“Shit is it cold. Did… did my toe just fall off?…”

I did not start this blog with the intention of it being for DIY projects. But I have cable and I really, really hate my house.* And the internet, which one DIY blog usually leads to another and then another and another… The projects in my head begin to become a mound of ideas that end up piled on top of each other in a corner. It has made me a little dizzy.

Perhaps the biggest dilemma is money. I’m not rolling in it** and I’m terrible at bargain hunting and cannot seem to bring myself to buy used. So every project seems to be stopped dead before I can pick up my sledge hammer and start knocking down walls. In fact, I don’t even have a sledge hammer yet. Someone should fix that. I’d also like some Dremel tools, an oscillator, an air compressor with nail and staple gun accessories, a miter saw, etc…

I still do not intend to make this a DIYer blog. However it probably will see me mentioning projects now and again, specifically because someone has asked me about them. As such, mayhaps a list? Something of a 2014-goals-around-the house list? So, without further ado, I give to you!…

Claiming the “grown up” room in the house: now, this might not seem like much of a DIY project, but it probably will be. It involved repainting the entire room, adding an accent wall via gloss paint over matte with a stencil, creating a headboard for the bed, installing a closet system, replacing the missing closet doors, new trimming and moulding (flooring?), and (my BIG wish) replacing the patio doors with new French doors to the outside.

Turning our old bedroom into a curiosity/game/library room: repainting the walls, adding in new moulding and trim, removing the door entirely, possibly turning that closet into a cleaning supply depot so I can have my hall closet back as linen closet?…

Replacing the doors. All of them (that I haven’t specifically ditched). And their hardware. I’ll learn how to frame a door if I have to. Plumb and level, baby.

Creating a desk area in the “office” (after we get it in usable condition) in that bedroom’s closet. I saw it online.

Mounting the television on the wall in the living room, fashioning a console table out of an old dresser (also seen online), taking that sledgehammer you are buying me to my old entertainment center in the backyard as I gibber incoherent nonsense, shrilly, back-lit by a bonfire so I can freak out the nosy neighbors.

Replace the under sink cabinet that was growing mold.*** (This includes working with my father, which is always a bonus.)

Build the gaming table I promised my hubby… and maybe this one. In case you are wondering, these would be used for the nerdy endeavor of miniature war gaming and table top gaming. Because that’s how we roll in the house.

I have other ideas in mind, but I probably wouldn’t be able to fit it all into one year. I still have to work for a living, take care of two furry pests, I mean cats… and keep the place livable. Who knows, maybe I will get this house whipped into shape and keep you posted on my progress.

It’s blogger fodder at the very least. :P



*Okay, not entirely true. I just hate how it looks and all the cracks in the plaster/terrible mudding and patch jobs; also, every space is just this side of too little

**And if I was, I would probably pay for someone to fix all the things wrong with this house, sell it, and get something bigger/better/not falling apart…

***As an FYI, check your pipes regularly for leaks so you don’t end up in the same boat… also, sometimes the laziness of house flippers (not removing the old linoleum under said sink) can save your subflooring