Somewhere along the way, I learned my lesson about procrastinating. Not the lesson that putting things off is bad — everyone knows it is. It kills progress and manufactures pressure.
No, what I learned is that procrastination isn’t one big thing. It’s a snowball of putting off many small things, stuff that’d take virtually no time or effort in the moment, and when they stack up, the prospect of tackling them all can be daunting.
The lesson: Do it now.
If I see that something’s out of place, I set it right. When I’m done with a tool, I put it away. If a thing is dirty, I clean it. My knives don’t get dull — I maintain them regularly. Dishes don’t pile up in my kitchen sink because I wash them after every meal, snack or food-prep ritual.
There is no “later.” There’s no “when I feel like it” or “next time I’m up.” I do the little things now.
It’s amazing how much stress that relieves and how much time it creates for bigger stuff. And it’s so very simple.
All it takes is discipline. It’s 100% attitude.
My thrift-shop slow cooker, which fairly sparkled after its deep-clean, needed a home, a spot to stow it. And like that woman at the store on Friday, I was having trouble yesterday morning finding a place to put it.
I moved a few things around, and it ended up on top of the fridge. That’ll work fine.
A question still nagged me — where would I set up the cooker when I use it to make chili or soup or whatever? Counter space is limited right now. I could put it on the kitchen table, but even if I protected the oak top with a cutting board or some-such, I’d still be concerned that heat or spills could damage the wood.
It’d be best, I thought, to have a separate table, maybe one that folds away when I don’t need it. (Floor space is at a premium, too.) A sturdy TV tray, for example.
That’s when I remembered that I actually have a fold-up TV tray. It traces to the motorhome days, and despite it not being the least bit weatherproof, the thing has spent its entire miserable life outdoors.
On Saturday morning, it sat next to the Stinky Slinky under one of the camper’s slideouts. I brought it up to my workbench (the tailgate of my truck) and looked it over.
Its pressboard top was waterlogged and chewed-up (by resident squirrels, no doubt). The “veneer” (simulated wood-grain contact paper) was cracked and peeling.
Underneath, however, frame and hardware seemed in decent shape. The black finish was oxidized, naturally, and there was surface rust in spots, but it was straight and square and the pivots moved freely.
I went back into the cabin and rummaged through my scrap pile, where I found a piece of half-inch plywood left over from building the microwave shelf. Bringing that out to the TV tray, I held it up to the decrepit top — just big enough.
The first step in resurrecting this TV tray would be disassembling it. I reserved the mounting hardware and thoroughly wiped down the frame.
Using the old top as a pattern, I laid out the new one (including the radiused corners) on the plywood. I had enough material to make it an inch wider and two inches deeper than the top it replaced.
Sizing and finishing it took only five cuts, one with a circular saw and four with a jigsaw at the corners. That’s how accidentally perfect this scrap was.
Next came some careful measuring and calculating. (In the photo below, you can see my marks and scribbles.) I wanted the frame to be centered side-to-side and the top to be at the same working height as the original. The first test-fit was a hair off, but a small adjustment fixed that.
Satisfied that I had everything the way I wanted it, I snugged the screws and set the table upright.
It folded flat easily, just as it should.
The entire job took a half-hour. All of the original hardware was re-used, and none had to be added. The new top came from scrap. Other than electricity to charge batteries running a screwdriver and two saws — for what, two minutes? — this reclamation project cost me exactly nothing.
Maybe I’ll stain the top and paint the frame. Or maybe I won’t. As it is, it works.
Investing minimal effort and no money gave me a great place to park my slow cooker while it’s cookin’ slowly. It’ll also be perfect for my food dehydrator. And when I’m not using it, it can disappear.
This one goes in the win column.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable