This June marks 5 years of living in our first purchased home, on Honeysuckle Ave. When we bought out first house, we thought it was amazing! Perfect, even. Now….not so much. After 5 years you see all the problems that you thought were easy fixes when you first walked through the bank-owned house with the Realtor. And you realize they were not easy fixes and they cost alot of time and money to make “right”!
Like our floors. Five years after ripping out the horrid beige shag carpet that had black trails of footprints on it…well, we still have concrete floors in much of our house. And it is not a fashion statement–it is because we could not decide on a floor type and color and price tag to this day.
But, there are LOTS of small things we have fixed. And some big things. Here are a few accomplishments I would pat us on the back for :)
- replaced both toilets
- replaced garbage disposal
- tore out dead sod in fornt yard, put in retaining wall and participated in city Cash for Grass low-water landascaping program
- put in a vegetable garden (which has an excellent herb, strawberry,and raspberry sections!) with fence
- replaced garage door opener
- replaced every single light fixture inside the house save a few can lights
- installed ceiling fans with remote controls in each major room
- created a closet in the master bedroom (it was an empty room with no fixtures)
- created a REAL laundry room (it was an empty room with no fixtures)
- tiled floor in laundry room
- put in wood floor in office and Matthew's Room
- installed Drip Irrigation and replaced all sprinkler systems
- painted every single wall in the house except Xaver's “office”
- fixed weird built-in place for TV in living room (still working on this)
- replaced all missing surround sound speakers (except center channel) and covered exposed wires
- cleaned and fixed spa
- repaired holes in soaking bathtub and shower
- fixed shower door – master bath
- reaplced shower heads both bathrooms
- replaced all broken roof tiles
- repaired broken truss
- installed new thermostat
- installed more can lights where there was poor lighting
- took off window tint off all windows–still trying to scrape the last of the film off
- took out all broken and chewed window blinds (people before us had a bird)
- put in landscaping rock and plants in back yard
- cedar chips in dog run and leveled it out
- installed built in shelvesin Katie's Room
- ran more internet and phone cables to where they needed to be
- re-stained all wood fencing
- installed shelving in master bath
- installed closet bar and shelving in laundry room
- put in a washer and dryer…twice…DOH!
- built-in spice rack in kitchen cabinets
- built in double oven and microwave
- Installed hose holders for yard
- Put in clothesline
- and loads and loads and loads of smaller projects…
With all that, there is still alot that has to be done. And, it can be overwhleming. To where you realize that 5 years went by and some of the same projects are undone while new ones have popped up. And this is why I am challenging my family to…
Will you join us? I am sure you have a million little projects to get done around your house, in your crafty life, or just in general. And they don't have to be big monstrous overwhelming tasks that cost alot of money. Just get something done, every day.
Here is the list of tasks I would love to see tackled. We have the supplies for many of them and others will costs us $1000s and probably won't get done at all. But, having the list and crossing things off, one day at a time, well…that is going to give us some serious satisfaction!
- Paint Patio Table to Match Chairs
- Repair Spa Cover
- Varnish Spa Wood
- Get Spa Heater Repaired ($75 estimate and then parts + labor)
- Fix mosaic table on patio
- Weed Garden the rest of the way
- Plant remaining seeds and planst in garden
- Install trellises and climbing flowering vines on south side of house x 3
- Install french drain in back yard
- Install french drain in south side yard
- Refinish bathroom cabinets – materials are already purchased and doors are off hinges
- Patch and paint holes in laundry room
- Paint ceiling and cut in paint in laundry room
- Fix broken/missing tiles in laundry room
- Install cabinets (top) in laundry room
- Install counter top in laundry room
- Paint laundry room doors
- Paint facia board and front door
- Install ceiling fan in laundry or sola tube (need more light and it is hot in there!)
- Finish master bath toilet room shelves
- Fix toilet paper holder
- Fix holes in office wall and paint
- Replace 2 dead plants front yard
- Have Sprinkler Repair Guy come fix our sprinklers ($700 estimated)
- Weed front yard
- Weed side yard
- Make a place for our trash cans
- Two More Scoops Gravel for Back Yard
- Level Gravel Area in back yard (one dirt hump to level out)
- Remove plant holders from garden, spray paint, and install in Katie's Room for stuffed animals
- Paint Katie's Room
- Paint Katie's Closet
- Replace knobes Katie's Dresser
- Paint new bed for Katie and get matttress
- Spray paint front yard patio set
- Spray paint and reupholster grandma's dining set on patio
- Finish installing second oven
- Figure out what to do with weird space above oven
- Put in hook and move over kitchen nook light
- Paint kitchen tableand chairs
- Fix broken frames and rehang in hallway
- Fix broken screens on windows
- Floors?! HELLO!!!
- Take down the drying rack in laundry room (we dont use)
- Remove roofing from patio cover
- Replace roofing on patio cover
- Re-sod grass in backyard
- Foundation for dog house
- Fix dog house roof
- Touch up stain on fence where dog scratched and on front that was missed
- Replace dishwasher
- Replace kitchen counter & sink
- Frame out bathroom mirrors
- Patch holes in concrete
- Scrub oil off driveway
- Finish organizing garage
- Spray Paint Candle holders in master bath
- Add shelves in master closet and put luggage on them
- More drawers in master closet built-ins (about $75 at Ikea)
- Scrub slider tract – back door
- Fix Chair hooks that fell off wall in garage
- Get a shed or some place to store lawn mower
- Replace back door and side door light
- Fix House Number Sign – it just fell off one night, broken?!
- Plant seeds in flower pots, front yard
- Re-tile fireplace surround
- Get center channel for surround sound system or cap the wire hanging out of the ceiling
- Patch new hole in shower pan
- Finish painting baseboards
- Paint kids room doors
- Patch and repaint nicks in hallway drywall
- Clean dead spider guts off the scrap room ceiling–I killed that spider 4 years ago!
- Replace piece of chipped laminate floor in office
- French doors in office
- Sew cushions for kitchen seats
- Sew new curtains, bedroom
- Sew covers for top of washer and dryer until get counter top –still not sure we are doign countertop or not….
- Remove linoleum in pantry
- Remove linoleum in bathroom
- Add shefl in guest bath
- Move shelf and/or towel ring in master bath
- Paint & Reupholster chair in office
- Install lights across front of house
- Fix solar landscape lights that are broken
- Remove broken stepping stones in front yard
- and I better stop here before Xaver kills me…..as I am a perfectionist! LOL
So I hope you will join me as we complete 31 unfinished tasks in 31 days. Each Friday I will post the projects from that week that we've finished. You'll be invited to leave a comment to win a prize each week, sharing anything you've finished or anything you hope to finish. Together, we'll get ‘er done!
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