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Tell us: What projects have you taken on? What advice can you share?

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Community Manager

Tell us: What projects have you taken on? What advice can you share?

What projects have you taken on? How have you accomplished tasks by being resourceful with what you have on hand? What advice do you have to help others through similar projects? Share your ideas here and earn 50 AARP Rewards points for participating in this weekly discussion. We also will choose one post as our weekly winning post for an additional prize: a $50 HelloFresh gift card.  Click here to see our Rules for participating. 

AARPTeri
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We had actually started to clean out our storage room and our garage. I added shelves in the garage, and we are donating a lot of things to charity. In fact, since charities are limited in what they accept right now (Goodwill in my area is fully closed.), that is a potential bottleneck. But we are soldiering on.

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My first bit of advice is to be thankful, practice gratitude for what we have and what is good as you start each day.  It has been a life saver for me.  I even belong to a daily gratitude group through my meditation app.  Just reading the posts helps me through the day as well as remembering what I have to be grateful for.

I have been doing a lot of online things.  My online yoga membership is now offering live classes.  I do yoga at least 3 days a week.  The other days I walk outside if it is nice enough to get outside.  When it is cold and rainy I go to YouTube and watch a in home walking video with Leslie Sansome or Lucy Windom Reid.  (So I stay active and start my day in a positive way.)  I have also been able to get outside and walk with my bestie.  We wear masks and practice social distancing.  I connect with 3 different groups of friends every morning by texting them, sharing imogies and YouTube videos, etc.  We also have HH via zoom which is a lot of fun.  I also volunteer online, attend church service online and have a coffee and conversation with church folks.  The senior center also offers plenty of online things to do.  That should be enough to get you started.  Oh today I did a virtual tour of a Frank Lloyd Wright house.  Interesting.  Also Facebook is a great way to connect with friends all over the world. Cheers

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Woodworking projects

 

 

 

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knit, crochet, paint, make jewelry, make Christmas ornaments etc etc

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I crochet, knit, make jewelry, make christmas ornaments

while im watching tv i usually crochet or knit

right now my sister-inlaw is visiting from Hammond, IN but she has a cottage in Michigan so im knitting

scarves for the poor.  ive knitted  about 10   some for adults and some for children

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Hi! I have started a new kind of art project.  I wanted to try out watercolor colored pencils and found out they work great for making greeting cards that help lift the spirits of those who receive them...and it makes me feel good too!

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My mission during this time of stay-at-home is to update and improve the photos, pictures, collages, and family albums I have collected over the years. My collection is quite extensive. I approached it like Marie Kondo would-Spark Joy. First, I gathered all the photos, pictures, collages, and family albums in specific categories and eliminated everything from each category I wanted to discard. It was liberating. The photos I combed through, updated and catalogued by family, friends, events & destinations. The pictures I updated, reframed, and rehung, The collages I added to and touched up, reframed, and rehung. The family albums I am still working on and have mostly eliminated and updated. I have incorporated new albums with uniform design and found storage trays, bins, and cabinets for easy access and opportunities to enjoy looking at past and present family memories. I am so proud of my accomplishments and can't wait to start a new project. Pay attention to your approach and objective. Pat yourself on the back when you're done. Whooo hooo!!!!

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Periodic Contributor

about 20 years ago i made a chainmail shirt. i found some of the rings that were left over while sorting through the barn. now i have started baking some new fireflace screens that look better than what came with the fireplace doors. sure it is a lot of fiddly work but the rsults will look good and hopefully last forever.

g626
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I've taken all those owner's manuals and recycled those I don't have actually have the product for anymore.  And those things that are odd (bookcases so you'd never know the name, that kind of thing) - I created a word doc and indicate where I filed it.  Really slimmed down that drawer!

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Newbie

So far I have remodeled my bedroom. I am in the process of refinishing my 2 jewelry boxes to match the new bedroom furniture. I also made 4 shelves tthat match to hung. Soon I hope. I've cleaned out some kitchen cabinet clutter, and hope to finish my "to do" list so maybe I can relax and work on a puzzle. I do still have some "at home" work duties to tend to during the week as well as care for my disabled father who lives with my husband and myself. Always busy!20200327_125829.jpg

 

HandmadeHandmade

 

We do get out to unwind occasionallyWe do get out to unwind occasionally

 

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volunteering at drive through food bank. taking online classes for child care continuing education so when this is over i can go back to substitute teaching at my church day care.

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Purchased outdoor carpeting from Home Depot 20' X12'. 17 year old grandson installed it inone hour with instructions from Grandpa. Paid him $10.00 for one hour of work. Same salary he was receiving at local Craft Store. 80 year old neighbor even enjoys lookingIMG_20200421_151908.jpgIMG_20200422_075155.jpg at improvement.

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Iโ€™m 57 and started thinking about all the things I will miss in retirement.  This lead me to look for a hobby or find things I could do to keep my mind active while not requiring me to work from an office.  Something on the beach would be great!

 

So, I started a project where I would learn to write fiction novels.  Being a technical writer, I figured fiction would be an easy transition.  โ€œYou just make stuff up and keep it believable. Right?โ€  That had to be the biggest underestimate of my life.  So, being a few years into the project now, Iโ€™m writing with something that I can begin calling, โ€œmy voice.โ€  Itโ€™s been a frustrating, fantastic, and occasionally fun adventure.  But the challenge of writing something that someone might what to read, keeps me interested and coming back to learn more.  I finally decided taking a class might not be a bad idea.  At least I have the basics down and have plenty of time to kill for the foreseeable future.  The downtime presents many challenges, but itโ€™s not forever as it pushes me further down my journey of, โ€œWriting books that no one may ever read.โ€

 

Best To All!

