list in the first place...but rewarding once it's done.

  • Elraes Miller
    10 years ago

    I am so over my head or in deep water, writing a punch list would probably take me longer than getting things done. I used to be a detailed, scheduled planner person...have gotten lost somewhere in the big picture.

    A punchlist is a great reminder to bring things back into perspective personally. Will definitely consider doing this when the large projects such as painting the whole house interior and finishing a kitchen project is finished.

    Even with current projects, I get so darn waylaid and change directions. This just adds to "ideas" and wants.

    I know it is time to look at each room, my promise has been to finish little details each day on one room for a couple of weeks. So much could be finished to move on. A punch list would definitely get this done.

    Not sure if anyone has mentioned this for a list. But I have the circumstance of needing to ask for help from friends of friends. I do pay them, but they aren't handymen with tools. And I do try to get out what is thought to be needed ahead of time, there are no lack of tools available here. More than once spending time getting tools for them takes as much time if I had just done it myself. Of course each of us has our own tools of trade which work for us. Adding tools needed for part of the punch list would also help in getting things done in an organized manner.

    Peony, I like the weekly keep it simple. Things I know should be on a list can grow their own arms and legs into one that is not attainable or make one overwhemed. Starting simple would certainly help my waylaid situation. Plus I'm already thinking of what spring will bring to the table.

    May be exaggerating a bit here. Great post to get me started on a postiitive way to get through and clear my head.

  • kswl2
    10 years ago

    Technicolor, you are spot on about lists and how they can develop a life of their own :-) that is the beauty of the workflowy.com list program. If you are getting off on a tangent, you can corral all the items for a particular room and give them their own heading. I now maintain a list of menus for various sizes and types of parties and they are simply embedded as a sublist in the "entertaining" sub list of the master "home" list.

    We also keep checklists of home maintenance tasks by season, and within those seasonal headings have separate outdoor and indoor lists. The basic outline nature of the list allows you to infinitely expand the it, and the ability to collapse it into larger categories is what makes it manageable (for me). I am less intimidated by a list I can control, literally control, and am therefore less likely to ignore it. Within each heading I also keep a shopping sublist, for tags like paint, painters tape, Hvac filters, etc. Workflowy is really incredibly useful. Anyone who actually uses it is awed by its power!

    Okay, I know I sound like a salesperson--- I have no connection with these people. When I think how much time and money I have spent (wasted) on special notebooks, apps, and other programs, with their cute tabs and bullets and reminders and threat levels of importance and complex project box delineations, the sheer simplicity of this one is dumbfounding. And it's FREE! I paid for the upgrade and would gladly pay ten times that for a few enhancements (that I have suggested to the program author) but they have , perhaps wisely, ignored all requests to tinker with workflowy, and perhaps they're right with the whole KISS principle.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I downloaded workflowy and played with it some.
    Easy enough to use, but the bad part is, when you cross something off the list, it disappears....my paper punch list gives me a sense of satisfaction every time I look at it and see all the crossed off stuff I've done....

    I think today, it's going to be to paint out the ceiling speakers in the family room....

  • bac717
    10 years ago

    Annie, I'm very new to workflowy, but I think I have the answer to your concern about the crossed off items disappearing from your list. Look at the top right side of the screen and you will see Completed: Hidden. Click on that and it will change to Completed: Visable. When you do that, all your crossed off items should reappear for you. Hope I am right about that and good luck.

  • neetsiepie
    10 years ago

    Oh that's too bad about Worksy-not letting you have the satisfaction of seeing the crossed off items...the whole point of a punch list! LoL.

    I took advantage of the 3 day weekend to get stuff done-and thanks to FLAKES that didn't show as promised, DH helped me with some. And I ended up getting one project started that will exceed my initial expectations. I told my DH that I felt so loved by him actually taking the time to do things for me than hiring them out. Just him changing out a burnt out electrical socket was better than receiving a dozen roses at work.

    AND I managed to get some tasks that I needed to do finished up. Made pillow covers, mended a lot of things in my mending basket, and actually roasted up and made soup out of a large bage of potatoes before they went bad! Hey, for me that is a huge accomplishment!

  • kswl2
    10 years ago

    Lol, Annie, seeing the items "disappear" is my favorite part! But bac17 is right, you have the option to keep the completed items visible...and they even have a line crossing them out.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I see...thanks for telling me about hidden...

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    More progress today...paint out the in-ceiling speakers in the FR and DR. Check!

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Took advantage of yesterday's snow storm to make progress on another punch list item. I have this air vent in the stone wall behind the wood stove that is just ugly. So I took a hunk of paper, some acrylic paints and practiced painting rocks. I think it came out pretty good and I'm ready to do the real thing next.

