People often ask how we keep our projects and household organized—“Do you make lists? Use an app? Help me!”—so today we’re laying out the three tools we rely on every day. Some are digital, some are old school, but the point is they keep us on the same page (sometimes literally) about projects, purchases, and to-dos. We’re also sharing progress on a long-overdue outdoor update that nearly sent one of us over the edge of the roof. Also: is it true some people don’t have a de facto “side of the bed” every night? WHAT?! We have questions.

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What’s New

• The photo above shows only the primer, but it gives a clear idea of where our little shed makeover is headed. We’re finally painting it to match our painted brick house.
• We considered spraying the siding but decided to hand-paint with a brush and a high-nap roller instead. The siding is quite textured, and even though brushing into each groove took time, spraying would’ve required a ton of taping and tarping that may not have saved us much effort.
• The doors still need painting. We plan to use Benjamin Moore’s Tranquility to match the exterior doors on the house, and we’ve ordered window boxes too. After how well the beach house shed weathered its window box, we’re excited to add them here.

• The shot above was taken about 60 seconds before I heard wasps buzzing under the dormer eave. Sherry joked it looked like I was sleeping up there. Note: that oddly cool blue look is just primer.

• Can’t wait to paint the doors, hang the window boxes, and share the finished photos. Soon, we hope!

Can We Just Talk About Sides Of The Bed?

• There’s been a funny online uproar about couples who don’t keep a designated side of the bed. We loved reading the round-up and the Twitter reactions—some are hilarious. It’s an odd little cultural debate that somehow turns into a personality test: are you a “side person” or a “float the night” person?

• We want your take, so we included a short survey in the original post to collect responses about which side people sleep on—or if they switch at all. It’s been fun to see the results and the stories behind them.

Listener Question: Keeping Life Organized

• One simple tool Sherry loves is a physical planner. She found an 18-month planner with a clean checkmark-list layout that encourages concise daily tasks and makes it satisfying to literally check something off when it’s done. The tactile act of checking a box is surprisingly motivating.
• Voice assistants are another everyday helper. We use Alexa in the kitchen and Echo Dots around the house to add items to a shared shopping list hands-free. If you think of something upstairs, you can add it by voice and then check items off the list from the phone app while you shop.
• For larger projects, shared documents are essential. We use collaborative docs to organize details for renovations and trips—especially when multiple people are coordinating. Keeping one living document for decisions, measurements, and materials has saved us time and confusion.
• We’ve tried Trello for certain projects and found it useful, though we didn’t stick with it long-term. Different tools work for different people and projects; the key is consistency and choosing a system you’ll actually use.

We’re Digging

• We recently rearranged our bedroom so a large arched mirror could lean on a dresser, mimicking the look of a window. Large mirrors are a great trick to bounce light and create the impression of a view where one might not exist. Placing a mirror where your eye expects a window really enhances the effect and creates pleasing symmetry.
• If you like historical non-fiction, I highly recommend Dead Wake by Erik Larsson about the sinking of the Lusitania. It prompted me to revisit his other well-known work, Devil in the White City.
• Starting tomorrow is our month-long personal challenges: Aquatober for me—drinking only water to reset a soda habit—and Walktober for Sherry—adding a bit more walking to her daily routine. Small habits can add up quickly.
• Finally, if you enjoyed one of our outtakes and want to see the original clip referenced in the episode, we linked it in the show notes for anyone curious.

If you’re trying to find something we mentioned in a past episode, there’s a master list of everything we’ve been digging across older shows, and a page listing all the books we’ve recommended in our Book Club. We’re grateful to the sponsor of this episode and appreciate everyone who listens and follows along.

Thanks for listening!

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