I thought that because I talked about the not-going-to-happen-for-a-while-kitchen on Monday, that today I should talk about what we actually plan on doing this year. We’ve got goals!!! I used to do a post about this each year and I would have a little sheet up in the kitchen so we could check shit off – the joys of checking shit off 🙂 But I don’t even know if we did one in 2015. And we certainly didn’t do one to start off 2016. But hey, January or April – it doesn’t matter. We’ve got goals!

Here’s the list (in no particular order)

1. Get this house painted!

I cannot wait for this! This is both needed, and just selfishly wanted. The paint is failing and so we definitely need to get it done sooner rather than later – that’s the part that’s practical. But we also really WANT to paint it. It’ll be a really great impact and make it feel fresh. We wanted to do it right when we moved in, but we had to wait to get some other projects done first.

2. Ohhhh the sewer lateral

This project is not glamorous or exciting – but it has to be done. There’s a rule in Oakland, that is something along the lines of if your sewer lateral hasn’t been replaced in the last 10 years and you buy a house, you have to replace it (don’t quote me on how exact it is). Annoying yes. Especially when you have to leave a deposit in escrow that you don’t get back till it’s done, and you only have a specific amount of time to get it done. Our sewer lateral does need to be replaced despite this rule because things drain REEEEAAAAAAL slow. But it’s a pretty hefty chunk of change (at least $10, we have TWO, ugh). I’ll of course document the experience, but I’m sure it won’t be very riveting.

3. Get a couch for the downstairs

We’ve got the TV hooked up now, and it would be pretty nice to have a couch in here to sit on while we watch it. I don’t know about you, but sitting on the concrete floor does not sound too appealing.

4. Remedy our master closet

I really don’t like this closet. I don’t know what the hell it is (well, there are several reasons), but really my distaste is a little severe. I mean, this room isn’t terrible. But it just makes me itch. I dislike this area for our clothes storage. But I’ve got plans. Obviously – it’s a goal this year 🙂

5. Organize the other closets in the house

This might seem like a weird goal for some. But a nicely planned out and organized closet just makes my heart flutter. We have the foyer closet

 

This one will just have some drawers and shelves for shoes, hats, bags, etc. Then some room to hang jackets. And a little nook to the side for the vacuum and broom.

The utility closet downstairs in the big room

Just shelves in here. It’s right next to the future laundry so it makes sense that this will be where the cleaning supplies live.

And the last one, the art/office closet

This is the closet in the big room where the furnace used to live. It’s right by where our desks are, so it makes sense that our office supplies live here. And, I don’t know if you know me, but I’ve got a lot of art supplies 🙂 So this is where they will live. We can’t get all the boxes unpacked in here because there isn’t any shelving. It’ll be nice to get that in here. There will be a lot of patching and repairing to do in here, but I can’t wait till this closet looks nice and snazzy.

6. Finish Zoe’s room

Ugh. I really wanted this room to be done before we moved in. And clearly that didn’t happen. We still need to patch a little here and there, texture, then paint. After that it’s the little/fun stuff like hanging her artwork and rearranging some things a little bit. She’s very excited to show anyone who comes to the house her “new big girl room!” So it’ll be nice to actually have it be done 🙂

7. DECK!

I realize I need to write a post about the outside of the house! When I posted about the house I had barely any pictures of the exterior. At least this little tease is something 🙂

When we first moved in we knew that the deck needed to be replaced. It is VERY old. The railings are questionable, there is moss all over it, and it definitely is not structurally sound. We’ve had long talks about what material we want to use, what size it will be, what kind of railing…etc. This will be a BIG project. I really hope we’re able to tackle it this summer and fall. Right now we don’t let the girls on it, and we don’t go in the backyard as much as we should because we just don’t like going all the way downstairs to get outside. We play in the front a lot as a result. It will also be AWESOME to just sit out on the deck in some chairs and take in the view at night. Watch the girls play in the backyard…I can’t WAIT to tackle this project. I’m so excited!

8. Organize the garage!

Getting the plywood up, building all the shelving, building all the work surfaces, putting all the tools away…there’s a lot that will go on in here, but it’s definitely VERY necessary because at the moment it’s pretty hard to find things.

The last two are maybe/hopefully projects.

9. Install ceiling lights in the living room

There are no overhead lights in here. At night we use a work light. Zoe hates it. So it’s usually dark in here. We still haven’t put in a lamp – because we’re lazy. It will be great to install some recessed lights. I can’t stand when there are no overhead lights.

10. Build the living room built in

Right now we’ve got random furniture serving as our “entertainment unit.” And we’ve currently got about 15 boxes of DVDs downstairs that are waiting to be unpacked. We have shelving that Chris built 10+ years ago, but we have more DVDs than will hold them, so we don’t really want to set those up. We’d LOVE to have a built in span the entire wall of the living room. We’ve calculated how much room all the DVDs will take up and building the entertainment unit will be enough. It’s just a time issue. Well, and a plan is needed. We’ve tossed around ideas of what we want it to look like, how it will be constructed, what it will be built from, what the finish will be, etc. We still haven’t nailed it down yet.

So there you have it. A year with house goals! It feels so good to have projects to get done. What are you excited for? Any words of advice? I feel like it’s been so long since we’ve had a niiiiiiiiice LONG to do list 🙂