My to do list

Oh me oh my. I worked long and hard painting a DIY project today and had hoped to show you, but my right shoulder screamed begged cried uncle. I try to paint with my left hand and it just doesn't go as well. :) So I’m going to baby the shoulder tonight and I hope to finish up the project tomorrow. (I am really excited because it’s a big color change and I LOVE how it turned out!)

So anyhoo, today I’m sharing a list I’ve been meaning to share for a few weeks now. It’s my own personal to do list for the house and it needs to get done pronto.

It’s not a list of decor projects, cause really, you and I both know that list is in the hundreds and one project goes on for infinity so that list will just plain never get done.

This one is more of an easy, handywoman-type list. With yours truly as the handywoman of course. ;) We are hoping to entertain quite a bit this summer – and it’s about time. We didn’t do much party-wise last summer because of all the work we had done outside. Then at the end of the summer we had the water issues in the kitchen, and the house wasn’t put back together till late October.

But now, we’re ready!!

Kinda.

Every time I’ve walked around the house over the last few weeks I start getting a little hive-y about the number of projects I need to address. Now I’m not a fussy one when it comes to entertaining – I had all my girlfriends over last fall with a torn up kitchen floor and powder room and lived to tell the tale.

But I want this list of stuff DONE. This year. Soon. I want it out of my head, and our summer of entertaining is a good deadline.

So I’m sharing it here to keep me accountable. I want everything done by the end of May. The good thing is most of them won’t cost my anything. And those that do cost money won’t be crazy expensive. It’s mostly just time.

Now some of these won’t make sense to you (I’ll try to explain), but here we go and give it a cost rating. Cause that’s just fun. (Free, $ little money, $$ some money, $$$ lots of money.)

1. Candelabra in master bath ($ for ladder rental)

The little one I used to have up was just that – too little. I took it down a while back and replaced it, but now the new candelabra and the chain don’t match. (Like, big time.) So I either want to take it down completely or paint everything out the same color. Both options require renting a 12 foot ladder (again) and getting up there. Fun times!

2. Drapery hardware in master bath (FREE)

That drape has been down for probably two years now. The drapery hardware has not. ;)

3. Paint second handrail on stairway (FREE)

Remember when I painted the handrail on the stairway a dark brown?

Well I never did it on the second set of steps going upstairs. This was 18 months ago. I am ON IT.

4. Paint baseboard by fireplace (FREE)

5. Install small quarter round by fireplace in family room (FREE)

You can’t really tell in pics, but the baseboard to the left of the fireplace was never painted for some reason. It bugs me. So it shall be painted. I have two small pieces of quarter round I still have to nail in around the base too.

6. Fill holes in quarter round on stairs (FREE)

Another one that I’ve looked at every day for two years. And think, I need to do that.

And yes, I’m skipping around. Bare with me – I wrote these down as I walked around and thought of them and I didn’t feel like rearranging. :)

7. Clean up around outside of house – wood, flower containers (FREE)

Pretty explanatory. We have a few (looong) pieces of the deck laying by the house from the work last year. We need to saw it down and get rid of it. And find the little plastic containers from flowers all over the place. I think they blow away or I just forget about them? I have no idea. Anyway, they aren’t the classiest decor, so they all need to go.

8. Paint beadboard by fridge in kitchen (FREE)

You can see in this old photo how I continued the beadboard around to the wall to the right of the fridge. This was a long time ago. I still haven’t painted it. Whoops.

9. Paint trim around chalkboard in kitchen (FREE)

First of all, this is our new fridge, (this is prior to our hardwoods). I heart it. You can see more about it here. And you can’t really tell in the pic, but the trim around the chalkboard needs painted too. Never did that either. Whoops (again.)

10. Prime dining room (FREE)

Cause it still looks like this:

Well, even worse than that. The drywall guys did their touch ups so it looks waaaay worse now. It at the very least needs to be primed.

