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

[AARPTeri]

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. 

[JohnB256339]

My wife picked out wallpaper, for master bedroom, new color and hardware for master bath cabinets, I chose a new water closet all I have left is to pull out baseboard take up old vinyl floor, tile and grout floor, reuse colonial baseboard, reset water closet, get a rod and line in the water break, then tear out old shed, install new one with my son in law, then RELAX doing yard work all summer, and my wife and I will wet our lines, OCCASIONALLY. There's always the family....Ahhhhh cleansing breath....Ahhhhhhh Hey Covid-19 we seniors aren't going anywhere too soon😘🧐

[winklel]

I have been working from home, but in my spare time I have started my spring garden from seeds. The tomatoes and peppers are just about ready to plant. I have also been making cloth masks to help with the shortage of PPE in our hospitals and in the community. I haven't sewn  in a few years but it all came back to me. 

[SharonH290114]

I made Hanging lites for my poarch rail with plastic bottles and mini wire lights that are solar.

[DeborahP150466]

I replaced a leaking toilet (with some help). I watched several You-Tube videos on it and learned some very helpful information. It was actully pretty simple and I saved money, which really helps right now.

[mkscott52]

My husband received sourdough starter so he's using that to make baked goods and bread.

Our advice is to have a kitchen scale that measures in grams and zeroes out.

He also has started composting again.

[jspartlowe]

It has been a great time to reorganize closets and drawers.  Also I am baking bread, rolls, and muffins.  In addition I have stained furniture and started yard work for the spring.

[lh25078031]

Learning to cook. So far I've mastered my new Instant Pot and an air fryer. 

[ConnieB343090]

The lockdown came with a "round tuit." I filed taxes, applied for a couple of grants for our Community Center, and researched various kinds of face masks, using HEPA filters from vacuum bags and my own invention, a coffee filter covered with cotton cloth with a bag tie sewn into a drapery hem for shaping the nose and rubber bands whipstitched on for ear bands.  Sewing elastic disappeared along with toilet paper. I'm making masks for our Food Pantry clients and am ready to plant our Community Garden.  This has been a cold spring, so far, so I saved plastic gallon jugs that I've cut down to make cloches to protect the tender seedlings from wind and sunscald.  I also put Zoom on my computer for remote meetings and have been taking advantage of remote "Town Hall" meetings with legislators, Board members, family, and the CDC.

[GlenaleeF1952]

I have downloaded Zoom sto my computer and added 2 new apps to my iphone.  I have Signal which allows me to send messages to my fsriends in other countries.  The good thing about this app is that you can set your messages to disappear in a predetermined amount of time.  I have also added Groupme which allows me to send and receive messages to a specific group of people like the ladies in my Zoom bible study.  If anyone is looking for a good online bible study with morning  and evening devotions I would like to suggest compasbiblechurch.org.  Mike Fabarez is the pastor.  

[j149689c]

We are working on downsizing so we can sell and move when all the coronavirus is over. Cleaning closets, weeding out, donating.

[SarahJ817176]

I've been buying inexpensive paint & repainting the drab rooms in my home with light & brilliant color, for example sunshine yellow in my kitchen!!!!! Color in a room really can brighten your mood! And taking down wall hangings I've been displaying for years with pictures of family, friends & fond memories!!! Doesn't that bring us all the most joy!!!😊

[modav]

Giving the vehicles a much needed vacuuming, washing and waxing.  Repairing the deck steps as soon as we feel comfortable going for supplies.  Also dusting and cleaning out the curio and china cabinets.  Putting excess items aside for the next fundraiser rummage sale!

[JeanB710178]

I have been a crafter for years and this year I decided I was tired of setting up tents and selling my crafters.  I had lots of fabric and notions left, so now I am clearing out a lot of "clutter" by making face mask for neighbors, friends, and family.

[leonl290030]

We have about 75' of white 4' high wrought iron fencing along the side of our house. It was getting rusty so I decided to paint it with a primer base high gloss white paint by hand so it would get a much better coat and last years longer. I took this job on and spent about 4 hours a day x 5 days to complete. It absolutely looks brand new again and am super glad I took this on with all the extra free time I have had.

[plumpbrowns]

I have been organizing cupboards and the pantry. Also getting rid of items that are way past their use by dates.