    I'm not so hot yet at painting clouds, but rocks I can do...or should I say, this girl rocks!
    :)

    This post was edited by AnnieDeighnaugh on Tue, Feb 4, 14 at 10:26

  • peony4
    10 years ago

    Oh, well-done, Annie! I looked at your latest pic first, and had no idea what "grate" you were referring to. Nice camouflage, and what a much more pleasing wall.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks, peony!

  • jill302
    10 years ago

    Very nice job on the grate.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks, AAnnie!

  • ILoveRed
    10 years ago

    Me too Annie and my house is 8 yrs old.

    Has to be completed before we put the house on the market. Can't bear to think of it today....

  • lynn_r_ct
    10 years ago

    Found my punch list under a pile of "to do" for paperwork. It was from 5 years ago. It astonished me how much was NOT done. My attitude is, and always will be, if this is all I have to worry about then I have a good life.

    I will however, just glance at it again to see if there is something I really do need to do, even though it hasn't bothered me in 5 years!

    Someone mentioned how their husband may postpone his retirement if he saw her list.... while shopping for flooring at Lowes I came across this "recommendation" of one of their floors that totally cracked me up. Hope this give you a giggle...

    "When we purchased this floor, we were instructed to leave it in the room where it will be installed for a day or two, to give it a chance to breathe. Well, not only did it start to breathe, it took on a life of it's own. It started to complain about the house as my spouse does. It convinced my family to simply leave and go live somewhere else with a floor already installed. I had to shoot the floor to curtail it's destructive tendencies. So, in all, I would not have purchased this floor again".

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Uh oh...just found this thread again and realize how remiss I've been in tending to the punch list!

    Glad to say though, that we've spent the summer attacking our barn. Some of the siding needed replacing and it sorely needed painting, so we got that done. DH has been busy cleaning and tossing stuff from 50+ years ago and taking it to the dump...I swear the hardest part of cleaning any place is trying to dispose of anything...hazardous, recyclable, scrappable, just trash...it's a nightmare. Not to mention literally garbage bags full of squirrel nests! But we did make some money with all the scrap metal we took to the junk yard. We've made excellent progress, and now we're working on fixing up and adding to the lighting/electrical in the place. Definitely needed it, and as DH likes to say, the work is rewarding as you know you've made a real difference!

    Now that fall is here, I'm going to have to go back to that punch list. First thing on the list is to find it again!

  • Holly- Kay
    9 years ago

    +Annie, I saw your punch list resurrected and am enticed to download flowy on my ipad.

    I make constant to do lists....they are all things my husband needs to do. He makes lists and it seems they are all things I need to do. Now if only he could learn how to do all the things he wants me to do and I do all the things that I have on his list all would get completed. A better idea is for him to do everything on both lists as he is retired and I'm just tired!

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Lol, hk!

  • Sueb20
    9 years ago

    In the past couple of weeks, I have knocked a ton of stuff off my punch list.

    DS' ceiling was cracked and needed re-plastering, but knowing that he was going away to college this fall, we held off until he was gone. He also had really old wallpaper in his room. So we got the ceiling fixed, called the painter and had the wallpaper stripped and walls/trim repainted. Which of course led to a massive purge of stuff and a bit of redecorating but not too much -- I didn't want him to think I've turned his room into a guest room already!

    While the painter was here, I decided to have him paint the dining room, since it hadn't been painted in forever. More purging and redecorating. And a new rug. And a new lamp.

    The painting was done last week.

    I also bought new lighting for the kitchen. On Friday, the electrician came and installed new pendant lights and new wall sconces, and re-installed the ceiling fixture in DS' room.

    Yesterday, the landscapers came and replaced almost all of our front yard shrubs. Most of what was out there was an overgrown mess and/or had been dying.

    Today, I planted about 120 tulip bulbs in among the new shrubs.

    Also today the window cleaning company came for a long-overdue whole-house window washing. DD said "why are so many workers coming to our house, like, every day?"

    A couple of weeks ago, I cleaned out my bedroom closet.

    On Tuesday, one of the local charities is coming to pick up the stuff I have been purging.

    Tomorrow, cleaning guy is coming and as you can imagine, the house is pretty dusty from all of the above. Tomorrow afternoon I will rejoice that I have no "workers" coming for the foreseeable future!

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Wow SueB! No grass under your shoes! And how fun to get so many things refreshed and renewed!

  • kswl2
    9 years ago

    I finished my punch list of unfinished projects in late September, and the only thing left is regular maintenance!

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Way to go, kswl! Now you'll have to add to your punch list...no such thing as having everything done...life always throws things at you!