So much happened in 2023!
Although maybe it doesn't feel that way because I blogged so little about it. Oops! We were too busy doing the work to be writing and photographing it as it went, but I will update you here! And probably some retroactive blog posts are coming your way.
But just LOOK AT THAT KITCHEN.
What got done in 2023:
Recall my list from last January. I am being generous with crossing things off here, some of these items need (a lot) more work!
The kitchenThe main floor bathroom- Fencing in the backyard
Building out the cut flower gardenBasement shelving- Josh built some cool basement shelves, and made my dreams come true by turning the finished part of our basement into a play zone! I know 2023 was the year of the kitchen, but the basement might be the MVP.Finalizing living room layout/lighting- Wall decor
Finalizing our bedroom
Not on the list, but deserving a mention: I found so many dream pieces on marketplace in 2023. I feel like our house is coming together + is way more functional in large part thanks to them!
What We're Doing in 2024:
- A new main sewer line! Kind of joking that this is a wanted home reno project, but so serious it's getting done. This was unplanned. But happening this week, and will majorly temper the rest of the projects happening this year. Hooray!
- Finishing the kitchen - We got the kitchen done enough to be functional, and then took a much needed break from working on it at all hours. There are probably dozens of little projects that need to be wrapped up (the trim! the backsplash! paint touch ups, etc.) This feels like more of the fun stuff, and I'm excited about it!
- Finishing the downstairs bathroom - We just need electricity, plumbing for the tub, trim, bead board, paint, baseboard, and it’ll be done. So close 🙂
- The main floor laundry - Waiting on warmer weather to install the machine, and then we will do the doors on our laundry cabinet and laundry efficiency in this household will improve a hundredfold.
- Cleaning/organizing everything - 5 intense months of construction meant some regular tasks were ignored, and not having major rooms in our house usable meant things got shifted around and shoved in closets where they didn't belong and restacked to make room for more things that didn't belong but had nowhere else to go. Rinse and repeat a bunch of times and all I’ve thought about since October is how good it will feel to tackle the mess. I’m coming for you, closets!
- Revamping the office/playroom - See above where we made the basement play area OF MY DREAMS. So now I’m thinking the main floor bonus room will go in more of a homeschool room direction. TBD the timeline on this or how extensive it will be.
- A major master bedroom rearrange - I have a mental plan that I truly feel will solve all the problems we’ve ever had. Part of this plan involves me painting our tarva and I’m trying to emotionally prepare Josh for it.
- The exterior - This is the year of the exterior of our house! It’s kind of the big to do, and I’m realizing how long it took for me to get to it… this list is getting away from me. We’ll be doing lots of landscaping, possibly some hardscaping, hopefully a fence, and also painting the house!
- The back porch - Remember two years ago when I was like, “we need to do this stat”? It hasn’t gotten done yet. Which was good because it ended up being where all the saws lived during the kitchen/bathroom renovation, so any work we’d done would have been buried in saw dust. My plan is to fix the ceiling, maybe get windows functioning, and fresh paint.
- Wall decor - I don't think I hung a single thing on our walls the entirety of 2023. I have dreams of a fun family photo gallery wall above our stairs, a breakfast nook art collection, and undetermined wall hangings in our living room. 2024 is the year!
How do these lists get longer every year?? Oh, well. I have already tackled organizing our Tupperware cabinet (how is it always out of control??), so I feel like I can do anything.
Happy New Year to you!!
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