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Make It Happen Monday…Let’s Get This Started…and FINISHED!!

Good morning, all!  And happy Monday to you!  This morning, I’m kicking off something new here at A2D.  It’s called Make It Happen Mondays.

This is where we stop starting projects and start finishing projects around our homes.

I was inspired to start this “support group” for myself and people like me — those of us who, for some reason, get a project about 90% complete (or less), and then lose interest and move on to something else — after I wrote this post last week and realized that there are so many others just like me!

Well, the time has come to FINISH these projects, and I’d absolutely love it if you would join me.  If you’ve got lingering projects that you need to finish, then this is the place where you can get encouragement, support, and accountability.  We’ll help each other get over that 90% hump and make it all the way to 100% complete.

Doesn’t that sound good?  Doesn’t the thought of actually finishing projects that you’ve had “in the works” for months or even years sound exciting?  Well, let’s stop talking about it, and starting doing it!

So here’s how this will work…

Every Monday morning, we’ll meet here and name that one project that we will commit to finishing the following week.  There’s just something about writing the words down…in public…for others to see…that adds a bit of motivation to finish the project.

This won’t be a link party, because I want EVERYONE to be able to join in, and link parties would leave out those among us who don’t blog.

So, everyone’s included here.  Anyone can join us, and you can join at any time.

So every Monday, we’ll name that one project that we want to finish that week.  Then the following Monday, we’ll meet back here, report on our progress (hopefully that’s we’ve completed it) and name the next project we’ll focus on for the next week.  If you’re a blogger, you can feel free to leave a link to your blog if you’ve blogged about your project.  If you’re not a blogger, you can feel free to upload your pictures to Photobucket, Flickr, or another photo hosting site, and link to those pictures.  Or you don’t have to link to anything.  You can simply describe your project and your progress.

Ready to name your project for this week?

Here’s mine.

This week, I’m committing to refinishing my kitchen countertops.  They’re in sad shape, and it’s completely my fault.

In fact, they’re in this shape today because last time I refinished my countertops, I got them 90% complete and then moved on to something else.  I kept telling myself, “I’ll get those last coats of sealer on there in a few days.”  Well, those “few days” have now turned into well over a year, and because my countertops weren’t properly sealed, they now look like this…

You can read more about my countertop issues here.  I’m still uncertain how I want to finish my butcherblock this time.  You all left some great comments, and lots of different ideas and suggestions for sealing butcherblock, so I’m going to have to re-read through all of the comments, narrow down the possibilities, and decide which one is right for me.  I do know for certain that this time, I’m completely unconcerned about my countertops being “food safe”.  I simply never put food on my countertops, and this time I’m opting for durability more than anything else.

I thought I could put this off a little longer while I get other things done, but I moved this up to the top of the list this weekend when I noticed this…

It probably doesn’t show up that well in pictures, but one side of that joint is starting to raise.  There are also some joints on the tops of the butcherblock that are doing the same thing.  So if I let this go too much longer, my countertop could crack, and then my only choice would be replacing them.  I’d rather get this done now, while the fix is still relatively inexpensive.

So that’s my plan for the week.  How about you?

What project are you committing to getting finished this week?  Leave a comment below, put it in black and white, commit to it, and then meet us back here next week to share your success!

I’m so excited about this!  We’re going to get things FINISHED!!

 

 

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47 Comments

  1. YEAAAAA!! I’m so excited you are starting this!!

    My ‘COMPLETION’ for the week is to get my trim painted & up in the bath room, along with the backsplash!

  2. I solemnly swear to take away all the “stuff” that is piled up around the house and put it in it’s rightful place! We’re taking lots of piles too – photos, extra furniture that I no longer have room for (since I found some great stuff at yard sales) and lots of vintage stuff I am going to do something with (one day)!!

    Good luck with those counters – they’ll look amazing when you’re done – like the shiny hull of a ship.
    Kelly

  3. I promise to get my, hmmm I wonder what to call it….a hanging wood thingy with dangly paper flowers and clear beaded strands hanging down. I do not know why I always have to be so darned detail oriented. I never can leave well enough alone and make it easier on myself. Ugh. It is almost finished but those paper flowers are all hand cut,colored and strung on thread and such a pain in the…I will finish that project this week. …wish me luck! 🙂

  4. Okay, I bought a dresser on Craig’s list just about a year ago now (http://www.itallstartedwithpaint.com/2011/11/losing-my-craigslist-virginity.html) … and it has been sitting in my family room for a year now waiting for me to fix it and paint it. So this is the week that the dresser will finally be refinished! And it’s part of my master bedroom makeover that stalled at the end of January after I painted my vaulted ceiling and decided that I would hang bead board wallpaper (which will probably be next Monday’s project to finish!) …

    🙂

    Linda

  5. My DH and I started making a desk last August. We are going to try and get it finished by Monday. It is going to be so great to finally get this done!

