It's a new year, so naturally I must find ways to sink even more time and cash into my home... yesterday I ordered a mailbox (to replace the trashy-looking Rubbermaid thing that sits crookedly at the curb). Today I went to Lowe's and bought a tile cutter to complete the kitchen project that's been looming... and I've even managed to recruit elves to help me with gathering supplies! One of my co-workers was heading to The Home Depot at lunchtime today, so I sent him with a gift card, and a note to pick up six tubes of adhesive caulk for me! I'm officially recruiting members into my home-improvement army of craziness! :-)
The construction roller-coaster took off from the station a few weeks ago when Tyler and I tackled the installation of "Green Fiber" insulation - a fluffy cellulose insulation that is applied by a machine that vaguely resembles a roto-tiller combined with a leaf blower. The Home Depot offered a great special on the machine - if you purchased at least 20 bags of insulation, you got 24 hours of machine rental free of charge! I bought 25 bags, which was just enough to create a new pile of attic fluff that is roughly an R-19 insulation value. I am forever thankful that I have access to some fantastic estimating software at work - it has really saved me some cash when it comes to over-buying on home improvement supplies! No longer do I have buckets of paint leftover, only to toss into the "paint closet" in the garage. (Yes, we have a paint closet - doesn't everyone?)
But I digress... we got the insulation done with minimal trauma, returned the machine, basked in the warmth of a slightly-toastier house, and contemplated our next move.
I sat down yesterday afternoon (while fixing dinner, and between installing some wall tiles in the kitchen) to really think about what I want to accomplish this year. Here's the mad-list so far:
- get rid of the fire pit/chimnea in the backyard - this is going to a friend's house, just have to set aside the time to deliver it!
- replace the mailbox (on order already)
- cut down some old trees in the front yard - they're icky and sickly looking, so it's time to go!
- build a custom screen door for our ginormous front-door - 42+ inches wide.
- paint the bookcases and the door in the dining room (paint chip selections to be posted shortly!)
- tile the shower surround in the hall bathroom (this was wallpapered just last year, and is now peeling)
- install mini blinds in the guest room. I have the blinds... just didn't get around to putting them up.
- paint the living room, hall, stairwell, and office. This will finally complete the color transformation in our home... or what I refer to as "erasing the idiots who lived here previously".
- general house-keeping and maintenance around the back yard - trimming of trees and shrubs, removal of some older plants.
- replace the pump in our outdoor fountain yet again. GRRRRRRRRRR
- paint shutters and front door
Now, mind you, this list is merely what I drafted yesterday as I was preparing dinner. It will surely grow, both in tasks and costs. I sometimes wonder why we've never considered living in a condo... no maintenance, no worries about picking paint colors for the shutters, no landscaping, etc... and then I realize that if we lived in a maintenance-free home, I'd be bored to tears! Our last house was brand-new when we bought it, and in two years all I ever did was to replace the kitchen faucet because I didn't like the one that our contractor picked. It was fully functional, I just zeroed in on it because it was literally the only thing in the house that I could nit-pick because the rest of it was perfect!!
I promise I'll be a better blogger this year... will post plenty of photos for entertainment purposes! :-)
Happy New Year!!
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