Matt and I have a five year plan for various renovations, additions, and purchases we want to make for the house. Every month, we’ll be posting what our to-do list is for the upcoming months. As the months go on, we’ll hopefully be crossing things off and adding things on.

Here are the current goals on our to-do list:

1. Get quotes on tree removal for dying tree in backyard
2. Repair outside pipe
3. Clean and open pool for the summer
   1. Make repairs as necessary
4. Replace older boards in deck
5. Add new handrail to stairs going to second floor
6. Get headboard for master bedroom bed
7. Adjust kitchen layout to accommodate new appliances
8. Get quotes on upgrading electric
9. Investigate getting new dryer
10. Purchase small shed
11. Look into getting UPSes for office and for living room
12. Get quotes on gas-powered generator installation
13. Purchase new curtains for living room
14. Fix coat hook in kitchen
15. Fix kitchen screen door
16. Purchase storage box for back deck
17. Purchase solar cover for pool
18. Add solar lights to front walk and back walks
19. Purchase or make a table for grilling preparation
20. Get gutters cleared and repaired
21. Kill grass/weeds growing through patio blocks
22. Book hotel for cousin’s wedding weekend in July

Some progress is better than no progress! And as you can see, there were things we added to the list during the month and quickly got done (or I forgot they were supposed to be added last month, ha).

I found three tree services in our area with good reviews to get quotes from, but with a show opening soon for Matt, he didn’t have time until yesterday to make the phone calls to schedule them. This will hopefully be done within the next week or two.

We’re really getting geared up with yard stuff this year. Last year, we were so busy getting ready for the wedding that everything related to the yard was put by the wayside. We’re doing a total 180 this year! We’re spending most of our time home outside on the back deck—grilling, listening to Mets games on the radio, taking dips in the swimming pool, tending to the grapevine and flowers… It’s really fabulous. Work for both us has been stressful (Matt with a show opening up, and me with major structure changes happening at my workplace and having to build all the high-profile administrative websites related to these changes). So, these times out in the backyard provide a nice escape from the workday craziness.

We repaired our outdoor pipe in such a way so that we shouldn’t have to worry about it freezing again in the future (therefore, nothing to prevent the pool opening again!). Then we got the pool cleaned, bought a storage box to hold all of our pool equipment and other deck equipment, bought a solar cover to keep the pool warmer (it doesn’t get much sun during the morning, so every little bit helps!), and added solar lights to the foot of all deck steps, as well as along our front walk. We’ve de-weeded the front and back yards and just need to kill off everything growing in between the patio block in the back and front yards. It’s starting to look very elegant; we’re quite proud!

We do have the new deck boards purchased; now we just have to pull up the older ones and put in the new ones. I forgot to add last month that we want to get the gutters cleared and repairs, so that way water flows out they way it should—last thing you want is too much water leaking near your house’s foundation!

We searched in earnest for a new headboard this month, and we finally found something we could both agree on at Value City Furniture. It’s actually a whole bed piece, and not just the headboard, and we should be getting it delivered next week. No more dealing with pillows slipping down behind the mattress while sleeping!

The more expensive tasks (small shed, other quotes, etc.) will be held off until we get the trees taken care of. The trees are our biggest expense coming up; then we’ll save up for the next biggie on the list.

Matt is a groomsman in his cousin’s wedding—since we’ll have a rehearsal on Friday night and a noon call time for Saturday, we’re going to try to book a hotel room for Friday to either Sunday or Monday (depending on how expensive the room winds up being). The wedding is at the Delaware Water Gap in the Poconos, so it sounds like a nice opportunity to make a long weekend of it.

July is going to be a busy time for us, between Matt’s workload, my workload, and the wedding, but we’re hoping to at least get the trees done and the other yard-related stuff done. August should be a lot quieter, so we’re anticipating some great strides there.