11. Get carpets cleaned upstairs ($$$)

I’m not doing this – happy to pay. ;)

12. Sand and oil butcher block on island (FREE)

I realized today that a paint can I had on their for two days left a ring. And another blasted vase is leaking. Curses!!!! Why do vases hate me so? So it needs to be sanded down a bit and oiled (it’s time to do that again anyway.) This is only the second time I’ve had to mess with the butcher block, so I’m OK with it.

13. Repaint corbel in kitchen (FREE)

Long story. I was trying out a horrible idea and then did a quick coat of white on it after I realized what a horrible idea it was. It needs another coat.

14. Hem (and line?) family room drapes ($$ for lining)

Another one that’s been on my to do list forever. I can only live with the ragged edges for so long. (Like…years?)

15. Fill holes and paint spot on loft wall (FREE)

See where that TV is? Well, we moved it elsewhere cause we NEVER used it in here. But when I put it up I had to leave some of the boards for the board and batten off so I’d have room for the TV mount. And when I took the mount down that was pretty obvious. ;) The mount also left some honkin’ holes in the wall. FUN TIMES.

16. Rehang Bub photo in office (FREE)

One fell out of the frame. And it’s cute, so I want it back. It should take one minute. And yet I need to put it on a list to make it happen.

17. Replace doors in laundry room ($$$)

This one will cost a little but should be an easy fix. It’s those metal, cheapy doors to the upper left in pic up there. (Sorry, best I could find.) I LOATHE them. I’ve been stalking new doors for a year or so now. Just need to bite the bullet and do it.

18. Change out last brass doorknob and hinges upstairs (FREE)

Remember when I showed you how to install new knobs?:

Well, I thought I was done, but I missed a door. I have the hardware, I just need to do it. Story of my life.

19. Paint trim/fix drywall by back door (FREE)

Remember that one time, when this happened?:

The fridge died all over the kitchen floor. And then a few weeks later we had an water issue with the back door and the handy guy had to take the trim off around it. He put it back on, but the drywall around the frame is messed up and the trim has nail holes and needs to be painted.

Another one I look at daily. ;)

20. Figure out how to make powder room presentable. ($$$)

This is a long torturous story I will tell you someday soon. You lucky duck.

21. Hang roman shade in guest room (FREE)

Pretty easy. I have the shade. Got the window. Check, check.

22. Go through shoes in laundry room (FREE)

Well this picture will explain that:

Yeeah.

23. Fix trim under back door (FREE)

Another back door issue. I just ripped the trim out from the door way tonight because I was afraid water was leaking in. It wasn’t. I am awesome.

24. Trim burning bushes (FREE)

They are beautiful but a little out of control. One gets ya when you walk up the front steps.

25. Fill holes and seams in crown in family/kitchen (FREE)

I put up the crown last year and when it came to filing holes I said forget this and decided to wait a week a few months a year.

26. Fix chair in kitchen (FREE)

It wobbles. Easy fix.

27. Add trim around basement door casing ($ for trim)

28. Paint trim around laundry door casing (FREE)

Just like I did here:

Speaking of, see that empty frame? See #16. :)

29. Paint cabinets in dining room (FREE)

I have the primer and paint and just need to do. it. I decided to use my paint sprayer for the doors, so that’s most of the work right there. Easy, right? Riiiiiight.

30. CLEAN LIKE I’VE NEVER CLEANED BEFORE

I’m not doing this till the carpet is installed in the basement so there will be no chance of anymore drywall dust or dust in general being tracked upstairs.

Anyone want to come help clean?

No?

Want to come help with my list? NO? Think I can do it? I think I can. I’ve put it out there onto the Internet so now I HAVE to. :) And I realize no one notices (most of) this stuff when they visit by the way. The majority of these projects aren’t big, they’re just little things that have been driving me a little batty for a long while now.

Whew. OK, time to get started. Tomorrow. :)