While I slacked on a formal 2020 to do list post, it was a wild year and I’m not losing sleep over it. However, I’m back in 2021 to share how our space has transformed since 2019 and what’s in store for this year’s house projects.
But first, let’s start with last year’s projects and progress since we haven’t talked about the house progress since 2019.
2019 Projects Recap + 2020 Additions
This is a copy/pasted recap of my goals from the 7-month check in. Crossed off items are have been completed since the last check-in and open items include a status update.
2019 House Projects and Goals
Lay our patio and fence in the yardPlus, finished mulching around the patio!
- Set up composting (not started)
Essential oils and storageUp my skincare routine- Implement special athletic laundry care (laundry overall was upgraded but not athletic clothing care)
- Upgrade food storage (in progress)
Finish both home officesBuild backyard bonfire pitPlant privacy landscaping in backyardPurchase patio furniture (we now have both lounge and dining furniture)- Vanity for master bedroom (in progress, will now be in my blog office)
- Identify garden area, build in-ground box (Spring 2021)
Garage tool bench (Kev received one for Christmas 2020)
2020 House Projects and Progress
- Add two light boxes and upgrade all 4 front of house lights (DONE)
- Install backyard sidewalk path (DONE)
- Start finishing the basement (on track)
- Finish my blog office/craft room (DONE)
A lot of large projects got done, even more than are on this list, so I’m not beating myself up for my semi checked off list. Composting can’t happen until landscaping does (for what I have in mind). My athletic apparel care is *semi* underway (cut out fabric softener so far). We’ve also moved to using Tide sensitive pods versus the normal ones because I was breaking out from what we believe to be the detergent on our sheets. So far so good, it’s been months and no more breakouts! Lastly, we also still need to make the move to glass food storage.
2021 House Projects & Goals
Out with the old and in with the new. What’s on the radar for 2021, you ask? These are the biggest house priorities for the year.
Upgrading to Glass Food Storage
Sticking this one right at the top because it’s important and really, not that big of task. Just need to prioritize it now that our kitchen upgrades are done. I’ve been considering this set from Ello, have you ever used it? Holler in the comments with your favorite glass food storage if you’re already a fan!
Finishing the Basement
This one is BIG. We’re taking the entire basement from concrete floors and walls to carpet, painted drywall and a fully furnished entertaining space.
We’re very committed to a time frame and budgeted to begin this hefty undertaking in fall/winter 2020. Kevin has wanted a basement office since before we even saw our house, so we waited a bit to finish the entire downstairs in one shot.
We purchased the lumber the week before Christmas and to date Kevin has already framed the entire space, including building out individual rooms, and is now almost entirely done with electrical. We plan to hire out the drywall and painting but we’ll be designing the space, framing it, wiring the electrical and trimming everything a la DIY.
Stay tuned and subscribe for SO much more content specifically about the finishing basement!
Adding Closet and Window Trim
This is a new 2021 house project. Our builder-grade house did not include window trim. This wasn’t a big deal for us, but seeing others’ windows with trim made us realize how much more polished it looks. You can even see the difference between our doors and windows now, since the doors are all framed and finished already.
While it’s a smaller value add, we think it’s worth the relatively smaller price to give the place a finished look. This is a project I’ve really wanted to do but have waited on to prioritize larger, functional projects like the backyard upgrades so I’m excited we’re finally doing it!
Planting Patio Landscaping
While we’ve already edged the entire main patio and fire pit area with mulch, we intend to plant full, lush landscaping to cover the perimeter in spring 2021. With installing the main patio in September 2019, we were well past planting season that year, so we did some initial planting in spring 2020 but this as far as it got.
We didn’t go all out because we were eyeing additional house projects that took priority, like adding the walking path, so we’ll be finishing the backyard landscaping this spring.
See the whole transformation to date here!
Additional 2021 House Projects
We have a few more exciting projects coming down the pipe this year, but they’re not set in stone yet, so we’ll be talking more about those in a coming post. Stay tuned!
More Home Improvement
- Our New House To-Do List (part one of this series)
- Suburban Backyard Transformation
- Hanging Our New Farmhouse Shelves
- DIY Modern Bathroom Remodel
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