I resolve to lose 10 pounds, and then gain it back by Valentine’s Day.
– Homer Simpson
A year ago, we posted our 2013 DIY resolutions.
Huge mistake!
We got lots of projects done over the last year, but not necessarily the ones we set out to do. Our list:
1. Enlarge the bedroom closet.
Status: COMPLETE. And we threw in a total bedroom overhaul while we were doing that, including popular posts on our storage bed and our floating nightstand project. If I can ever get the curtains done, I’ll post a before & after.
2. New kitchen countertops.
Status: NOT EVEN STARTED! I suppose we need to decide on the material as a first step. Sigh.
3. Develop a plan for the upstairs.
Status: PROGRESS. We have some direction, and we are filling in the details as we speak with contractors. Contractors are hard to speak to, insofar as they don’t want to come to one’s house or answer one’s calls (at least not when one is me).
4. Reupholster the sofa.
Status: DELAYED. I intend to do that in January. We’ll see!
5. Fix up the front porch.
Status: PROGRESS. We replaced the front door, and we figured out how to strip the world’s toughest floor paint. We talked about replacing the railings on the front steps, and have a working concept for that. I also have an idea about flower boxes that I haven’t put to the Kev yet. (Hi, honey!)
Basically, with the exception of the bedroom closet, the Venn diagram of what-we-got-done versus what-we-resolved-to-do looks a lot like this one:
We would do anything for this house. But we didn’t do THAT (where THAT = anything we resolved to do).
The thing is, though, home improvement is hard to schedule for homeowners. Emergencies happen. You start a project and expand it–or run into complicating factors. It’s all part of the experience, and there’s no use in getting stressed about it (if possible).
So New Year, new concept: no resolutions! I’d quite like to finish the porch project and reupholster the sofa, but formalizing intentions as resolutions doesn’t seem to get ‘er done.
D’oh!
Hope your 2013 was better-structured than ours!
