Mini Projects Around Our House

Saturday was my day to tackle some mini projects around the house.  Nothing too strenuous and as it turned out it made for a pretty fun day.  I went to Home Depot to pick up fruit tree spray and a sprayer that attaches to our hose and while I was there I grabbed two cans of spray paint for my projects.

First up was to empty out all of our flower pots, we only have four, so I could paint them.  They are all faded and different styles and colors and I wasn't in love with any of them.  I wasn’t in love with the idea of forking over big bucks for new ones though either.  Unfortunately when I picked up one of the big guys it split down the side and dumped all the soil into the lawn.  Big bummer.

I scrubbed the three remaining pots clean and let them sit in the sun to dry and went on with putting up a cute little hook I had bought last year at a thrift store when my daughter and I filled up a bag from an all you can get in a bag for $1 table.  I had stuck the hook in the bag thinking one can always use an extra hook for something.  You can read more about it here.

I found four little matching screws and decided to put the hook up on the chicken coop.  I thought about painting it but decided I liked it as it was.  I picked off the 99¢ price tag that was on it and used my cordless drill to attach it to the coop.  After that I looked up recipes for hummingbird food and made a quick batch with 4 cups of hot water and a cup of sugar.  After filling up my $1 feeder I bought at the dollar store I hung it on the hook and it looks darling, I think.

I added composted chicken manure and wood ash to the soil I had dumped out of the flower pots and worked that all in so I can refill the flower pots when I am done giving them an overhaul.

I spread out a $1 shower curtain from the dollar store and used rocks from the garden to hold it in place.  I turned two of the flower pots upside down and painted them gloss black.  An hour later I went back and turned them right side up and painted them to just under the dirt line.  Then I did the same with the ceramic pot using metallic aluminum paint.  A friend had given me the pot last year and while I love the shape the design on it isn't exactly my style.  Now with a fresh coat of paint it is more to my liking and will continue to see some good use.  I'm excited to get these pots planted with flowers in a couple weeks.

In between coats of paint I also managed to clean out our pond and flush it.  I cleaned out the tubing that connects our spitting frog to the pump.  Even Froggy got a makeover.  After all these years he was looking a little worn and faded so he got a metallic aluminum makeover as well.

Before

After

Finally, I got the non working outlet on the porch replaced.  No more procrastinating.  That item is officially marked off my "To Do" list. 

I washed down the walls on the front porch and got rid of all the cobwebs and dirt that had been collecting.  I scrubbed our front door and added "paint front door" to the "To Do" list.  I also washed the porch light and my barn star that hangs by our door so everything is looking pretty.  I still need to scrub the porch itself but I was running out of daylight.

I added a cross piece of wood I already had on hand to the chicken run and reinforced the wire with staples.  My oldest is going to grab a hammer and go around and tack down any stables that have popped up a little bit.  I also reattached the netting across the top where it had come loose.

Additionally, I pulled some weeds, watered the strawberries, played with the chickies and I even made a small batch of chocolate peanut butter no bake cookies for a snack.  A very full, but fun day and I'm looking forward to another one!