DIS House & Garden - To Do List!

[Snowwark]

DixieD's, Crankyshank's, Debster's, and Froggy's posts, started me thinking about all the chores to be done not only in the yarden, but around the house, both inside and out.

At this time of year, while the weather is teasing us and we're impatiently waiting for things to green up, the outside of our homes can look somewhat dreary and worn. We need the trees to leaf out and the buds to swell and burst to help hide and distract our attention from the needed exterior paint job, the loose driveway pavers, broken mailbox, dirty siding, etc., etc.

In the next few weeks we plan on thining out some of our trees. Depending on how much they grow this summer, we may have to relocate some of our sun loving, and shade appreciative, plants.

We had our roof reshingled last summer, so that's done, but our house needs an exterior paint job. DH is looking to line up a painter to get it done, as soon as the weather stabalizes a bit.

We also need the driveway/back patio sealed. It's coloured concrete with exposed aggregate and benefits from a yearly sealing to protect it and bring out it's rich colours. For some unknown reason, we missed getting it done last summer.

Let's move indoors!

I'd like new carpeting for the family room and our bedroom. It's time, we need it replaced. A new dishwasher is on the list also! Not asking too much, am I? The inground pool is still just pie in the sky!

Of course, I'm still looking to move, but since that doesn't seem to be going anywhere, we need to spruce things up around here.

What House and Garden projects do you need (or want) to tackle this year? How many of them do you think will actually get done?


Kim

 

[bananiem]

Well, since we just built last fall my list is short:
-get a landscape designer out here to draw up a plan
-buy and plant landscaping
-make sure the new sod doesn't die
-have the painters come back and paint the front door and porch posts. It was too cold out for them to do it before we moved in.

Inside, I need to:
-Finish buying and getting blinds installed
-attempt to keep the house clean
-touch up paint on walls ALREADY!
-wash windows

Yikes! More to do than I realized!

 

[sorcerormickey]

Uggghhhh.....where do I start???? Who knew a newly built house needed so much attention???

OUTDOORS:

-Finish today's project of putting in a rock drainage swail in one of the beds, putting landscaping fabric down, and mulching it. (That finishes off the front yard...for now)

-Figure out what to do with the back yard - maybe get a landscape designer here to get their ideas and start working on that.

-Put up new light fixture over front entryway and new coach lights on garage. (Have to get brave enough to go 12 feet up to replace the entry one tho! LOL!)

-Tile front entryway (outside) and lanai.

INDOORS:

-Paint living room, kitchen, dining room, den, and collectibles room.

-Design and put up shelving in the collectibles room, add new lighting, tear up carpet and put down wood floors

-Put up ceiling fan in living room (only 20 feet up for that one YIKES!!)

-Make final decision on design of den - I want a Hawaiian/tropical theme, BF wants 'Classic' Disney theme. Go from there......

Hmmm...I think that's it for now...I'm sure there is much, much more.....the joys of being a homeowner.

 

[Crankyshank]

Oh my I think I should have a what not to do list - it'll be shorter!

This week I need to buy fox urine and moth balls.
Our plans are to add beds, a new water feature, plant things in the empty beds, install a stockade fence, add a stone wall with a water feature. fix the patio flagstones, repair the garage shed roof, repair the concrete in the driveway.
I need to find better storage solutions in the bathroom and kitchen in hopes of getting room to put a dishwasher in. I also need to have our electrical completely fixed (only 2 outlets were grounded, things need to be wired to new breakers, the box needs to be upgraded), partially finish the basement, the dining room needs to be painted, the wood floors desperately need to be refinished, and the wood trims upstairs need to be painted. Most likely only the outdoor things will be done this year because of the $$ involved in the fence alone!

 

[Snowwark]

Bananiem, the interior walls might not need to be touched-up just yet! It could be that they're too pristine, and with a few more smudges and spots, will look more normal.... like mine.

Sorcerormicky, why not combine Mickey and the tropics, sort of a Mousey Tommy Bahama, look?

You can get up that ladder! Pretend you're on Fear Factor, or Amazing Race, and large amounts of money are at stake!! Better yet, get your BF to do it!!

LOL, Jenn!! I can honestly say I've never had 'fox urine' on a shopping list!! What is it for?

You've got a lot of projects planned, wow!! What's up with the wiring, is that how the previous homeowners left it? My DH would want to jump on that first thing!

