The Ninety Percent Problem

Around here we have a problem. And I’m guessing – if you’re a DIYer – you are likely to have this problem too.

We call it the “ninety percent problem”, which is basically this…. You start a project. You are dedicated to getting it done. You work really hard at it for a day/week/month – as long as it takes to get it ALMOST finished. You get it to look and function at nearly 100%, but it isn’t actually done. It’s 90%. You never get to cross it off your list, but you never finish it either.

This is where I live. Anyone nodding their head in agreement?

Here area few of the 90% projects that currently reside in my house…

The master bathroom -

We’ve been working on this bathroom for a while, and it’s SO close to being finished – but it’s not. First off, the closet is still pink and needs better functioning shelves. Also, the glue we used to hang the mirror burned through it and left behind five big black spots. One day we will replace it, but right now that doesn’t sound like an exciting project, plus it functions with the spots. This one is likely to be stuck at 90% for a while to come.

The main hallway -

Last fall Adam and I built and some simple shelves to hold all our photos. We painted the hallway as well (though I think it turned out to bright, like a tween girls room) and I collected frames. So why isn’t it finished? Because I don’t have any pictures for the frames. It seems that after Adam and I went digital (like a decade ago) we never printed a single photo, ever. Also, the desk from the guest room is sitting in the hallway because I have no idea what else to do with it (and I refuse to put it back in the guest room).

Next up is something that I LOVE, but haven’t shown you yet because it isn’t 100% complete (though it looks like it is). Meet the new, gorgeous, media center -

It’s a knock-off of this media center, which costs a whopping $2,795 $400 shipping, and we found a DIY tutorial here. So why isn’t it finished and on the blog already? Because the DIY sliding door hardware doesn’t work very well and we need to figure out a better way. This media center is seriously my favorite thing ever though, and I can’t wait to show it to y’all when the time comes.

So those are the main 90% projects we have in our house (though there are plenty of smaller ones). It’s not like we only have nearly finished projects in our house though, oh no. We also have 70% projects, 50% projects, 25% projects…and we like to drag them out for years on end. Are you familiar with the term “hot mess”? I think you can safely apply that to our house situation. Here are few other things that we have in the works…

The guest room -

This room is at about 30%, but is moving along fairly quickly, considering. The makeover started because we ripped out the old carpet in here, and I got excited and started redoing it before I finished all my other projects. You know how it goes. I’ve already done that floor, walls, and am working on the trim, and here are a few details so you can share in my vision…

The boy’s room -

I’ve working on this for a long time (like, years) and it just keeps getting put on the back burner. We really only have two big projects left, bunk beds and a big toy storage system. And some general cowboy decor. And bedding. And the saloon doors for the closet… okay, so maybe we have further to go than I’d like to admit. Let’s call this a 60% project.

The deck -

I showed y’all this last post, but it’s in the works and I’m determined to make it a 100% project…my part of course would be nagging Adam to finish it until we reach that glorious, elusive 100%. I’m pretty excited about having a deck, especially since the entire thing is shaded by the house by the late afternoon (and the front porch is a flesh melting oven at that time.)

The shed -

This rusty old thing is currently sitting at 0%, but I’ll be painting it next week. The project is sponsored and has a deadline, so it will actually be completed and on the blog in the next few weeks. Deadlines…a blessing and a curse.

So that’s a peek at what’s going on at our house, project-wise. Are y’all a hot mess as well or do you always finish a project before moving on? Don’t lie, I know it’s the former. And if it’s not…well….you’re my DIY hero.