Lins’ Lockdown List: Motivation For All Your Home Tasks

Well here we are. Week Eleven Hundred and Twelvety of lockdown. Speaking of, is anyone else slightly concerned as to just how easily that new word, previously only used in episodes of 24, is now part of our everyday vocabulary? Pete and I will say things like “yeah, lockdown is making us cook more but won’t it be nice to go out for dinner?”

In all seriousness though, if it really is true that it takes 21 days to form a new habit, then I can no longer keeping telling myself that I’m still getting used to lockdown. It’s been here for what, 4 weeks now, and most of us have been concerned about things for waaaaaay longer than that so it’s time to stop using it as an excuse for me (and remember you do you!) to sit around doing nothing.

Therefore I present to you: Lins’ Lockdown List. Alllll those small jobs around the house that I’ve been meaning to do since forever but as I hate cleaning and am quite spectacular at procrastinating they just never get done.

My original plan had been to think of 100 things but I’ve “only” made it to about 75 so far. And not all of them will get done – one of the items is to tile inside my fireplace but I have beautiful encaustic tiles, no idea and no equipment so it’s doubtful as to whether it will make it. I’m keeping it on the list though as a reminder that it needs doing, even if it’s a post lockdown job.

I’ve realised that for me to try and make sense of all this, I need to have some sort of routine/structure/purpose, even if it’s just a loose one. I will be heading back to full-time work at some point and if I look back on this time and think I had the perfect opportunity to tackle some of these jobs and didn’t do it, I know I’ll be annoyed at myself.

And they don’t need to be huge either. Wiping down my kitchen cupboard fronts is one such small task, something that never ever gets done even when I do clean the kitchen. I cleaned out the fridge the other day, not done in over a year, and the sense of calm and enjoyment I felt afterwards was so pleasing.

I hope this helps, I’ll be sharing as I make my way through the list (in no particular order mind) over on Instagram stories, and if it encourages just one or two of you to tackle something then that’s my job done!

1. Clean living room windows inside
2. Clean living room shutters
3. Paint living room door
4. Change living room door handle
5. Clean out alcove cupboards
6. Clean out log burner ready for autumn
7. Annual log burner painting
8. Tile fireplace
9. Clean behind hallway console table
10. Organise understairs cupboard
11. Paint side of front door
12. Paint kitchen woodwork
13. Clean hob hood
14. Clean oven
15. Hang veg bag hooks
16. Spray gold hooks for accessories
17. Clean out the fridge
18. Check freezer contents and organise
19. Clean catflap inside and out
20. Finish painting dining room door
21. Drill hole for dish in dining room
22. Clean and hang dish in dining room
23. Paint dining room window woodwork
24. Clean outside patio doors
25. Paint patio door sill
26. Touch up beading in dining room
27. Paint patio furniture
28. Jetwash path
29. Jetwash brick border
30. Finish path at back of garden
31. Paint patio
32. Paint outside side gate and fence
33. Sand 5 spindles
34. Paint first landing windowsill
35. Paint first landing window walls
36. Fill bathroom panel ends
37. Paint back of bathroom boiler cupboard
38. Clean out bathroom cupboards
39. Tidy back spare room
40. Paint back spare room door
41. Paint back spare room windowsill
42. Ebay listings
43. Hang wall planters
44. Hoover cobwebs top landing and bedroom
45. Clean bedroom velux inside and out
46. Deep clean office
47. Put up wall piece in office
48. Fix calendar on back of door
49. Clean moss on bottom of the wall
50. Change bedroom light switches
51. Paint bedroom door
52. Caulk bedroom woodwork
53. Clear out wardrobe
54. Replace with summer clothes
55. Paint en-suite walls
56. Repair en-suite ceiling
57. Remove plastic blind hooks en-suite window
58. Change en-suite flooring
59. Paint en-suite accessories
60. Clean en-suite door sugar soap
61. Finish brick edging in garden
62. Build and paint growhouse
63. Frame London print
64. Fix organiser on back of understairs cupboard
65. Wipe down all kitchen cupboard doors
66. Clean out make up in dressing table drawer
67. Sort out clothes drawers
68. Clean under outdoor tap
69. Touch up paint around bedroom light
70. Repaint outdoor seating table to grey
71. Thread dry flowers onto dining room dish
72. Build a protection for the outdoor seeds
73. Paint tete a tete seat
74. Touch up outside door handle
75. Makeover bedroom chest of drawers

And there we go! Some big things, some not so. I’ll be delighted if I can use some of my days productively to get me through these tasks, it really does help me if I can feel a sense of achievement with something. If you want to join in on Insta then just tag me with #linslockdownlist and I’d love to see what you get up to!

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