Seven Household To-Dos

Hey!

Welcome back and thank you for reading! 

I've owned my house for almost 16 months now, it feels like forever and nothing all at the same time.  When I think back on all of the projects and renovations I get overwhelmed.  I have no idea what possessed me to be so crazy and do all of these things with no experience.

Then I had to sit back and let the pros come in and do a few things.  Now I am saving money to enable my current list of projects.

I am putting it out here for the world to see for one reason, if I put it out there, I'm accountable.  Take a look!

Seven Things On My Household To-Do List

• Hot Water Heater - Sounds like a silly thing to be at the top of my list huh?  Well mine is living on borrowed time currently and is probably very inefficient.  Also, the water shut off valves here are so corroded and rusted out that if I ever did have a problem, I wouldn't be able to shut the water off.  They came like that and I've been putting off getting them fixed.  My ETA for this project is Dec 2011 or Jan 2012. 
• Water Softener - This is a necessity in the Southwest.  If you have ever lived in or stayed in a house that has one, you can tell the difference.  You laundry is softer, your hair is softer, your dishes are cleaner and have less spots, your shower is much easier to clean and maintain and so on.  I can't wait to have mine installed.  Too bad it costs double what it should since I have mystery pipes in my front yard that have to be cut down and routed to my garage to allow for the soft water loop at all.  This has been coupled with the heater project and I'm saving for them jointly.  Same ETA.
• Dishwasher - The one I have is the cheapest builder grade and I'm not sure it even works sometimes.  It sounds like a freight train when it tries to clean my dishes too, and I'm not crazy about that.  This will be my next fun purchase after I do the mundane water heater/softener because without these two appliances, my new dishwasher won't be operating at its finest!  My ETA on a new dishwasher is before next summer, so May 2012.
• Irrigation - I am lucky to have a high quality irrigation system through my entire landscaping.  front and back yard, grass, bushes and trees all have water coming to them.  Over the year I've noticed it acts up and needs a tune up.  I am no irrigation pro, so I hope I could learn a little more about it when I find someone to come check it out.  This is something I have been delaying for a while and I'm sure my yellow grass is due to my laziness and I'm sure I could avoid using so much water if I just got it fixed and running right.  My ETA is soon.  Very soon.  If not, then by May 2012. 
• Carpet - This is something that has been on my list for several months now.  My house has a good amount of carpet and I want it ALL GONE.  There used to be a cat in residence before I bought this house and I believe the carpet pads are destroyed because of it.  I ripped up all the carpet in my big closet and laid down laminate wood floor and I love it.  I have sudden urges to do that to the rest of the carpet too, but then I would be stuck with bare concrete in the upcoming winter because I can't afford laminate for all the other areas just yet.  What a vicious cycle.  ETA: This is on my five year plan.
• Bathroom - I did a major update on the guest bathroom in my house not too long after I bought it.  Tiled the shower, refinished the vanity and new hardware all around.  My poor master bath is feeling neglected.  It is huge and an awkward layout.  I hope to make use of all the angles and height someday as well as add a skylight of some sort since no natural light gets into that space at all.  I want to turn the tub/shower into a shower with glass doors and nice tile.  My first bathroom renovation taught me how much time and money this takes, so this is another five year plan item.  Sad Face.
• Kitchen - Everyone I know wants something done to their kitchen.  Mine is no exception.  I am a culinary professional by trade, so I want the best of course which catapults this into the ten year plan, realistically.  Unless I win the lottery. 

That's my list guys.  It screams $$$$$$$ to me.  So I'm off to work to go fund my addiction projects! Do you have any projects you want to tackle?  Do you have any projects you want to pay me to tackle for you?!  Comment away!