2013 Home Goals

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Do you make New Year's resolutions? I don't think of them as resolutions per se, but every January I try to spend some time reflecting on the year that was and setting a few goals for the year ahead. Last year, I made a short list of 2012 Home Goals, so let's check in and see how I did.

De-clutter: My house is by no means clutter-free, but it's looking MUCH better than it did at this time last year. I no longer feel an overwhelming sense of anxiety when I enter the garage or basement storage room in search of something, so there's that. Now I just need to organize our remaining stuff (like Christmas decorations, camping gear, etc.) and keep it from multiplying.

Slow Down: I have to give Hannah all the credit on this one; nothing slows down house projects like having a baby! It also helps that I made a spreadsheet with a separate tab for each area of the house, listed all of the projects I have planned for each room, then chose a few areas of the house to finish each year for the next few years. It may be super-nerdy (#Excel4eva), but it helps me stay focused and motivated, and it keeps me from feeling overwhelmed or defeated by a crazy long list of improvements.

Prioritize: This goal was about taking it one project at a time, one room at a time. It's how I approached our bedroom, the nursery, the guest bedroom, and now the kitchen and entryway. I still jump around from room to room a little bit, but I only work on one project at a time now and I force myself to finish it before starting something else. It turns out I get a lot more done this way, go figure.

This year, my goals are more project-specific.

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Finish updating the kitchen

After doing a little re-sale related research, we decided against a full gut job for this room. Over the holiday break, we got started on our list of spit-and-shine improvements by replacing the light switches and outlets, cleaning up the existing light fixtures, installing a new backsplash, and opening up and repainting the upper cabinets. Over the next year, we plan to trim out and repaint the lower cabinets, add new hardware and a new faucet, tile the countertop, replace the flooring, install a dishwasher, and replace the exterior door.

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Renovate the stairs

We may have the most awkward (and dangerous) split-level ever built, thanks to our staircase. And until we fix it, we can't move ahead with some of the major projects on our list (laying already-purchased hardwood in the upstairs hallway, painting, and replacing the flooring in the kitchen and living room/dining room). I've come up with a solution, inspired by the image above, that involves widening a doorway, replacing some (but not all) of the stairs, building a half-wall and installing a handrail. We plan to get some estimates for the job soon, so if you know of a good contractor in HRM, please share his or her contact info!

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Finish the entryway

You can see what I have planned for this space here. I just finished another small project (that's not on the list - oops!) that I'll share with you soon and I'm trying to work up the motivation to paint those doors...

It's a lot of work, but hopefully doable. Cheers to a new year of projects!