# What are your projects for September? Progress reports?



## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

So, what are your projects for this month? Tackling a particular room? Organizing? Tackling the paperwork tiger? Building something? Putting up for winter? Finding your floor, lol? Post them here and tell us how you're doing on them!


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Some of my goals for the month are holdovers from previous months.  Maybe this month I'll finally:

1. Finish building the storage shed(s) outside - I need one to hold the stuff in the shed I need to turn into chicken housing, one for hay, at least.
2. Build another chicken pen and finish converting the "new" hen house.
3. Pick and put up more fruit. Aiming for blackberries, peaches, apples, pears, fall raspberries.
4. Do a pantry and freezer inventory and reorganize everything.
5. Get my woodstove installed and hearth finished.
6. Plant grass seed and fall garden.
7. Weekly barn cleaning and daily pickups.
8. Keep on top of dd's messy room.
9. Do my daily cleaning so the house doesn't get out of control while I'm working on the rest.

We're on vacation for another couple days - visiting my dsis and bil. Yesterday sis, dd and I put up 36 pints of applesauce, plus kept out a bowl for dessert last night (yummy). Today it's peaches - 2 boxes to can up, so probably at least 2 dozen quarts. On the way home tomorrow, I'll pick up more to put in the freezer. We actually left the house pretty much in order, so we are starting the month off fairly well. 

Next?


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## debbiebofjc (Jun 11, 2006)

Here's my list, in no particular order. 

-Hang up my onions (in old pantyhose) that have been sitting in my dining room for a month.
-Shelves in furnace room to store my canned food (clean it out first).
-Touch up a few spots of chipped paint on my car before they get rusty (1998 Accord).
-Make some salsa.
-Dig the rest of the potatoes (DH is making a bin to put them in so hopefully they'll keep better. Wire mesh bottom.)
-Cut down the corn stalks.
-Put my pea fences away.
-Pick and can pears (or give away).
-Cover sunflower heads so birds don't steal them (roast some for us and keep some for winter bird feeder).
-Cut more weeds with my scythe.
-Make a blade cover for the scythe.
-Apples: sauce, butter, freezer (red delicious are ready)
-Get car license renewed! (Getting inspection today then will be ready)
-Pick beans (again). I just picked almost 10 gal last week and they need picked again!

Whew, that's enough for now. Got a few more things on my ongoing to do list. Chipping away at it one day at a time. Need to prioritize. Obviously ripe fruit/veg are first priority.


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## katlupe (Nov 15, 2004)

My list in no particular order either:

1. Take my wood cookstove all apart and clean it thoroughly.
2. After it is cleaned, use stove blacking to paint it & the heating stove too.
3. Wash all the comforters and afghans that we use for winter. (laundramat)
4. Finish redoing my roladex and the address book that goes in my purse.
5. Finish organizing my pantry.....so it only has food in it. Nothing else!
6. My husband is building a big closet in the kitchen for all dishes, utensils, pots and pans, casseroles, etc. So put all those things in containers while it is being built so I can work on the pantry.
7. Clean out our file cabinet and go through the FOUR boxes of paper and throw away everything that does not get filed.
8. Organize my day, so that I make time for the things I neglect on my personal care agenda. I ALWAYS get behind and don't do the things like my skin care routine, coloring my hair before it desperately needs it, etc.
9. Buy a good calendar for 2009, and put everything on it now, that I need to remember. While doing that.....make a card list for everyone I need to send cards to.
10. Buy stamps! I am always out.

katlupe


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## Queen Bee (Apr 7, 2004)

List:

Go thru my closest and throw/give away things I do not wear.
Finish the cleaning the washroom and my sewing room
finish the chicken coop.. 
Make apple and grape juice and jelly
put away bean fencing, tomaot cages, plant a cover crop
paint/repair all the honey supers/frames and treat to prevent moths/beetles.
Get started on my Christmas shopping.
Much more..


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## Murron (Oct 17, 2007)

Wow, thanks everyone for the reminders! :clap:

This month's projects.... 

I also need to clean the woodstove for the winter. The chimney sweep is coming this week as well 
Have the furnace serviced 
Finally finish the coop
Stain the farmer's porch
Turn over the garden and remove the fencing
Bring the cats to the vet for their yearly physicals

As always, there's probably more out there, somehwere... Tee hee.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

I am just going to depress myself by making a visual list:

In no particular order:
-clean out the garage and get ready to fill it with wood.
-empty out all lower cabinets and get rid of mouse poo (and mice). they have just bombarded the house in the past week... oh and drawers in the kitchen too.. yuck!
-sweep and mop kitchen after that.
-clean out and organize laundry/freezer/seedling room and get ready to bring in overwinter plants and herbs.
-clean the one closet that housed the old cat with the dog wounds and make better use of those shelves. Move or fold up the huge dog crate that is in there.
-get DH to get the three computers, screws, chips, drives, wires, cases, etc.. out of the office room floor. Those little screws hurt when embedded in foot.
-clean and vacuum house

Anymore on that list and I will go fetal under the table.


