2012 To Do List

Happy 2012!  I hope your new year is off to a good start.  We've been doing a little relaxing, and a little planning, and enjoying of the warmer temperatures before it turns bitter cold this week.

A wise family member once advised that, as homeowners, we should make a list of 10 projects we want to accomplish over the year, and then be satisfied when we do half of them.  Here's our ambitious list:

1. Remodel the upstairs bath.  This includes knocking down a wall, building two new ones with two closets in between, reframing two door ways, installing pocket doors, adding a skylight, finishing the ceiling, adding a tiled shower, installing beadboard (or board and batten), putting down a new wood floor, building a vanity and medicine cabinet, and painting the room.  We'll let a plumber install the heating and toilet and sink, and an electrician install the new wall sconces and a light above the shower.  (I've previously described our plans here, and my inspiration here.)

2. Strip the wallpaper and paint the bedroom adjacent to the bath and the hallway.  Parden the appearance of what we call "the flower room."  Wallpaper, Laura Ashley, circa 1985.  The paper in the hallway has already been partially stripped, giving me a taste of the part of 2012 that I am dreading most.

3. Repair the hole in the kitchen ceiling.  A leaking toilet in the bathroom above (or was it the leaking chimney?) caused the kitchen ceiling to be wet; a husband caused the hole. 

4. Recessed lighting  in the kitchen.  While we're repairing the ceiling in the kitchen, we're going to  hire a professional to install recessed lighting, getting rid of these fixtures.

5. Add moulding to the top of the kitchen cabinets.  Before we repaint the ceiling, we might as well add finishing touches to the kitchen cabinets.  Right?

6. Repair and stain the back deck.  Staining the porch took all of the Summer of 2011, leaving no time for the deck, which is looking quite hazardous after another year's wear. 

7. Paint and stain the shed.  Same as above.  Isn't it sad?

8. Stain the front deck and paint the trim.  We'll see.

9. Dig another small vegetable bed, in a sunnier spot closer to the house.  I'd like to blame some of our 2011 vegetable failures on the afternoon shade that creeps up on the current garden toward the end of the summer, but there are so many other issues (pests large and small), it's probably not the biggest problem.  Still, since our sunniest spot is closer to the house, and the water supply, it's appealing.

10. Create a flagstone walkway to the front door.  This should be a cheap and satisfying weekend project.  Won't that look nice?

If we get the first five things on this list done, I'm supposed to be happy, but I'm really hoping we get to all of them. At the same time, we want to be sure to spend time in the Winter enjoying our skis and snowshoes, and the Summer enjoying our kayaks and beach chairs.  Balance is the goal around here. 

Are you aiming to do less or more in 2012?  What are your goals?