And now what?

And now what?

At the beginning of the year we made a big to-do list for 2014, and I like to check in on it every once in a while. The last time we took a look at it was in March. This list is really helping me keep on-track with projects. So now that we’ve declared that the kitchen is officially done(!!!), what’s next on our to-do list?

1. finish the kitchen — D O N E!!

2. finish the master bathroom — so close. We still have to add some shelving/storage and a towel rack. I’d also like to bring in a plant or two and some art.

3. finish the pantry — getting there. We are still halfway through fixing up our built-in Billy bookcases, and we still need to add a countertop over the washer/dryer and some shelves or cabinets. Right now this is my highest priority. Once the pantry is done, we can move on to new projects.

4. paint the kitchen/pantry/hallway — almost done! I still need to paint the black doors in the hallway, which I’ve been avoiding because it sounds horrible.

5. replace the back door — not started. I’d like to start working on refinishing the “new” door this summer. It’s an old exterior door that we had removed when we redid the pantry. The door is in bad shape but I think it has lots of potential.

6. remove shutters from pantry window — not started. Hopefully we can do that this summer, too. It would be great to open up the window and get some natural light and fresh air in the pantry.

7. replace rumpus room lights — not started, but…  I think replacing the lights has been bumped down the to-do list, because we just don’t want to spend the money to hire an electrician right now (they need to be moved and then the ceiling will need work). We’ll settle for a new wall color to distract us from the ugly lighting situation. We’ve spent the last two weeks picking a new color. Seriously, I looked at probably 50 paint chips and 4 or 5 paint samples before we finally decided, but I’ll probably get that room painted in the next couple of weeks. I also want to replace the curtains.

8. renovate both offices — not started. This is a huge priority for us. These rooms are a disaster right now since they’ve both become dumping grounds for everything else in the house that doesn’t have a place. I blog from my office and literally can barely get into the room. It’s so frustrating. Andy’s office has a giant bed in it that I have to climb over to get to the printer. I mean, seriously? I expect a lot of craigslisting and/or donating in our near future!

9. clean up the attic — not started. Now wouldn’t that be nice?! Ahh, someday.

10. have the house and garage painted — not started. We really need to do this asap. Send us an email if you have a local painter you recommend!!

I’m adding a new #11: fix up the outside — It’s not on our official list (probably because who thinks about gardening in January), but we have a lot of ideas for the garden and the back deck. I’m pretty excited to get outside and start planting in the next few weeks and fix up our back deck for summer parties and just general lounging around. We have a ton of ideas, though we’re debating (that’s a nice way of saying disagreeing) about how much we can get done this summer considering how much is left to do inside still. Eesh!

So, one thing down, ten million things to go! Ha, such is the life of a homeowner. And, well, someone like me who can’t sit still!!

Happy Friday, friends!! We’ll be back on Monday for the final lesson in our Painting 101 series, and Wednesday we’re hoping to have the tutorial for the open shelves we built in the kitchen. See you soon!

— Kerry