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## RVcook (Mar 29, 2008)

Reading this thread makes me want to take a nap!

- Finish stacking the cordwood for next winter after DH limbs the remaining 15 downed trees;
- Split and stack the remaining 8 cords for next winter (ongoing);
- Order backer rod and caulk for logs;
- Schedule caulking "party" for log home;
- Purchase 4 x 8 sheets of rigid insulation in retrofitted cathedral ceiling;
- Can applesauce;

There are more, but they'll just have to wait until October...ughh!

RVcook


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## Sumer (May 24, 2003)

Mine

Clear out all the raspberrys and weeds and junk trees growing in the corner of my yard. I got most of them last weekend but its still not all the way done.

Clear out all the junk and wood and weeds out from behind my shed.

Peel off the icky wallpaper in the kitchen so I can paint the wall instead.

Can tomatoes.

There will be more added on, there always is.

Sumer


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## cc (Jun 4, 2006)

1) Clean and set up the deck that was given to us. Don't think it was ever cleaned before, I have never seen so much green slime on wood before! (Guess I shouldn't complain, can't beat the price)
2) Take the new barn cat to the vet to be fixed.
3) Take the rest of the cats for their annual shots.
4) Move the iris from my DMIL's to my house. Going to plant them around the "new" deck.
5) Decorate for the fall and try to keep up with the regular house stuff.
6) Probably have to mow the yard one more time
7) County Fair!!!! :happy:


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

We got our six cords of wood stacked in the heat of July. I hated it at the time, but am glad now. DH plans to clean the chimney this weekend. The two of us have put up hundreds of jars of everything, and even made some elderberry wine. Freezer is packed, basement shelves are packed. Oil tanks and propane are all full. 
New shed just got finished (needs paint). Garden is still producing, so nothing done there yet. I have 50 lbs of rice, 50 lbs flour and 25 sugar, 15 lbs honey and two gallons of maple syrup. Pig in the freezer, 1/2 cow and 14 chickens. 15 or so lbs of freshwater fish (bass, panfish and trout), and about 18 lbs of tuna steaks we caught on vacation.
I hope to become more organized and have several winter weed through the house projects this fall.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Good job, beaglebiz! And everyone has ambitious lists this month - I'm getting tired reading, lol.  Of course, I'm tired anyway - have a cruddy head cold and I've been on line doing education for work off and on all day. Looking at my list, I can't say I've made huge progress yet. My house is totally trashed again, thanks to dd, and I wasted over a box of fruit that I didn't get to before it spoiled. :Bawling: Of course, I worked an extra shift and earned 12 hrs of time and a half pay, which is why I didn't get to the peaches, but I just hate to waste fruit. I guess with the extra income, I can go to the farmer's market and buy another box or 2 of peaches to put up...I did get a canner load of quarts of peaches canned while I was at my sis's, but the rest were too green to can then. I froze a bunch of pints of nectarines, too, eaten a ton of fresh fruit and canned and froze peaches.

In the garden, I cleaned out all the old raspberry canes and now the 1st year canes are loaded. The tomatoes are starting to ripen at last - I'm hopeful that I will get a good harvest to make my spaghetti and pizza sauces before first frost. The bush beans are giving me plenty to eat fresh and enough to can a few more pints. I'm leaving some of the beans on the plants to ripen for next year's seed. Oh, and the blackberries are finally ripe, so I need to take a morning to go pick as many as I can for the freezer. I can turn them into jam during the winter.

I finally got the base of the first shed totally secured, complete with concrete piers with rebar and J-anchors(?) in them. All the sides are laid out, waiting for me to drill the pilot holes tomorrow (the wood's too hard to pound a nail into - they literally bend rather than go in). I have the drill bits sorted so I could find the right bit for the job, and I actually know where everything that I need tomorrow is located. That in and of itself is a miracle!  Then I get to put on the headers and the barn-style roof. I have so many short 2x4s and half-sheets of plywood that a barn (gambrel) roof is the most logical way to use what I have.

I have straightened up a lot outside (not on my list, but it needed doing), re-organized my lumber piles, and scrubbed up lots of buckets, water troughs, feed barrels, etc. I'm trying to get everything cleaned and put away before the rainy season hits.

Tomorrow I need to clean house, get the walls up on the shed, hopefully also the rafters cut, pick whatever is ready in the garden and put it up, and do another couple units of ECG education for work. Is that enough, lol?


