New Home Work

The last thing that's made my life feel a little crazy lately is our new house. Our new house that I love, but have little to no idea what to do with. Or - scratch that - have too many ideas of what to do, but little confidence, money, or energy to do any of them.

I take FOREVER to decide on anything. And I am a habitual returner. A few years ago when a news story came out that stores were going to begin tracking your returns, I freaked and just knew I would be banned from every major store out there for my bad habit. Seriously, I probably return 85% of what I buy.

I'm on my third round of attempts to curtain the living/dining room. And I'd love to paint our boring vanilla house inside, but can't due to paint allergies - so I have to wait for Rob to get around to it....see above...never gonna happen. I'd also really love to furnish our basement family room, but we'll have to do some saving up a.k.a. more patience that I want to have - for that. Before doing too much in the bedrooms, I'm taking a kinda wait and see approach to how we house 2 babies and 2 adults. If there's any room swapping necessary I don't want to have invested too much energy just yet in getting those rooms "done".

I have made some progress though.



Here's the same list as before, broken down into the same 3 categories with my progress as follows -

Make it Functional
1. Buy a diaper sprayer (aka baby bidet)- Rob conceded this to me after I wanted to get in a bidding war for one in a previous contract on a house - we'll get this before new baby comes
2. Energy efficient bulbs - didn't want these after I learned they contained mercury. Bummer the gov't is now phasing out the old kind!
3. Hand held shower sprayer - won't this be great for hosing off babies! - Bought! Just not yet installed
4. baby-proof supplies and anti tip bracket installed on oven- the whole 9 yards - We're getting there. About half the drawer locks are on. Those suckers are hard to install!
5. mop & broom holder - The idea is conceive, just haven't done it yet.
6. clothes line - we've had one everywhere we've lived except Lancaster - not yet.
7. window coverings - either wooden blinds or curtains, not sure yet. - Bane of my decorative existence
8. Laundry room floor epoxy or concrete stain - not yet. The basement is no man's land still!
9. carbon detector - Yes!
10. laundry room shelving - Up! Thanks to Wonder Wife!
11. New mailbox - Bought and Installed! Thanks to Handsome Huz
12. city trashcan - not sure if we buy it or if it's provided - We bought it and we even have Free Recycling service beginning in September
13. 2 outdoor mats - I have 1 and am looking for a few more. I basically just need to suck it up are admit they are expensive. I want the kind that trap dirt and water.
14. 2 bathroom shower curtain rods and shower curtains - Only missing the downstairs shower curtain.
15. extra storage cabinet in bathroom - Not sure how that's going to play out.
16. covered parking? - Bottom of the list
17. fence - I have a guy coming today to give me a quote. We kinda need one on our street if Eli can run free.
18. lawn mower - I REALLY want a non-gasoline push one - I didn't get my push one - Rob got a gasoline self-propelled mower. I guess it's only fair seeing as how I've never mowed the grass before in my life.

Make it Homey
1. new front door (or paint existing one) - can't do this until we "theme up" the living room.
2. Kitchen Island shelving? - we decided on bar stools instead. Better idea.
3. house plants! - not the best idea with a hungry toddler around. Though I have one sick one right now.
4. candles for bath - these come and go. I move them around the house.
5. hanging pot rack? - Ha! I forgot I wanted this! I'm not sure it will work now that we're actually in the house.
6. new lighting fixtures - Slowly but surely one day. Right now more important to sort out room colors.
7. Rug for Eli's room - nope...
8. Paint tree in Eli's room - also inspired by a previous house find. I really want to do a weeping willow - no room to do this unless we play musical bedrooms with new baby arriving
9. Paint Livingroom and 2 upstairs bedrooms - no
10. Reupholster Ansley's beloved office chairs - have to decide where they will permanently live and what that room will look like.
11. Frame bathroom window mirror - still a cool idea, not there yet though
12. Decorative bathroom window - no longer going to do this

Outdoor Living
1. Porch furniture - I bought 2 chairs. I think I'm going to return them.
2. Porch curtains - only after I get the right furniture
3. Porch plants - have them, they're just not "hanging" baskets yet.
4. front yard - remove bushes, add flowers and birdbath - we're getting there. I want to keep the bushes and just trim them back. I've planted several flowers and even a rose. Still waiting on the bird bath.
5. window boxes! - I'll do this when the weather cools back down.
6. Deck furniture - we're saving up and will buy it when it goes on clearance of clearance in November.
7. Deck Pergola with hanging ivy and lights!!! (I'm trying to talk Rob into this for my birthday gift!) - I have a guy coming today to give us a quote.
8. Patio concrete stain - Same guy giving quote today.
9. Patio furniture -we're saving up and will buy it when it goes on clearance of clearance in November.
10. hammock on patio - this will take 2 seconds once the patio is actually a patio - right now it's just a concrete slab.
11. herb garden - I've got a neighborhood boy coming to till this fall, but I'm not going to put in the bed until spring.
12. veggie garden/ and trellis -same as above
13. Stain the deck - same guy giving me a quote today.


I guess we're not doing too bad on our lists considering we're trying to life our life in addition to adjusting to our new home. I can get overwhelmed with everything I want to do, but it can be fun doing all this when I relax and take my time. Especially since most of the Make It Functional column is done.