2008 To-Do List

I can't call this a list of "resolutions" but I can call it a to-do list. Failure to accomplish a resolution comes across to me as exactly that: Failure. But a to-do list is a more fluid thing. A to-do list has plenty of wiggle room for changes in plans, life getting in the way, getting sidetracked by a project that suddenly just seems a lot more exciting than the other projects you had planned, unexpected illness, grandchildren, heat waves, cold snaps, or roof cave-ins. Well, hopefully not that last one but you know what I man.

That rationalization out of the way, I will create my overall to-do list for 2008:

Greening it up:

• Build compost bin and find container to keep inside for compostable materials
• Start recycling office papers
• Increase commitment to locavorism: Join CSA, plant veggies to freeze, buy at least 50% local meat, eggs, dairy.
• Insulate the attic room on the 3rd floor.
• Finish making and installing the rainbarrels (requires installing gutters on garden shed and far side of garage)

Getting Organized:

• Get the #!%^@ garage organized (a project that's been ongoing since I've moved here)
• Organize the garden shed (mostly just get some shelves in there, and get rid of things we don't need)

Making it Pretty:

• Get dining room floor refinished
• Make new baseboard trim for dining room, living room.
• Put up wainscoting in the downstairs hallway
• Paint (or rather, scrape, treat, prime, paint) the garage and shed
• Paint porch floor
• Refinish/rebuild old dresser to be sink base cabinet for 2nd fl bathroom, and install.
• Replace mirrors and lighting in 2nd floor bathroom
• Replace vent/light in 2nd floor bathroom
• Powerwash the siding and foundation block

Keeping it in Good Condition

• Address porch roof problems
• Route remaining gutters further away from the house
• Clean up leftover mold in basement and re-insulate
• Check condition of crawlspace insulation

I hope to actually do even more, but I have to be realistic. Plus, there are so many unknowns, "will we have the grandkids full-time" being the primary one. One of the things that I've found helpful so far, in the two weeks or so that I've been using it, is to keep an active to-do list on my blog (see link on the right side of the page if you're interested). We'll see how this works in the long run.