New Year, New Goals

It's 2018 and it's time for my annual look backwards and forwards at what we accomplished last year and what we plan to do this year for the house. And so without further ado, here's 2017 in a nutshell:

Last year, we had a pretty modest list of plans, with a small baby still needing constant attention and with a major renovation recently under our belts (breezeway to sunroom conversion).

So mostly, we needed to organize our lives. How did we do? Well I had three spots I wanted to clean up - the office, kitchen, and linen closet. The office closet got addressed last January and, more importantly, has largely held up to the chaos caused by two children. Here it is today, with only minimal staging:

The rest of the room remains in progress but we are just waiting to purchase the last piece of furniture and buy some more toy bins. We've also tried to thin out what we have and started what I hope will be a lasting tradition of asking the kids to pick out some toys that they no longer play with to donate on Christmas Eve. The problem of course is that incoming toys still surpass outgoing ones, but it's a start. I'm marking this one as "accomplished" (or as much as it can be with two small ones in the house).

The kitchen also stayed organized as we continue to use the system suggested by our professional organizer. We moved on to tackle the pantry last month and will continue that one over the next week or two (update to come). So check the box on that one too.

The linen closet - well, we decided we just don't care. We have a plan but the truth is that even though it's a disaster in there, it's a contained disaster made up exclusively of sheets, towels, and pillows. The ones we swap out regularly are to the front and for now we are willing to ignore the rest. It will be a pretty space once we fix it up, but it is low on the priority list and doesn't even make this year's to-do wish list.

Next up - automation: this was more about learning how to live with the Roomba and force it to do our will. I'd say we managed pretty well, learning where to place the electric fences and even managing to have it clean around the Christmas tree skirt full of toys without disaster. Most days it runs, it completes a full circuit and collects a bin full of cat fur, cheerios, various other crumbs, etc. I barely ever vacuum these days so YES, another box checked.

Finally the doorbell - that's a resounding nope. We tried a couple more times to fix it ourselves whenever a friend said they had an idea of a solution, but since this one requires a call to an electrician, I suspect it will wait until a more pressing electrical problem that can't be ignored and then be lumped into the same professional visit.

And no, we still haven't replaced our basement door (a goal for 5 years now)...

Unplanned major updates last year were the tree-related repairs, the new washer/dryer combo, and all the new trees.

Onwards:

I think we've finally mentally and financially recovered enough from the tree damage and the previous year's remodel to put some big projects on the list.

1. First up, my goal to replace the counter and add a backsplash to the kitchen:

There's a pretty big crack in the piece on the right and it's always felt like a cheap choice given the lovely cabinetry, so it seems like a good time to replace it. Plus I've craved a fancy backsplash for a while now and switching both at the same time makes sense. We'll also probably repaint so that the whole kitchen/dining room space gets a makeover. There will be much more on this later as I brainstorm exactly what to get (I have absolutely no idea what colors I want).

2. Organize the basement closet. This one is more of a mishmash than the linen closet and so I can never quite find what I'm looking for.  I'm trying to figure out exactly what needs to go here and what doesn't and use the space better:

3. Move/take down/rearrange trees and shrubs as laid out here.

4. Reach goal: have a deck installed over basically the same footprint as our brick patio. While the kitchen counters are my idea, this belongs to D. He thinks we will get much more use out of a patio level with the house rather than the steps down to a dirty and weedy brick patio. I was unconvinced it was worth it, since I hate the outdoors once the bugs com out - until a neighbor told me that raising up our hang-out space a  foot or two off the ground would significantly reduce the impact from mosquitoes. So maybe we'll at least get some estimates and plans.

5. And lastly - that darn basement door again.

What about you, loyal reader? Any plans for your home this year?