House Jobs for January/February 2020!

Now we’ve been in our house 7 months, one of the things I would like to do this year is get quite a lot of the ‘smaller’ house jobs done, since we probably won’t do any ‘big’ building work in 2020. I’ve figured that it would probably actually be sensible to get the upstairs sorted in the majority of areas (aside from the bathroom- that’s a big job), as this won’t ever change structurally, and we’ve already done some decorating. 

The fact that we’ve decorated most of our bedroom, and all 3 kids bedrooms, yet they still don’t feel totally done, is slightly annoying me! Freddie and Sasha’s rooms ARE totally done decoration-wise (thanks, Mum!), but the carpets in there, whilst not totally offensive, aren’t great. Our bedroom needs a new radiator fitted before painting this alcove, and I’m also tempted to rip up the carpet to see what’s underneath- something that is making Adam rather nervous! The office (5th bedroom) needs totally doing, and I can’t wait to get cracking on with this so I have a proper space to work as at the moment it’s a dumping ground. 

There is plenty to do downstairs too, but I think for the next couple of months there are jobs upstairs that we can be ploughing on with. 

As a bit of a list nerd, I thought I’d document what I’d like to get done over the next couple of months, and then I can let you know how I get on at the end of Feb. Having a bit of a list will give me a kick up the bum and I like getting things ticked off. Very satisfying, especially when you know that you’re in it for long-haul when it comes to a sloooow house renovation! One of my favourite blogs for what I would call ‘slow DIY’ is ‘Simply the Nest’, where Alice has a beautiful house that they’ve been literally doing up for years, have had time to make concerted decisions, and have saved so much money by doing quite a lot of the work themselves. I’m especially inspired by their bringing of floor boards back to life in their Victorian home, sanding and oiling them, and she shares some great tips. 

Here’s is a list of some house jobs that I’d like to get done in January/February:

1. Get a flooring company to quote for carpets in the kids’ bedrooms, and also for fitting a stair runner and also advising on landing carpets to work with said stair-runner. We won’t be buying them next couple of months but would be good to have a cost to aim for. 
2. Rip up office carpet to see quality of the floorboards underneath- will be a good indication of what they might be like in our bedroom. If they look promising…
3. Rip up the bedroom carpet and decide whether to sand, oil etc, OR paint white like in our old-old house.
4. Get quote for office for decorating. We’d usually just paint ourselves ala the other rooms in the house, BUT the wallpaper in this room is the work of the devil and has a pattern on it that you would see through paint, plus it is STUCK FAST on the wall so would take forever to strip. I definitely think we need a pro for this one. 
5. Buy new radiators for our bedroom and the office. 
6. Book plumber to install new radiators. 
7. Put prints in Arlo’s room into frames and stick on wall using Command Strips. 
8. Get wallpaper samples for a wall in our bedroom (the one where the dressing table is). I’m not loving the satin effect of the lighter grey that I used last year on this particular wall, and think wallpaper would add more interest to the room. 

I think that’s enough to be going on with for the next couple of months! 

Do you have any DIY jobs you’re cracking on with at the moment? 

See some more of our house renovation posts here

Becky

Meet the award-nominated UK lifestyle blogger behind Spirited Puddle Jumper – a mum of three living in South East London! Becky shares the real ups and downs of family life, parenting tips, and lifestyle inspiration, proving that being a mum doesn’t mean you stop being fun or having other interests! Follow along for honest insights into UK family life and opinions on a whole range of topics, from travel and food, to beauty reviews, home and DIY, business and health and wellness.