In case you were wondering...
Yes, it's me. More of a retail stimulator than a Do it Yourself-er, I took on a project recently that had literally been staring me in the face. Well at least visible everyday when I passed through the kitchen and looked out onto my deck. There was no more denying or delaying it (I had company coming) so I took on the project of repainting my metal deck furniture. I also re-stained the deck but I do not want to brag (too late)!
It was pretty mindless work but I got a little philosophical while I was at it so here goes:
1. Take Time, Take CareThis little project was long overdue. The metal table and chairs were about 10 years old and have been exposed to snow, sun, and rain for all of those 10 years. The original paint was flaking off and rust was setting in.
The natural progression of things is decay. If you don't tend to them, they will fall apart.2. Be Prepared- Gather Your Tools.From another project I knew that I wanted to use this spray paint with a trigger nozzle. I had only found it at one of the home improvement stores in town so I needed to make a special trip to that particular store. Because of the rust and flaking metal, I knew I needed a steel brush and some major elbow grease for the prep work.
Few things in life come without a little planning and hard work.
3. Expect back splash.I was under a time constraint and had to work within a good weather window. Unfortunately, the sunny day I had to work was also a day of 10 mph wind gusts. Armed with a large piece of cardboard and geared in my grungy clothes, I was ready for battle.
Life can get messy, dress appropriately.4. Make a planAlright, here's where personality type comes in to play. I choose to work on the worst piece first. The rustiest one. The one that required the most scrubbing with the steel brush. I did this because I knew I would fade in stamina and in interest by the end of the project so I tackled the hardest piece first to get it out of the way. However, if one would need small victories along the way to keep one motivated to continue the project, I can see where starting with an easy task would boost one's confidence for the bigger projects ahead.
To Thine own self be true.5. Don't forget the undersidesI am a recovering perfectionist (children will do that to you) and have come to a place where I can be good with things being "good enough" but the underlying issue here was rust. It was setting in to the bolts and supports of the table and had to be dealt with--meaning scrubbing the devil out of it.
Don't sweat the small stuff but don't ignore the stuff you can't see.6. Admire your work. Celebrate your success. With my table in it's "oil rubbed bronze" glory and back in it's location on the deck, I was able to admire the way it looks new with just a little time and effort. Pleased with the outcome, I made myself a little icy, creamy treat...
then saved the leftover paint for future touch ups because...
eventually we have to
Go back to step 1.
I had an ah-ha moment at 7,000 feet recently which is way better than having an oh-no moment at 7,000 feet. 
