Revisiting The List: "January" Cure

Here is a look back at the list I created at the beginning of January. There have been several additions & changes since the last time (marked with *). The majority of our progress has been the complete room swap we're in the middle of right now & of course the kitchen changes that I made several weeks ago. The house is kind of a crazy mess right now but we'll be kicking our butts into high-gear this week to prepare for several different guests this weekend.

Exterior:

Scrape front porch of red paint
Wash all exterior windows
Rake & bag leaves
Remove excess cables from exterior brick
Remove all 3 flower beds in the backyard (under window/garage/random) & level dirt

Clean out "the lady bird hole"

Fill in above mentioned hole crater with dirt *Have yard professionally leveled

Seed front & back yards

Fill in west-side yard with weed blocker & rocks

Cut down rose bushes on east side

Clean gutters

Trim up all trees

Re-caulk (with clear) all windows & doors

Paint all outside trim

Replace mailbox

Power wash entire house

Re-mortar bricks as needed/possibly paint exterior brick (Preston?)
Put piers under house - new quote needed

Replace roof

Replace fence

Kitchen:

Clean the back door + dog door
Organize cleaning supplies under the sink
Find a better solution for pantry & organization
Find a better solution/set-up for the built in desk (it feels like wasted cluttered space)
Replace all dishes 
Replace cups to match
*Add 2-4 more stools around bar

Paint kitchen a lighter color
Replace all 3 ceiling light fixtures
Replace light above the sink with a pendant like this or this

Replace knobs & hinges with a lighter color

Figure out something with kitchen back-splash (paintable?)
Replace stove to match surrounding appliances
Replace counter-tops (concrete overlay?)

Hallway:
Organize/purge cabinets + give them a good inside cleaning
Properly replace handles on drawers with knobs
Touch-up ceiling paint
Replace light fixture & sell old one if possible

Bathroom:

Frost window & remove curtain
Replace burnt out bulbs

Caulk around bathtub
Re-tile shower

Refinish bathtub?

North Bedroom:
Remove everything that's not used (old stools, boxes, etc.)
*Sell amp & guitars
Replace ceiling fan (water damaged) (this?)
Refinish Audrie's bookcase
Put up roller blinds
Fix paint on both doors (chipped/peeling)
Move bikes to garage & get a rack like this
Come up with guest bed solution

South Bedroom:
Replace blinds with roller blinds
Replace ceiling fan to match other bedroom

Drywall ceiling (plaster is cracking)

**We've decided to swap our dining room & living room space so things are a little different than before. We love how open our living room/kitchen/dining area is but have always hated the layout of it. After 4.5 years of living here and several different furniture arrangements, I think we've finally figured out how it should've been all along.**

Dining Room/Seating Area (formerly the living room):
Get 5x7 frame for cross-stitch
Add a table runner
*Remove curtains 
*Add rug + rug pad under the table (the one from the living room?)
*Get smaller, round dining table
*Replace dining chairs over time
Replace light fixture with something like this & sell old one

Sand all woodwork (baseboards/mantel/doors)

Paint all woodwork semi-gloss white
Bring record player inside from garage (if needed) to use as sofa table/replace legs w/hairpin legs
Remove gas insert – make sure gas line is capped off & fill with logs like this
Replace recessed light bulb
Paint fireplace to match woodwork (white to match woodwork? dark grey?)

Patch plaster cracks

Patch holes above fireplace & paint grey to match walls
Frost front door

Living Room (formerly the dining room):

Swap surge-protectors & organize cables in my new CableBox! (I'm a dork.)
Add key holders above entry table - like this
Add hanging coat rack behind front door - like this
Add rug pad &/or possibly get new softer/cozier rug (move old rug to DR)
*Replace light fixture with something like this & sell old one
*Hem pld living room curtains to fit picture window
Refinish coffee table ($30 craigslist find!)
Sand all woodwork (baseboards/window seat)

Paint all woodwork semi-gloss white
*Spackle/paint all the dozens of nail holes from the old picture gallery wall

Find a mid-century credenza for our TV *or use our storage headboard (currently used as a sideboard)
Add pictures to empty frames on picture wall & hang *(or move pictures to different wall)

Organize & cover the "cubbies" under the picture window with tension rods & curtains
Paint blue wall to match remaining walls

Throughout: 
Give all baseboards a nice cleaning

Spackle holes in walls throughout house & remove old anchors
Caulk all crown molding, fix separation cracks & repaint

Refinish hardwood floors
Get rid of those squirrels!! (2 of these in the attic & they don't care!! Time to call a professional.)

I never did complete a couple of the official cure tasks like a deep clean of the medicine cabinets & bedrooms but I feel totally okay with that. I have completed so much more than what I had planned & I'm happy with the pace I'm going right now. Some of the progress can't be seen on the list, like buying supplies for upcoming tasks or even entire pieces of furniture we hadn't planned on to complete a room & because no blog is complete without pictures, here's a nice little sneak-peak into what's been happening: