One thing our time in Europe did teach us was that we don't need all that much STUFF to live life perfectly fine. This was quite the epiphany for my "but I might need it one day" type of hoarder husband. I was actually dumbfounded when he announced an intention to start selling the junk we're not using once we got home. Hallelujah!
That may or may not have something to do with the fact that an extended European holiday is insanely expensive! So! We have a big goal to start shedding unnecessary STUFF that we've accumulated over the years (and get our old friend Ebay to help us do it),
The really important jobs...
- Make Allie’s fence more effective (our darling girl turned into a bit of a houdini while we were away, and to keep her safe, we need to pay some serious attention to our fences - at least the one we built the day we hopped on our plane is still doing its job. The others? Not so much)
- Install towel rails, toilet roll holder, shower curtain rail (so we can actually hang our shower curtains and be able to shower) in the bathroom
- Connect washing machine (at least temporarily) for use
- Repair leaking roof (I'll explain more about that soon)
- Sell dining chairs as a set (although we've loved our rolled back dining chairs to bits since buying them for our last house, they are a little bit chunky for our dining room now)
- Get gas connected to kitchen stove (yes, we're still using the old faithful electric frying pan that I referred to here for all stovetop cooking - it's not fun anymore)
- Install shelves in kitchen beneath upper cabinets (I talked about them in the kitchen plan here). You might wonder why this is considered important? The answer is... for my sanity. Until we have most of the to-be-available storage assembled in the kitchen I can't organise! We have boxes of kitchen STUFF that I still have yet to unpack because I have no idea where anything goes yet!
- Build front staircase (the only staircase to access the house that we literally tied to the back door here is not the safest thing in the world)
- Dig new sewer hookup, re-route plumbing for bathroom and kitchen (right now we've got our wastes all plumbed into a very temporary pipe that's hooked up to the old sewer hookup point - which is now a few metres away from the house itself, resulting in a very weird suspended-in-mid-air right-angled sewerage pipe scenario)
- Demolish old bathroom (it's a disaster waiting to happen, as described here)
- Fill in old bathroom doorway to close in laundry, remove linen closet, plumb laundry, tile laundry floor, paint laundry cabinet, get laundry tub and tap, tile splashback, install washing machine
- Create gallery walls in lounge above lounges, similar to this.
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| Sourced from nesting place |
- Frame Venetian mask (yes, I bought a mask in Venice - can't wait to put it up on the wall!)
- Make artwork (starburst mirror??) from European coins collected, something like this, but with coins instead of little baby mirrors
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| Sourced from Dollar Store Crafts |
- Create a map of Europe to mark our journey on (cross stitch it?)
- Frame Last House plans
- Frame necklaces from Europe
- Paint existing frames
- Select and print photos to display
- Hang wedding photos
- Photoshop and print wedding album (yes, that's right, we've been married for 3.5 years and still don't have a wedding album)
- Hang art in laundry
Giant jobs that are so large we can’t even comprehend them right now
- Replace gutters
- Replace roof
- Paint outside of house
- Build awnings for kitchen windows and dining room windows, possibly also laundry, bathroom and office windows
- Build little deck on Western end, reduce size of back doorway, get spiral staircase?
- Remove windows and external walls from verandah, build balcony
- Remove and repair/replace lounge and dining room ceilings
- Reupholster couches in lounge
- Don’t even get me started on downstairs and the landscaping!
- Install new windows in kitchen
- Cut out wall between master and second bedrooms, build frame, install wardrobes, re-make doors with mirrors and wood trim, install rail and ladder for accessing high cupboards
- Build in ensuite walls, cut door to master bedroom, install new door frame, tile floor and walls, plumb shower, toilet and vanity, either buy new vanity or new base only. Get cupboard to build into ensuite, paint it
- Install shower fittings, curtain rail, fan, towel rails and toilet roll holder, toilet, mirror, shower curtain in ensuite
All the rest...
- Install window blind in bathroom
- Install shelves in laundry, hang art, install window covering, hanging rail, ironing board storage and vacuum cleaner storage
- Investigate buying a new washer and dryer (red ones?? Do they even sell those in Australia?)
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| Sourced from ABT |
- Paint laundry walls and ceiling, ensuite walls and ceiling (after applying villaboard to walls)
- Set up hot water system in permanent position
- Paint kitchen cabinets (incl. hutch)
- Build/modify cabinet for kitchen sink corner, buy sink, create bins, build foundation for kitchen peninsula cupboards, build shelves to fill gaps in kitchen (either side of stove, dishwasher, etc), get kitchen sink window flush, fill in TV nook, fill in nail holes on West ceiling, fix roof to kitchen extension, fix VJs to wall in existing window space, cut and install second single Window on North kitchen wall
- Research and buy kitchen benchtop
- Install lights in kitchen, bedrooms, bathroom, laundry, ensuite, home office, verandah (incl. corresponding light switches)
- Install extra power points in bedrooms, lounge, dining, kitchen, laundry, home office and verandah
- Plant passion fruit vine along North fence
- Make a herb garden inside the old bath tub
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| Sourced from Bay-Friendly Landscaping |
- Create effective spice storage in kitchen
- Repair watermarks on master bed ceiling (yes, I have a very sad story to tell that involves my favourite ceiling and a leaking roof)
- Get coffee tables, bedroom end-of-bed bench, lamps
- Get mirror for above piano (or re-purpose bathroom mirror and get a better mirror for bathroom)
- Furnish verandah, install curtains, put plants in and even rugs and cushions
- Install security gate for verandah
- Buy/build desk and storage units for home office
- Create chandelier for kitchen, and make little pendant lights out of bowls/colanders?? for kitchen
- Create drum (literally) light for dining room, transform drum (not literally) shade for lounge, find chandelier-like lights for both
- Transform $10 chandelier for bathroom? Or laundry? Get chandelier for ensuite
- Install trim in bathroom
- Maybe get glass for top of vanity cabinet?
- Sand drawers and inside of bathroom cabinet for smooth running, organise bathroom cabinet (paint inside?)
- Get little shelf and toiletry caddies for bath
- Paint trim in master bedroom, second bedroom, lounge, dining, laundry, bathroom, kitchen
- Replace mis-matched or coloured panes of glass in windows
- Install rangehood in kitchen
- Trim headboard and footboard off master bed, extend legs, extend width, move into window seat nook, make bed skirt, install storage drawers underneath
- Paint and re-trim chests of drawers in bedroom
- Paint stools in bedroom and kitchen
- Install wardrobe in second bedroom, build in and paint and trim
- Make curtains for dining room, lounge, master bedroom
- Build in home office walls, install windows, paint, install French doors in office and lounge
- Add shelves to and paint bookcase in lounge
- Get TV stand (and more bookshelves) for lounge
- Get slipper chairs for lounge
- Buy new dining chairs
- Get rugs for master bed, lounge, dining, home office and kitchen
- Paint floor of office?
- Store unnecessary items safely (and airlocked) in ceiling (if we can’t sell them!)
- Make window boxes for kitchen, dining room, bedroom, plant herbs
- Repair hills hoist, install retractable washing line on verandah
- Make manhole more attractive
- Paint entry table and Indian cupboard
- Organise kitchen drawers, laundry storage, bedroom under-bed storage, bookcases for lounge
Reckon we've got enough to do? Better get cracking!!
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