Anyone else want to share, or vent, their homeowner angst?

 

[mommytotwo]

Outside-
*Plant more seeds and bulbs.
*Move our mulberry tree to a new location.
*Get some new garden ornaments put up.

Inside-
*Cleaning and organizing our bedroom and my daughter's bedroom.
*Possibly painting my daughter's bedroom.

 

[Crankyshank]

Fox urine keeps away skunks and squirrels

 

[oldkicker]

OUTDOORS:

We've got to replace a hemlock tree that bit the dust at the end of last year

Open the pool (in a couple of months!) I'm changing out the sand in the filter this year as we had a pretty rough year last year with algae.

We're closing up one of our front yard gardens and returning it to grass, so everything planted there will need to be relocated to the back - and then we're going to seed that area.

We're planning on establishing a veggie garden along one side of the house this year, so I've got to get everything out of there and till that. I'll be mostly removing forsythia.

My vinyl gate took a beating over the winter, so I've got to repair that and the metal gate needs some maintenance - it's not closing or latching properly - and that's a big concern with the pool.

Normal yard maintenance - weed and feed and clean out winter's leavings (and the dog's too!)

I'll be reorganizing the shed too. Time to haul out the summer stuff and store away the winter stuff - although it might not be time for that just yet. Winter may again visit.

Our deck needs a good power wash.

I'll also be popping up the popup and checking it for damage. I've got a couple of broken bed supports that I need to order and install. Other than that, it should just be a matter of airing it out and a general cleaning.

I think we're going to get a new driveway put in this spring. Ours has just about had it. It's sinking pretty significantly in a few spots.

INDOORS:

We're hoping to start finishing our basement. We're planning to use the same contractor who did our kitchen. Waiting on a quote right now!

We're planning to paint the bedrooms. Sharon is sick of our current color and has a very light violet color in mind. Okey-dokey. I'm not sure what the kids will want to do, but we'll let them pick their schemes - within reason.

We moved a bunch of stuff that we're looking to part company with from the house to the garage over the winter. Our next task is to go through that stuff and decide where it's all going to go. We have some notion of a garage sale, but we've never had a bit of luck with them, so most of it will likely get donated to charity.

When that's all done, I'm popping open a cold one and laying out by the pool!

 

[oldkicker]

Fox urine keeps me away too. If you were wondering.

 

[Snowwark]

Your job jar sounds pretty full, Bernie!

I didn't realize you were still using your camper, especially now that you've got the pool (lucky dunkin' ducky!). Any camping trips planned, maybe to Canada?

Is your driveway asphalt? Are you planning to do anything different with it this time around? You reminded me of something else we could use, a new garage door! One with windows to let in some light would be nice.

Do you have a power washer? Power washers and chainsaws, toys every man should have in his garage!

No fox urine sprinkled around here....

 

[sorcerormickey]

Better yet, get your BF to do it!!

OMG, you're kidding, right??? My BF stays far away from anything to do with tools, electricity, do-it-yourself projects, gardening, dirt......pretty much anything like that. We joke that I am the 'man' of the house. I love doing that sort of stuff, tho!! I have a nice collection of power tools, Michael would not even know where to start with one! LOL!!

GOOD NEWS THO!!! I finished my gardening project of the day! Woohoo!! One down off the list! I am completely sunburned too! I look like this: Good thing I don't work tomorrow!

 

[FroggyinArk]

lets see.. outside,,,,


finish reclaiming area in back that was un accessable due to old shed we tore down,, get rid of the huge pile of scrap lumber and palets that accumulated over the winter, plant 5 ever greens and a maple,,,,,, cut down 2 forty foot tall magnolias and do some serious pruning on 2 of the three 60 ft pecans,,,, would like to get a new briveway installed,, but thatts 2 years out,, so i gotta haul in fill and fill holes,,, in front yard we are going to completely re route all the landscape beds and rework water feature to wrap around the two new apple trees i'm putting in place of hte magnolias, re work the rose bed next falll after they go dormant, and relocate all the shade lovers that are now under the magnolias. add fill under the deck to solve water problems correct drainage in rest of back yard around pool, turn pool water back to clear instead of the lovely dis lime green it is now,,, build landscape beds around pool area... prune a few of the bigger low limbs off the sweet gums, remove the slab that was under the old sheds, repair a few slats on the privacy fencing, and several thousand other things

insid we have to decide what we can live with a ndwhat we want to do, as we are probably going to tera down this house and rebuild here in the next 2 yeras.

