Listing, gently

"101 Things You Gotta Do Before You Die!"

This list is weighted in favour of The House. Some of these are likely finish me off ~ and then how could I finish off the rest? Oh, someone might use my urn as a trophy, but that's probably cheating. Am just not very outdoorsy... nor am I even remotely so ambitious as to have 101 goals to accomplish in a lifetime. Heck, I have enough trouble whittling down my day~to~day to~do lists; where would a do~or~die~trying list fit in?

I think a realistic list for me would look something like this:

Things I Want To Do Before I Die
The Keep~Your~Head~Above~Water Challenge

1} Clean the entire house.

And keep it clean. For at least a week.

This means certain lesser goals ~ goal particles? ~ must be achieved:

. . . i} clean the kitty litter every day
. . . ii} get all the laundry washed, folded and properly stored
. . . iii} wash dishes after meals
. . . iv} keep the foyer tidy {thus making it possible to get in and out of the house without having to shimmy ourselves along walls}
. . . v} clean out {& organise} the closets

2} Create a cat~positive environment

Spoil 'em silly. Goal particles:

. . . i} brush them every day; establish a playtime ritual
. . . ii} grow plants for them to nibble on {or, possibly, sods of grass for them to sprawl on}
. . . iii} make toys & beds
. . . iv} build a Felinarium; put up catwalks
. . . v} enclose back balcony for use as a cat run

3} Establish & follow a health~and~beauty regimen.

Goal particles:

. . . i} drink water; eat healthy; improve posture
. . . ii} exfoliate; moisturize; wax; pluck; trim; manicure/pedicure; etc.
. . . iii} update wardrobe
. . . iv} make & stick to a schedule for at~home beauty treatments
. . . v} should finances ever permit, visit the spa every so often; and while we're at it, a trip to the dentist wouldn't hurt either...

4} Paint everything that needs painting

Goal particles:

. . . i} strip & paint the wooden folding chairs {and reseat them, and mount the wall brackets to hang them on}.
. . . ii} paint the foyer {and hang the mirror so I know what I look like when I leave in the morning; also, put up the coathooks so we can stop hanging our coats off knobs. We have an extra door off its hinges standing next to the front foor, just so we can hang stuff on it}.
. . . iii} paint the kitchen walls & cabinets
. . . iv} paint the bedroom
. . . v} paint all the blank canvases I own

5} Get the house running like a well~oiled machine

Goal particles:

. . . i} keep kitchen pantry/fridge/supplies cabinet well~stocked & tidy; keep a running list of sundries {what's on hand/what's needed; includes kitty supplies, like food, treats & litter}
. . . ii} shop wisely & spend economically on groceries
. . . iii} prepare & freeze meals ahead of time; learn how to cook 30~minute meals; pack a lunch for work
. . . iv} set up a "launch pad" and a "crash pad" ~ i.e., the areas by the front door where you [a] set up everything you need to grab when you leave in the morning, and [b] drop everything when you get home in the evening {also a good place to have a chair/bench/pew, for us old people who can't bend down to put on our shoes}

6} Organise papers

Goal particles:

. . . i} clean out the file cabinet
. . . ii} get tax paperwork in order; throw away useless receipts
. . . iii} organise art/craft paper
. . . iv} go through old journals

7} Finish what I started

Goal particles:

. . . i} build a new sofa {we've already bought all the lumber, the mattress & the upholstery material}
. . . ii} destroy an old sofa {or we'll have no place to put the sofa we're building... thanks go out to the cats, who have already helped me start this one}

~ ~ ~

Yup. For the moment, that's my list. Really ought to post it as a side bar; perhaps public shame will help me to get things crossed off.

Am off to buy toilet paper, paper towels & cotton balls, as per 5.i above.

So... what is your "To Do before I Die" list?

Posted by edgar at February 2, 2004 05:04 PM