[ks8654]

I have reorganized some closets, drawers,  cupboards, and sewed masks.

[dw21819567]

I have rearranged my kitchen so things I use everyday are more accessible! Feels great!

[Cisconbeth]

My husband and I remodeled our closet. We added more shelving and lighting. We also painted the inside walls a light color to see better.

We have worked well together.

Planning any project is key.

[hg3832]

Finish tax return early and plant vegetable garden.

[mimipsu]

I have been catching up on shows On Demand and trying to use up all of the food in my freezer and cupboards to avoid leaving the house and save money. 

[dhsolitare]

I have taken years of pictures, school projects, report cards, etc. That where thrown into boxes and sorted through them. Threw away 2/3 of the stuff and kept what was meaningful.  It's surprising how the importance of "things" change with time. 

[gtam2004]

I've stopped putting off projects since I spend somuch time at home now. Getting rid of clothes I don't wear (giving them to Good Will), collecting loose change, cleaning out the kitchen cupboards, organizing the closet, organizing the info Ihave accumulated on the desktop pc and laptop pc. Everyday when I make some even just a little progress, I get a feeling of accomplishment.

[acw53]

1. Working on neglected back yard. Trimming, pruning, transplanting.

2. Helping husband sort 30 years worth of various sizes and types of screws into bins for loading into new work van.

[LilaAdams]

I noticed the bench on my front porch was looking old. The sun hits the bench everyday when it's clear outside. I cleaned the grim and grit off the wood slats on the bench. Then I sanded the seating area with 80 grit sandpaper and finally 200 grit to finsh the surface off smooothly. I wiped the bench down with cheese cloth. Next I wiped on a stain to take on the sunbleached areas and removed the excess with an old wornout clean T-shirt. Finally I finished up with polyurethane clear satin. It looks great.

[kf885]

I decided to put all my favorite recipes into one, easy to find  new recipe book. My two adult children want copies of this book so I am making three.  Between the searching, cutting, taping, writing and organizing this has become an enormous project.  I have enjoyed finding these old treasures and proud to share them with my children.  I have tried to make copies of some of their Grandmother's favorites with her handwriting which is making it even more special since she has passed. 

[megjorg]

My husband and I are rebuilding the garden we had 25 years ago.  We have tilled the same spot, started the seeds....our dining room table is a green house.  It is so inspirational to come into the dining room and see those plants.  We are excited to give some of the plants as gifts. 

[dr57504907]

I finally finished the one wall in the bedroom that still needed to be painted.  Now i have the walls all done and can hang pictures, etc.  Taking another idea off of here and making our "photo albums" digital!  Much easier to give to the kids and grands!

[LindaW238334]

I finished a quilt for my granddaughter. Now I am starting to clean out closets and cabinets but am not very far along. 

[BettyR931989]

I have started my third book in three years and have a certain nmber of hours per day devoted to rewrite and picture selection. In addition, all of the boxes in my closets have been taken to the sun room, gone through, discarded or reboxed if there is reason to continue saving them. Also, recently I gave each of my children their photo albums I have saved for them over the years, so now I have a box of "generic" photo albiumsIi am sorting through to pass on when I have to go to a nursing home. 

As far as home repairs, etc. that is beyond my physical capabilities, but this week I did clean out the kitchen pantry. Amazing what gets moved to the back and is lost! While doing thisIi checked for out-of-date produce and discarded it. iIhad spice boxes that expired in 1980! Just hadn't looked at them closely. Don't do  much cooking now, either. My sweet kids are often bringing me home-cooked dinners, and buy my groceries. This is 44 days I have stayed homebound with one exception--I did go to my Doctors office for the annual scheduled lab work, but got that report by phone, so no need to get out of the house to see her. I strongly urge folks to cancel anything not needed and stay in! For kicks, I am almost finished a 1,000 word picture puzzle, and I love my coloring books. The kids bring them to me also. My advice? Keep up your correspondance--nothing is so uplifting right now as mail from the great-grand kids!

[ThereseT917473]

I’m using gavel to make my fire pit safer and making pathways to walk on. Using a wheelbarrow and shovel which is a lot of work when you have 12 cubic yards of gavel.