 

[DixieDreamer]

Fox urine keeps me away too. If you were wondering.

Glad you cleared that question up! LOL!

My goodness... all your "to do" lists are mighty impressive... and make me tired just thinking about them!

Here are mine (at least as of the moment)

Outside:

Thoroughly clean out the shop/garden building (yes... I have one of those now!) removing the remnants left by the last owners and getting the shelving etc set up for all my treasures. There is a potting bench/table in there now but it is kind of lost where it is currently located and needs rethinking.

The paved driveway needs to be swept/power washed to get the needles blown down from the winter storms off.

All the flower beds need weeding and I need to infuse some annuals into pots and amongst the existing perennials to add a splash of color.

We will have a fencing contractor come out once DH is here to give us quotes on fencing our back portion of the property for the protection and enjoyment of our dogs. DH could build one for us (did the last one) but we want to go with a metal fence to reduce maintenance and it will be faster to have someone just come in and do it.

I am going to pass on a vegetable garden this year - so I can learn more about the property and soil etc.. and focus on the flower gardens this year. I will then be ready next year for that addition. However, I will be putting in several highbush blueberries immediately.

The house will need a new roof either this summer or next year - noted and priced accordingly when we bought the place. DH will do this and likely this summer.

Inside:

All the carpeting here is doomed to go in a short while and hardwood floors will be going in. I switched to hard flooring a couple of years ago and will never go back. Another DH project once he is over here.

I have already painted DD's room, the kitchen, and utility room. This required removal of wallpaper in two of those rooms. YUCK! I have the two bathrooms (which also need wallpaper removed) and the computer/office room to paint. I replaced all the kitchen cabinet hardware when I first moved in and it made a huge difference in the kitchen (coupled with painting). The rest of the house is in very good shape and is not requiring any real attention.

I don't mind painting really... it is the prep work going into it!

Just typing the list of items has worn me all out... I think I will go take a nap!

 

[Mamu]

Lots to be done outside and in.

Inside, we are turning our house over to our son and his family. In the fall they are lifting the whole roof off the house, and adding an upstirs, (5 bedrooms and 3 baths) and a large side addition, Three car garage with 3 rooms over it. Inside some of the walls will be coming down to make the rooms more open. My spring cleaning will consist of general cleaning, but being a collector of old (some call it junk) stuff. I have 40 years of things to go through, my attic is full of boxes of things that I have no room for. Plus I'm also a crafter, one room is filled from floor to ceiling
with crafting materials. Although it will be one big house DH and I will have our own rooms, plus my own kitchen and new craft room. We thought about doing an inlaw apartment, but like the idea of it all being blended together. When it's finished there will be some 14 plus rooms.


Outside, very little will be done. general spring cleanup and moving some plants to a new location. I'm sure with all the heavy equipment and destruction that will be going on, the yard will take a severe beaten. So it's move it or lose it. Time to think about where to put in a new pond. It might have to be temporary, I have no idea what part of the yard will be freed up when all the construction is going on.

 

[NHMickey]

Well I am doing part of it now...

I just took the tile up in the bathroom and am laying out the new stuff this afternoon. Then I have two hardwood floors to put in next week.... I can't wait for the snow in my garden to be gone so I can relax in it....

 

[gina2000]

This thread makes me tired........

 

[Snowwark]

Wow!!! I'm amazed at the size of some of these planned projects!!!

Mamu, what a massive undertaking, 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, and a side addition!! Are you going to be able to stay in the house while the work is being done? It sounds like you'll have an 'estate' when all is done!

Froggy, are you going to tear down the entire house? Move it elsewhere on your property, or rebuild on the original house footprint? I'm curious, do you have a basement?

Laura, how far have you moved from your last house, mileage wise? You had 40 acres before, didn't you? What do you have now?

Nat, didn't you do some floor work last year also?

 

[DebºoºS]

I have a few projects planned for this season The usual mulch weeding and cleaning which I hope doesn't take me into August

• The back deck needs to be powerwashed and painted once again (thanks to the doggies)
  One of the ponds has a crack that needs to be repaired.
  I have roses that need to be planted. Three are in two to go.
  Lillies to plant before they bloom. They've been in pots all winter
  Power wash the house on the north side. Ichy ugly job for a hot day.