I bought some old stools from an op shop the other day with the idea of giving them a makeover.
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They are pretty ugly but with a lick of paint I'm hoping I can breathe new life into them.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison seems to have taken a similar approach to his Cabinet revamp this week.
Sometimes you just need to vibe things up, although I'm not sure replacing scandal-plagued ministers Christian Porter and Linda Reynolds with Michaelia Cash and Peter Dutton constitutes a fresh coat.
As I've found with my stools, it's not easy making something tired and offensive - like the government's perceived position on gender inequality and sexual harassment - look fresh and new again.
Particularly in the face of ongoing allegations of rape, masturbation, toxic masculinity, bullying and sexist culture.
It's read like an NRL pre-season thus far and has required numerous attempts at reset from the PM.
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese must be pinching himself, although people in glass houses need to be careful about transparency.
As I've found with my stool makeover, the first challenge to making something look less ugly is picking the right colour.
You want one that matches your decor, and a paint that sticks. As a career politician with a background in marketing, the PM probably understands that instinctively.
I went for "gloss ivory" with my stools. You might think "brown" when it comes to Parliament House at the moment but instead the PM has troweled on "mawkish" at his press conferences, resetting his resets, and leaving an overall impression of "privileged and entitled white male wash".
Particularly as no one seems to be losing their jobs except the people coming off JobKeeper.
Talk about empathy training.
To be fair, I've only got two stools to dress up, the Prime Minister seems to have a Coalition of big swinging deckchairs.
Maybe that explains why he visited the Parramatta sheds after the Eels demolished his beloved Sharks last weekend.
A bit of political HIA. He's certainly taken a few knocks.
Referring to Marise Payne this week as now the "Prime Minister of Women" in his revamped Cabinet task force sort of emphasised that.
You'd think the Prime Minister would be the Prime Minister for both men and women in a party that doesn't have issues with the gender divide.
But, as I've found with my stools, you need to reapply extra coats to get the finish you're after.
Sometimes you miss bits, sometimes paint goes on uneven, sometimes flecks of rubbish blow in.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure there's enough paint in the world to conceal the issues Brittany Higgins, Andrew Lamming, Frank Zumbo et al raise, not to mention the notorious "desk jockey".
The ongoing crises beg two important questions for the government regarding talk and action.
Do they get it? And how long will the public keep copping it if they don't?
Like my stools, voters will get a chance to tweak if they can't find a finish that sits comfortably, at the next election.
