January is a great time for setting goals for the year and to make a list of things to accomplish. It feels so satisfying to cross a task off the list when it’s complete. It gives me a sense of accomplishment.

When it comes to the house related goals, DIY projects are a combined hobby that Tony and I share. We like working on projects together and it makes us happy, and doesn’t really seem like work at all.

With that being said, here are some of the projects we have on the to-do list for this year! The main categories include room renovations, landscaping, furniture makeovers, and I threw in a few personal goals as well. We hope to finish these tasks in no particular order, and we reserve the right to change our minds at any point in time.

You can see our entire house tour here with the master list of everything we’d like to finish over the next few years.

1. Room Renovations

Finish the Kitchen

The kitchen is fully functional, there’s just a few finishing details that we need to complete, including:

• Install crown moulding
• Install baseboard around the island
• Tile the back splash (I’m still undecided about what kind of tile I’d like!)

Boys’ bedroom

We’re pretty excited about finishing the room for our two boys. We’re going to make some built in beds with storage and a desk. The plan is to work on this in the winter. Tasks include:

• Finish painting trim
• Maybe repaint the walls?
• Build a loft bed and built in desk
• Get another dresser that doesn’t have a broken leg
• Accessorize with proper length curtains, a rug, and some art

2. Landscaping and Gardening

Flower Gardens

I’d like to add a flower bed at the front of our house. Our house faces north, so I will do a mix of hardy, low-maintenance shrubs and perennials. As well, I’m going to add to my wildflower meadow and hopefully have an even better year with that.

Top soil and grass behind the house

Get final grade and top soil at the back of the house, and start growing grass. Our contractor was very busy last fall and we just never got this task finished

Above Ground Pool

This may or may not happen this year, but we’d love to find a second hand above ground pool and install it behind the house. We’d also like to extend the deck and build it out around the pool, but that probably won’t all happen this summer.

3. Furniture Makeovers

I found a few furniture pieces at yard sales last summer that I haven’t gotten around to yet:

• A dresser with a matching side table – I don’t really have a plan yet for this one, but as soon as I can clean all the junk off it I might get some motivation.
• I also found an old rocking chair that I currently have on our front porch. It’s actually in pretty good condition, and has beautiful curvy legs.
• I also found some antique drop leaf table legs. I’ll have to build a new wood top, but I think it will be a really neat project and I’m excited to work on it.

4. DIY Projects

It seems I always have a small DIY project on the go! A few ideas I have up my sleeve include painting by number, a hand towel rack, easy soap making, paper crafts, some sewing projects, jewelry making, resin crafts, woodworking… I don’t seem to have a problem coming up with new things I’d like to try.

5. Personal Goals

And on top of the home projects for 2018, there are a few personal goals or skills I’d like to accomplish or work on:

• Use the table saw – this is one tool I’m still afraid of
• Learn how to use a router
• Use a sprayer for finishing furniture
• Start a YouTube channel
• Improve my photography (I signed up for a photography course)
• Focus on things that make me happy (I’m going to use this book to focus on this goal) including: read more books (The Handmaid’s Tale and The Alice Network are on my list), continue listening to podcasts (In The Storyhouse, Made for Profit, and How I Built This are a few of my favorites), self improvement including personal and family devotions, focus on the kids and try to be less stressed as a mother (this is a parenting blog I follow), and allow some grace and kindness to myself whenever I fail.

That should all be attainable, right??!

Are you setting goals for the new year? What are some projects or tasks on your own list?

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