  6. I am going to finish painting our master bedroom. I am getting ready to paint tone on tone stripes on the feature wall where the headboard will be. And I have to touch up the celing and baseboards. And…. this isn’t a project I started but didn’t finish, but we do not have overhead lighting in our bedroom. I hired an electrician who is coming tomorrow to put in an overhead light for us! I am so excited. He will be hanging the chandelier that used to be in our dining room. It was brass and I spray painted it brushed nickel. I can’t wait to see it in place!

  7. I’m hoping to get my craigslist console finished this week. So far I’ve stripped it, but I still need to sand it, repair some damamged veneer, repair some damaged trim, build a shelf for inside, stain it, and varnish it. Here it is before any work: http://sweetsuite10.com/2012/05/im-a-glutton-for-punishment/

    Oh, and I’ll have to go to work, and sleep sometime this week to . . . here’s hoping I can get it done 🙂

  8. I can’t believe I’m actually typing this OUT LOUD, but I will exile myself to the basement storage room until the Christmas stuff is actually put away in its boxes, the food storage is on the racks and shelves where it belongs, and the tools are… at least semi-organized. *grumble*grumble*

  9. Okay, I discovered kimberly ferns this spring. I purchased 3 at regular price and planted them. Later, I went back to Lowe’s and they were marked down to $5 each and looked just as good as the full price ones. Approximately six weeks later, they are still in their original plastic pots. This week they must be repotted or planted in the flower bed before this Louisiana heat kills them!

  10. I’m committing to finishing my sewing area move from the office closet to the newly cleaned garage. Only part is moved, and I can’t get anything done with half in one place and half in the other!

  11. I’m already feeling like a loser this week. We are leaving on vacation Wednesday morning. No time to complete a project. However, I am in charge of crafts at our Vacation Bible School next week so I have to get all the components complete and packed up so they are ready for me to take to church on Monday morning. So, I’m going to make that my goal for this coming week – pack up my crafts to transport on Monday. Wish me luck because there’s nothing I hate worse than scrambling around at the last minute. : )

  12. I feel so unmotivated these days that I’m almost afraid to put this out there. I don’t trust that I will follow through. Here goes anyway: I will tape off and paint the trim in a guest bathroom (one of the many finishing touches that have been waiting and waiting). Maybe completing that will set my ass afire!

  13. Ok, this is more difficult than I thought it would be! Here goes….

    I do solemnly swear to “pretty up” and organizer my laundry room which will be difficult because I’m a renter. 🙁
    Additionally, I will catch up on my blog and ministry website! Whew! Wish me luck!!!!

    Christine

  14. Great idea! Especially since my mantra for the year was “Finish” 🙂 I have to finish the front walkway … ok, I said it. Now to do it 🙂
    Hugs,
    Bj

  15. I painted the kitchen cabinets over the weekend. Now my goal for the week is to grout the tile I put up months ago and get that final coat of paint on the stairwell.

  16. I’m joining in too, Kristi — making a commitment to finish my bedroom shutters by painting the sliders. Off to a great start — I just managed to get my posting up before midnight [thank goodness I’m on the west coast in the Pacific time zone].

    Now, where did I put those paint cans? 😉

  17. I didn’t get in on this yesterday (Monday) but will do it today! I am going to stain 2 adirondack chairs I bought a while back and get them on my patio! I did actually start on them this morning and hope to finish them this afternoon. Since my husband is on a fishing trip this week, it seemed the perfect time to do them.

  18. Back in January, we began a bathroom renovation (that we shared in Linda and Kelly’s impossibilities challenge). The last time we wrote about it (or did anything with it) was April: http://www.thissortaoldlife.com/2012/04/24/your-process-isnt-broken/

    We’re stalled on the tile installation. Need a chunk of time that we just haven’t had. BUT: School ends this week for me. (We both work in schools.) We probably won’t make progress this week, but after next Monday, watch out! So appreciate having this weekly check-in. So sick of a half-finished, largely unusable bathroom.

  19. Yup I need this motivation too. I am committing to painting that last little corner of the conservatory, replacing my display cabinet and filling it with china and waxing it’s chalk painted exterior (so small a thing, so big a challenge, apparently). I will also wax coat a chalk painted nest of tables and tv cabinet. Since this is probably one an hour’s work all in, why can’t I just do it????

  20. I have been meaning to post this all week, but my project to finish up this week will be reorganizing my master closet and make it look nice! I’ll do that this weekend. Hope everyone is on track with their projects this week! 🙂 Sharon

  21. I just discovered your blog, so I’m way late to committing to getting a project done for today. But I did have a project that was sitting around half-finished for weeks, and I decided last week that I was going to get it done this past weekend. And I did 🙂 So if that counts, I’ll after-the-fact commit to finishing my Ikea RAST hack 🙂

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