Photo by Cesar Carlevarino Aragon
This past year we have moved into a house that has lots of fixing up to do to it, and the many tasks can seem quite daunting. As we are entering the New Year I have been reflecting on goals and priorities, and one of those needs to be doing the long list of DIY tasks around the house.
The approach I am taking this year is to plan carefully and to actually assign a time frame and estimated budget for the various tasks. So this is my plan of action:
- First I made a list of all of the jobs, big and small, that need to be done during the course of the year. I wrote it in the back of a notebook so it can be the "Master List" to refer to.
- Next was prioritizing what is urgent. This meant thinking about what is actually necessary for us to function well and also things that need to happen before the rainy season. These items got a star.
- Then it was time to make a list of what needs to happen for each month of the year. This was a bit more tricky as I am sure things will carry over from one month to the next. So at the front of the notebook I have assigned a few pages per month to list the various jobs that need doing each month.
- Finally we made a trip to the hardware shop to get some estimated prices of materials so that we can set a realistic budget for some of the projects. I still need to write an estimated budget next to each task so that we can plan our expenses.
I am hoping that this planned approach will help us to realize our goals to get at least some of the DIY done in the coming year.
How do you tackle DIY projects? Do you try and stick to a plan and time frame or do you have a more fluid approach?
