While everyone else is making their goals and projections for personal growth in 2023, I’ve been thinking about all the projects I would like to complete.
We bought a house this year, and it’s a great house and it doesn’t really need a lot of work. But there is a long list of updates I would like to do. The house was built in 2002. The pool was just put in 2 years ago and the AC was replaced then too.
A lot of the big things are new and the house has really good bones. The backyard is what needs the most work. And then the inside just needs some updating.
Here’s our list of things we’d like to complete in 2023:
Pool
Yes I said the pool is brand new, but the vacuum has been having some problems. We need to replace the vacuum and figure out why it’s not moving. Or find a new pool company who will hand vacuum the pool.
Backyard
The backyard needs the most work and I’d like to complete everything before it gets hot. Which is sometime between April and May here!
The backyard is currently mostly dirt. We’ve got the pool on one side of the house, the back is a little grass strip and then the other side of the house is a huge dirt area.
I want to get the dirt covered up ASAP. The dog (and kids) loves to roll in the dirt and the weeds go crazy back there.
Concrete
I want to concrete a large portion of the dirt. My son loves to play basketball so this will mainly function as a basketball court. But it will also be good for chalk, riding skateboards and tons of other outdoor activities. We’re already reaching out to contractors to hopefully get this done in Q1.
Garden
I miss my garden. We built a huge garden at our old place and I miss it. I’ve been wanting another garden and we finally have the space!
The north side of the backyard will get a huge garden bed and we’ll fill in that side of the dirt with rock.
Fire Pit
It gets surprisingly cold here in the winter! I mean it is the desert. So we want a fire pit area. This will be between the concrete and the garden area.
My parents had an old fire pit at their house, so we’ll use that for now. But eventually we’d like to get one of those smokeless fire pits. Maybe in a year or two.
Shed/Playhouse
Our garage is so small and we really need a shed to store all of our boxes and decor. We need to be able to park our cars in the garage.
The sun just beats on them and it will help to keep the cars looking nice. Not to mention they’ll be a normal temperature to get into in winter and summer.
I also really want a playhouse for the kids. My plan right now is to get two sheds. But I haven’t full decided.
Fruit Trees
This will probably be an ongoing process, but I’d really like to get some more fruit trees for our yard. We currently have a lemon and what I think is a dwarf orange tree.
Arizona is known for their citrus, surprisingly. So I’m thinking of getting another citrus, probably a kumquat tree.
I’d also like 1-3 more fruit trees. I just haven’t fully decided on what kind yet. I’m debating between apple, pomegranate, and plum.
I’d love to put at least one in the front yard and the others in the backyard. I think it might be almost too late to plant any this season, so it will probably wait til the fall.
Inside
Inside the house need some updating. Our bathrooms, kitchen, and windows are original. We replaced the carpet in 2 of the bedrooms when we moved in, but the kids rooms still need the carpet replaced.
Again, all these projects will be done overtime. But we’ll start doing a few smaller upgrades this year.
Living Room
I miss having a fireplace. A lot of houses don’t seem to have them around here. Which is shocking because I think it’s cold in the winter!
So I’d like to get a fireplace. My plan is to build a surround and get one of the flush mount in wall fireplace heaters. It will go under the tv in the living room.
On either side of the fireplace and tv, I want custom built shelving. Doors on the bottom and bookshelves on the top. This will allow us to store all our books, games, and have a way to display knickknacks as well.
Then under the window, maybe both, we’ll build a little seat, similar to the one we had in our old kitchen.
The plan is to do this over the summer while it’s too hot to be working outside.
Kitchen
Originally, I had planned to paint the kitchen in 2023 as well. But I think I’m going to put it off to 2024 as I’d like to get new cabinet fronts, counters, and a sink. So we’ll probably wait a year, especially after writing this whole list! We’ll see.
Guest Bathroom
We recently did over our laundry room with Palisade tile that was gifted to us. It turned out so good and the tile was so easy to install.
So we want to install the tile in our guest bathroom as well as get a new vanity, mirror, and light fixture. And it needs to painted of course! The tub/shower needs to be replaced as well, but that will be a few years down the line.
We can easily do a small upgrade this year and we won’t have to rip it all out to do the shower at a later date. We won’t be replacing the toilet because we put new toilets before we moved in.
Smaller projects
These are some of the big projects we’re hoping to tackle this year. But as always, there will be some smaller projects as well.
I haven’t painted the kids room, my room, or the bathrooms yet. So I’d like to paint those. That would mean the whole house has new paint.
We’d love to continue replacing the fans and light fixtures throughout the house as well as replacing the light switches and plugs. Most are just dirty, but there have been a few switches that have been wired weird. So we’d like to fix those.
We’re also planning to build a closet in our guest room. We got all the wood for it already and had hoped to tackle it before the new year, but you know how the week between Christmas and New Year is!
I’d like to wallpaper the cabinets in our dining area and continue adding more color into the house.
Aright! That’s it. That’s the 2023 project list. It’s long and ambitious.
I know you’re probably thinking, if you do all that what will be left? There will be things! We always come up with something. What are you hoping to accomplish in 2023?
Curly
Saturday 31st of December 2022
Very ambitious- but so rewarding!!