Many an idle moment I’ve spent visualizing precisely how to seal up the hole in our east wall - a hole that for the last five months has been our no frills recycle chute.

I made the door out of leftover cabinet material and a metal picture frame no less than a month ago. Then Chris and I bought a screen door spring hinge with two extra hinges just in case. The problem of installing the door still remains.

It wouldn’t be so irritating if we weren’t losing gobs of heat from the hole in the wall. Since the snazzy 3-ring binder propped shut with an urn doesn’t have a reliable seal over the hole and temperatures have been consistently lower than -20 degrees C, it’s safe to say we are indeed losing heat. That and the wall around the hole is cold to the touch.

Alas, before installing the hinge onto the mediocre looking door I whipped up, the chute interior really needs finishing. I’m thinking 1/4 inch wood along each side, and then a small wood frame inside the opening. Then I’ll be lucky if the spring hinge actually fits properly. Can you smell my doubt?

But, Chris and I have not been entirely idle over the holiday break. We did a massive house cleaning, installed recessed lighting in our ceilingless ceiling in the rec and storage rooms, cleaned out the fridge, started a re-organization of the tool bench, and struck up a more regular exercise regime.

Call it procrastination, or view it as a necessary ’sharpening of the saw’, your choice. I’ll keep pondering that chute door. Send me your ideas if you come up with something brilliant. I would like the door to spring shut to 90 degrees to also seal up against some weatherstripping.

Stay warm!