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Well, I did most of what I wanted to get done today - the first wall is up on the shed, the second wall is about 8 nails short of being ready to raise, and the 3rd is laid out, ready to pound nails into.  I got most of my house back in order - just need dd to wash the dishes. I put up more fruit, picked (and ate!) the ripe raspberries, and generally puttered around in my kitchen and garden. I also straightened the tack and feed room - staying on task there.  I've been working on my ECG education, but haven't finished my goal of 2 modules finished yet. I'll finish them tonight.

I guess tomorrow's jobs will be to: finish putting up the shed walls and sheathing them, get the rafters started, pick blackberries, spread grass seed, and spread out the bedding in the pasture so we get even grass germination out there. I'd also like to get the posts pounded for the chicken pen, if I still have leftover energy.


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## nduetime (Dec 15, 2005)

I try really hard to not "work" on Sundays, but i have to get some stuff done today if I want DH's help. I just need his help with the second item. I plan on spreading this out thru the rest of the month.

Box up and remove all my craft stuff from the office.
Move the guest bed into the office
Wallpaper the guest room
Move all my boxed craft stuff and shelving into the guest room (now called my craft room!)
Go thru all clothes and send off what is not needed, wanted or worn, to salvation army
Collect up all kitchen gadgets, dishes etc that are unused/unwanted and send to a friends daughter in Arkansas just starting out on her own.


I am back to working part-time, caring for DD and her crew part-time, and taking care of the farm/house, instead of doing all the above with a full-time job. I am thinking I just may be able to get things done now. One step at a time, one project at a time until finished.


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## pickapeppa (Jan 1, 2005)

From the queen of lists:

Can tomatoes as bloody mary mix (great for cooking, I've found out).
Process pears as fruit roll ups.
Pick and store apples for processing next month.
Take cuttings for wintering over in greenhouse, plant fall veggies in pots for greenhouse.
Winterize coop.
Finish two more cold frames and put to use.
Finish painting fence.
Gut downstairs bathroom and clean thoroughly, find leak and fix.
Shred cardboard boxes in garage.
Order wood and stack.
Clean out fireplace.
Inventory preps and organize.
Bring in onions for storage once cured.
Set out mouse poison.

This is the short list. :help: Now I just need to dig through piles of paperwork to find the master list.


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## katlupe (Nov 15, 2004)

I read my list and see I better get moving on it. The things I have accomplished were not even on my list! 

I have been canning instead. The past week, I have canned blackberry jam, elderberry juice, green beans, tomatoes and doing another batch of them today. I did get my stamps and worked mostly on my pantry. I had to do the pantry as my canned goods needed space. It is beginning to look exactly the way I pictured it when I first bought this house 9 years ago. So I can scratch 2 things off the list, though the pantry will need more work as dh gets my closet done. 

It helps to see that everyone else has lists of jobs to do too. 

manygoatsnmore, I thought I was the only one who lost fruit because I didn't get it canned in time! 

katlupe


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

chickenista said:


> I am just going to depress myself by making a visual list:
> 
> In no particular order:
> -clean out the garage and get ready to fill it with wood. DID IT!! :bouncy:
> ...


Got three bags and a box to go to thrift this afternoon. And the rest of the stuff like cleaning, mopping etc.. shouldn't have been on the list, because as soon as they are done, they need doing again!


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

*katlupe*, it's good to know I'm not alone! I have soooo many plans and then I run out of time or energy and things get wasted. Drives me batty, being the frugal soul that I am. At least the chickens are willing to eat the spoiling produce, so it's not a total waste, but it would be much better if WE were eating it all winter.

I didn't get the shed done - ended up going to work with only 2 sides of the shed put up, and I've been sidetracked into weeding the last few days. I know, I know, it wasn't even on my list! I just couldn't stand the sight of those weedy beds all the way around my house for one more day. I'll weed for a few days until I get sick of digging, and then get back to the list. The month is half over already and I have SO much that I need to get done.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Wow, the shed has all 3 walls up and the headers on so I'm ready for rafters! :dance:

I need a taller ladder before I put up the rafters...


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Now my list has really changed with my dad moving in and all''
- switch every room in the house around and make the tv room our bedroom, our bedroom DS's. DS's room my dad's...
-clean everything!!
-finish ripping out the carpet in the living room and finish scraping the old backing off of the hardwood flooring!! woohoo>>
-finish the drywall in the dining room and get all of the molding out of the pile and back on the walls.. paint the dining room for it is now the den/tv room.
-move all the furniture around and extend the kitchen table with the leaf.

I DID clean out the big, big closet. It was filled with all of the boxes of stuff from when we moved in that we didn't know what to do with.. you know the ones!
All gone gone! Lots of stuff for thrift. Now I have somewhere to put all of the other stuff!!!