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Periodic Contributor

Lots of organizing, going through things to see what I can donate, recycle, shred and repurpose. Rearranging furniture making plans to have some painting done.

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Newbie

I've been making a quilt for my grandchildren. Made from their baby clothes and all by hand. My finger tips are numb but it's kept me busy and relaxed during this time. 

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Well, I have been working a number of things since we have been put on lockdown.  I have been playing a lot of chess online and I must say that my game has improved over 100%.  If you ever want to go and play some good chess games I suggest that you go to onlinechess.com.  Another thing that I have been working on is that I am a writer in my own right.  I have written over 3 books on recovery.  I am a recovering alcoholic with 6 years sober.  I have written these books and put them online.  You may find them at amazon.com  If you have books that you have written and don't have the money for a publisher, I suggest that you go to Kindle Direct Publishing.  They will do it for you for free.  But mind you it is not your typical book format.  But the whole idea is that you have your book out in the public for others to read.  There is another thing that i have been doing as well and that is a lot of cooking and eating.  I have never eaten this much.  But what can you do when you are at home and you have no where to go.  So i say that we have to use our time and just find just the small things to do that will keep us busy.  My name is James Myers.  I hope to see you at the chessboard, I hope to hear from you in my books.  

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I have planted a garden for the first time in 10 years.  Tomatoes, peppers, zuchinni, cuecumbers, green beans and herbs for cooking!

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I've spent hours cleaning out old files and shredding them.  I've also posted items I'm no longer using for sale in FaceBook Marketplace.

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Cleaning out closets.cabinets etc.Donating or readying for Garage sale when restrictions are lifted. 

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I am planting a  organic garden on my deck.so I have been spending time reading on organic gardening, finishing my crochet projects and

testing vegan recipes.

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Periodic Contributor

I've been cutting up old or stained t-shirts into t-shirt yarn and crocheting an afghan with it.  Both my husband and I have more room in our dresser now that we don't have those t-shirts in there.  Keeping them out of the landfill.  Doing something repetitive is calming.  So, both the cutting and the crocheting help.

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Periodic Contributor

Like many of you, I have been decluttering.  I was able to donate bags of unexpired foods, from my pantry,  to my local food pantry.  I look forward to our city's reopening so I can donate many, many items to charity organizations ie Goodwill.  Also, it has been therapeutic to do some outdoor gardening and joining a virtual book club.  Use this time wisely and be safe.

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I have been cleaning the grass and early weeds out of my flowerbeds so that I can get them planted. I have been enjoying the fresh air and the birds singing during this time of social distancing.  Being able to get outside and do something productive has helped my mental attitude greatly.

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I've been keeping a to-do list for years AND, all long, I've been purchasing what I would need for the projects and I am actually getting busy on them. Some of those project were things I wanted to do with and for my daughter. The biggest one was finding time to do all the little thingsthat time is now!! I have planted a flower garden around the entire back yard, put up the bird houses I had acquired, fixed my late father's wind chime that he made, made a gorgeous plant stand for a large cactus, boxed up items for donation, changed light bulbs (I know I shoudl keep up, but I didn't seem to find the time), enjoyed my love of cooking, planted tomatoes, cucumbers, bok choy, green peppers, jalapenos, and onions....all with my daughter.  BUT, the biggest accomplishment in all of this was deciding it was okay to retire. Until now, I couldn't find the time to digest "retirement". I am enjoying myself...on my schedule. I'm in great health and over 70 years old, with legal guardianship of my daughter who is a mentally challenged adult of 35. Her lifelong care is my highest priority now. We need to find that place for her to live and be cared for in the future and have begun looking and brainstorming ideas that are "out of the box" solutions just for her. It has given me peace of mind and will lead to the best solution for her after I am gone while enjoying my time with her to the fullest now.

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My husband and I have refinished some antique furniture. We started out by stripping the furniture and found it does not work well to mix types of stripping products (we ran out of one and bought another that was not the exact same as the first one).  Then, we found out that Chalk Paint sometimes needs to be thinned to work correctly. We've finally finished stripping, sanding and doing the initial chalk painting and are getting ready to complete the project with two final coats of Clear Matte Urethane.

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I proudly joined the Ouilts of Valor Organization and am enjoying sewing 12 inch blocks that will later go into a quilt for a well deserved service member.

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My wife and I have been decluttering our collectibles (we each collected various items over the years) by going through our closets and our garage and identifying items we no longer have any emotional attachement to.

We then research the items on eBay that have been selling and list them. We have been using the money from our sales to pay for groceries and other expenses.

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Landscaping: Removing Ash trees, edging, lawn fertilizer, brush removal, projects to lower the yearly grounds maintenance.

Decluttering the house by getting rid of items that have not been used in years using the AARP book "Downsizing the Family Home" as a resource.

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Periodic Contributor

Sprucing up rhe garden more, and sharing the bounty with neighbors!

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Newbie

I have been deep cleaning my kitchen first, then will move on to my bedroom closet.

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