Well, this is the literally the latest I’ve ever shared a home goals list. The year is over a quarter over! But, here I am…

Honestly, the reason I’m just not posting this is not because I am just running late, though that does sound like me, doesn’t it?

It’s because I wasn’t going to share a list of home goals for this year at all. Not only does everything still feel pretty unpredictable because of the pandemic, but I also have a feeling that the big projects on our list for the year may be all we get done…if that. It’s a bit…overwhelming, both design-wise, and financially.

Still, I do really love having a list to look back on as we reflect at the end of the year. And it’s helpful to have some written out priorities when I get the urge to start a project so I don’t jump ahead on something we’ve already planned to do.

So, here we go. (also, full disclosure, I started this post in December and am just now posting it, so…it’s totally fair the first one is already marked off!)

1̶.̶R̶e̶d̶o̶ ̶E̶m̶m̶a̶’̶s̶ ̶c̶l̶o̶s̶e̶t̶ ̶

I loved this project and it’s been an amazing way to make her room more functional! I honestly can’t believe how great it turned out.

2. Master bathroom

This one is scary. But doable if we don’t do any major wall moving. Our main goals are to change…well, everything. In all seriousness, we need to fix the tile issues, add more functional storage (what’s there isn’t working well for us) and make the shower bigger.

3. Rebuild the deck

We’re still undecided on if this will be a DIY job or something we hire out. Either way, it’s a HUGE project, both in expense and in scope. We’re not only adding a staircase but also probably adding square footage…oh, and replacing the super spintery wood that’s not only an eyesore, but a danger, too.

4. Hall bathroom mini refresh

After last year’s half bathroom refresh, I’m feeling more confident on painting the cabinets, and putting down some new flooring, even if we don’t spring for real tile like I ultimately want.

5. Finish the guest room

We’ve got the basics of the room done with the office area and the bed. AND MY HANGING CHAIR. But, I have to figure out the rest of what’s going on with the walls in terms of art and such.

6. Downstairs activity table and chairs for the kids

If I don’t get this done, they are going to be too big to even enjoy it. I think it would be perfect for board games and building projects. Plus, if I work at my desk more, they can sit down there and do activities too. I already have the chairs that need to be refinished so I need to decide on a table design.

(See those kid chairs in our old “chair room?”)  Told you I’ve had them a long time.)

7. Move the redbud tree, plant more bulbs, and other landscaping tasks

We’ve had a redbud tree sprout that’s right by our deck and basement wing wall, and it’s now…quite large. I really like it and want to keep it…but we HAVE to move it this year, preferably sooner rather than later, if we want to not kill it in the process. I think there are a few on the other side of our house that I’d like to rehome, too. Maybe they can live by our mailbox??

Not to mention the amount of ignored landscaping we have. But I also want to plant more bulbs because flowers that come up in the spring after a long winter are joyful. And we all need a bit more joy, right?

 

8. Gutter work, rain collection

We need to do some serious landscaping too. A couple of years ago, we added some long (ugly) downspout extenders to keep water away from our foundation when we get really heavy rain. They have worked really well but are not at all going to be a longterm plan. Wyatt says creating a better drainage system won’t be hard (I guess he already has a plan) but I’m also wanting to add some rainwater collection to use for watering my plants.

9. Redo the coat closet

I had plans to add more shelves like we did for Emma’s closet, but I actually think it’s too small to flip the rods like we did in her room, but I’m hopeful we can improve the space so our kids can hang up their own coats and we have more room for rain and snow gear. And maybe we can stop using a cardboard box as a shelf? Hmmmm….

10. Finish the storage room project

I’ve been working on cleaning out and oranizing our storage room forever (as part of my getting rid of thousands of things effort) and now it’s time to make the space prettier and sustainably tidy.

Also, this before pic includes a sneak peak of the fun project I’ve been working on for an hour or two every weekend…

 

11. Get carpet restretched

We have been unhappy with our carpet installation since we had it done and it’s getting SO BAD in some places. They did a seriously awful job. It wasn’t cheap. In fact, it was very expensive and was a big headache. And no, they didn’t handle it well when we were unhappy. Any yes, I’m still upset about it. Can you tell? 🙃

12. Add more garden beds

Do we add more garden space every year? Yep, pretty much. Why? Because growing food and flowers makes me happy. And because…why not? (Right, Wyatt?) Yes, this will be a lot of work to remove sod and add a ton more mulch and I’m not sure what we’re going to do about edging, but…we’ll figure that out…right? Right.

And can I also just say, I’m being totally unrealistic here, but I have to add a few more than normal, so…

13. REPLACE THE KITCHEN GARAGE DOOR!

Seriously…enough is enough.

14. Recover the garage steps and continue adding storage solutions out there

This is in progress, it was sort of an impulse and we hit a bit of a roadblock but I think it will happen soon. It’s a good spring project.

15. Add better storage/hooks to the laundry room

I’ll admit I’m not a huge fan of this one, but Wyatt really likes keeping his jacket and hat and keys in the laundry room so it’s easy to grab. And you know what? With everything that man does for us (and in making my home dreams come true), it’s the least I can do to get the guy some better storage for items he uses all the time, right? Right.

(And to be fair, a heavy-duty hook to hang my suitcase, I mean purse, would be great, too.

So, there’s our list for the year. Fifteen is a lot considering we’re already almost halfway, huh? Yikes. Better get to work! Which of these do you think we’re least likely to finish–and if you say the kitchen/garage door, I may run away and hide.