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## pickapeppa (Jan 1, 2005)

Okay - I get to cross off a few things. :clap:

The fence is half painted.
One of the two apple trees is picked, but at least all of the ground apples are cleaned up.
The cardboard boxes are ready for shredding.
The wood was ordered and stacked (mostly, two more trips with the yard cart).



Now I need to crochet a baby blanket. I have two weeks to get it done. 

Also adding: Sweep leaves off porch and deck.
Clean and close down pool for winter.
Trim back bushes in front of house.
Paint and hang old cabinets above nest boxes.
Set up mushroom log area with water tank for soaking.
Make screened top for soaking tank.
Wash the windows!!


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## connie in WV (May 13, 2002)

How encouraging to read this post! So many of your projects sound just like mine.

-organize DH camping/backpacking equipment so I can see the basement floor.
-move in 4,000 lbs. of tile for the basement
-strip wallpaper from the storage closet and paint it
-organize crafts/christmas stuff in closet
-remove all storage items from the section of basement to be boys bedrooms/bathroom
-put second coat of paint on DD bedroom
-clean out horse shed to be able to store bikes/ridey toys
-finish getting the rest of the hay put up

Just a few more days left for this month. I'm going to make it!! I think I can...I think I can...


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

I ripped out all of the carpet in the living room today.. and all before breakfast.
Now all I have to do is get all of the rubber backing off of the hardwood floor.. stupid 70's era carpet backing....grumble.
I have been using a heat gun and a scraper... sigh.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

I got the chicken house cleaned out and new shavings put down yesterday, added 2 more long roosts, and moved the feed hopper so that the roosting hens won't poop in it. I haven't finished the new pen, but at least the old pen and house are better organized for the flock. Have the light in the hen house, too, so they will keep laying through the winter.

I have the template laid out for the shed roof. Just need to finish measuring and making sure all my angles are right, cut the pattern pieces and start putting together the rafters. I bought a taller ladder, so I can get up high enough to put up the rafters. Had my hay delivered and tarped, so this shed can be used to store all the stuff currently in the lean-to that I'm turning into a 2nd chicken house.

I'm rethinking my plans to install the wood stove in the house. I can't find a good spot to install it where it feels like it flows with the house. I'm considering building a sunroom off the south side of the house and installing the stove there instead. I can get the heat into the house by opening up the big window in the kitchen nook and running a fan. It gets me around the rules for installing my stove in a manufactured home, and I really am not sure I want to cut a hole in the roof of my house. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. Until I'm sure, I guess it's on hold. As long as I do SOMETHING before the rainy season starts....

We've had the first frost of the year and my tomatoes are still mostly green.  I'm afraid I may end up with a bunch of green tomatoes again this year. I have been putting fruit in the freezer, and have several more trees to go pick in the next week.

We've had some rain, and the bedding I spread on the pasture is starting to sprout, as is the grass seed in the yard. I still need to spread more seed, but I'm seeing progress there! Still have more bedding to spread, hopefully dd will do most of this for me. She planted the fall carrots.

Spent today getting my poor house back in order yet again - I'm not soing so well at keeping up with it each day. I want dd to do the dishes each day and clean up after herself, but it's not happening consistantly. I'm lucky if I get her to do some schoolwork each day. 

In the next few days, I'll need to draw blood from the goats to see who's bred and who needs another visit with the buck, and I have more ECG education to do for work, as well as working a 12 hr night shift. Then I have the rest of the month off to try and make a final push to finish my list for the month. Wish me luck!


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

I finished the month by planting my winter wheat after harvesting the potatoes in the garden. I also pulled the rest of the rhubarb and put it in the freezer. Fall carrots have been planted. The rafters are being built for the shed, all the hay is carefully tarped and covered with heavy plastic, tied down, and the barn aisles have been kept clean all month. DD's room is still a disaster area, but the rest of the house is looking pretty good. I didn't get everything on my list done, but made more progress on everything. Time to start the October thread - join me?


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Well... September was productive!
-I have SHELVES!!!!!! in the big, big closet! WooHoo!!! You just don't know.
-I have turned the medium closet into DS's space. It has all his books on the shelves and his games and stuff.
-Have pulled the carpet out of the living room and have all the stuff from the dining room piled into the living room getting ready to sand the drywall, paint and scrape the rubber backing off of the hardwood floors.
-Cleaned off the rest of the shelves in the laundry room to make way for more lights on them for more seedlings.
-My half of our room is spotless. I still cannot see the clock on Dh's dresser top for the screw tips, tubes of caulk, pile of receipts etc...
-Office floor is getting better. All of DS's toys are now in his toy closet.
all in all... a good month!


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