Possibly not quite as underachieving as previously thought

Back in February, I wrote a To-Do list, hoping it would help. A mere six months later, here's the status update:

1. Sew button back onto orange pyjama top
   Done! Did almost straight away in fact.
   
2. Tighten button hole on third button down on other pyjama top (so it doesn't come undone in the night)
   Done! As above.
   
3. Put Christmas decorations back in the mini loft space
   Done! Took till April.
   
4. Ideally, take everything else out of the mini loft space first and tip / freecycle things that have not been used for the last five years (eg electric blanket, third spare duvet)
   Done! Serious teamwork and a whole Sunday required. Local Freecycle day failed to get rid of electric blanket and duvet, so took them to the tip.
   
5. Change the other bust spotlight bulb in the kitchen
   Done! Have done it several times since, beginning to think that Tesco Value spotlight bulbs aren't up to much.
   
6. Flatten ground for compost bin #2 and get it started
   Done! Actually, M did this one.
   
7. Write to the council about the retrospective planning permission we haven't got yet for the hole we knocked in the wall four years ago
   Done! Took till June. And they wrote back! Straight away! We are compliant!
   
8. Order the tools that I didn't order before my birthday, didn't get for my birthday, and still need
   Done! Did almost straight away before money ran out. The backnut spanner is a life-saver. The basin wrench likewise. The baby pump pliers are gorgeous. The multi-head electric screwdriver was perhaps surplus to requirements. I haven't used the circlip pliers but I will have them when I need them. I'm still not quite sure how to use the multimeter but I will work it out one day. The tape measure with built in laser level was a stupid waste of money.
   
9. Drill holes in the wall for the clip frames full of gig tickets currently gathering dust
   Done! Took seconds, cheered me up for days.
   
10. Fit the Ikea toilet roll holder that mocks me from its box every time I get caught short
    Rethought. Decided a free-standing toilet roll holder is required. But haven't got one yet. Anyone need an Ikea toilet roll holder?
    
11. Find out which bit of the shower tray is leaking through onto the stairs and sort that out somehow
    Might have done! Resealed it today, won't know if it leaks until tomorrow. Should probably wait till tomorrow to write this but too excited!
    
12. Put the Zambian beer bottle top chairs on Ebay
    Freecycled them instead, but they are gone, so it's Done!
    
13. Research new fridge options (current fridge is 25 years old so this is environmentally advisable rather than rampantly consumerist)
    Researched! My mother (from whom I inherited current fridge) told me how to dismantle the back and clean out the drainage tube, which was full of mould. Current fridge therefore no longer leaks, and popular opinion has it that it's environmentally better to hold on to perfectly good built-to-last fridge which also has a certain degree of retro chic. Have chosen to believe popular opinion.
    
14. Buy four (four!) tiles for the shower cubicle so I can take off the plastic bag that has been taped over the shower unit for the last six months
    Done! Took till August. They were hard to find, but not *that* hard.
    
15. Develop tiling skills or find tiler who can genuinely say 'no job too small'.
    Done! Also required serious teamwork, and at least one of us has bleeding feet from walking on tile shards. Can report that grouting is harder than it looks.
    

I have of course done other things in the last six months, this is not the sum total of my activity... nontheless I did find that having the list gave the things on it a certain status, a certain priority, a certain je ne sais quoi. So I ought to make a new list really.

I'll do that tomorrow.

joella