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You are here: Home / DIY / The Friday Five: Five DIY Projects for the New Year

The Friday Five: Five DIY Projects for the New Year

January 8, 2016 By Karen Cooper 8 Comments

Happy first Friday Five of the new year!! I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season! For the Friday Five today, I’m sharing the five DIY projects for the new year that I plan to tackle. Sure, there will be more, but these I know, for sure, are going to get done! #beBOLD

1. The Pantry

In this post, I talked about how our pantry just isn’t working. The shelves aren’t as deep as they could be, so we’re missing out on needed storage. Also, there are these wonky cabinets and spindles at the top of the pantry that aren’t helpful storage:

Weird cabinets and shelves in pantry - thediybungalow.com

So, at the top of my DIY list is ripping out the current pantry and adding better shelving and storage.

2. Chest on Front Porch

OK, you want to talk about procrastinating on a DIY project?

I bought this chest in October of 2012 and it still looks like this:

shabby painted chest - thediybungalow.com

We have used it in our entry/front porch, despite its peeling paint. But it’s time to finally give this piece its due! I’m going to sand or strip the existing paint and paint it a lovely grayish-blue color. I’ll add new hardware and this chest will be good as new! Finally!

Stay tuned – this project should be done by the end of January!

3. The Shed

The shed has had a leaky roof for some time now. Because I finally want to turn it into a workspace for me that I can use year-round, it’s time to fix the roof (adding a metal roof!), fix the siding (adding Hardie siding!), and add storage for tools, paint, and other supplies.

Miter saw outside the shed - thediybungalow.com

Although the shed will not be a full-on DIY project, I hope to help on the build and I’ll be planning the design of and all of the storage for it.

4. The Office

So, once the shed is finished, I’ll have a dedicated work space there, and the office can finally just be an office!

Home Office Before Organizing - thediybungalow.com

I’ll organize it and clean out the papers in the file cabinets.

5. Drying out the house!

OK, this isn’t so much a DIY project as a call-in-the-professionals project, but it is going to get done and soon!

Water in the basement - tidying up the basement - thediybungalow.com

There are actually two separate problems we are dealing with right now:

(1) We had water coming into our basement when we had days and days of rain. A waterproofing company is going to come in an install a retaining wall and sump pump in our basement to take care of this.

AND…

(2) When Comcast installed a cable jack in our family room, they drilled through a pipe connected to our master bathroom (!!). That pipe has, therefore, been slowly leaking since it was installed – in August of 2014! The wood, drywall, and our hardwood floors are wet and ruined from the leak, and there is mold. We are having that repaired next week.

Because of the moisture in the house from the rain (front of the house) and the leak (the back of the house), our house smells musty. So, we’re installing an exhaust fan in the basement to get rid of that smell.

Those are the five big projects (so far!) for 2016! What’s on your DIY to-do list for this year?

You might also like:

  • Side Effects of the Tidying Up: The Pantry
    Side Effects of the Tidying Up: The Pantry
  • Plan for the Pantry
    Plan for the Pantry
  • Friday Five of Gratitude (Days 13-17)
    Friday Five of Gratitude (Days 13-17)

Filed Under: DIY, Friday Five 8 Comments

About Karen Cooper

Hi! I'm Karen. I call myself a “recovering lawyer” - I traded in my power suits for power tools and a life of DIY adventures. Join me for DIY, home decorating, repurposing and upcycling, and organizing projects and tips as I transform a 1929 Tudor bungalow into our home. I believe in merging old and new to make a house a home.

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Comments

  1. Karen says

    January 8, 2016 at 2:36 pm

    Where to begin?!? Cover seats and reassemble two repainted wooden chairs; hang up the collection of plates, poems, and pictures to create the “Maine” wall in family room; find and hang shelf and mantle in master bedroom (I already have the things to put on the shelf and mantle!); a biggie: weed out and reorganize attic! There are also a variety of DIY projects on my husband’s list, too! Never-ending!

    Reply
    • Karen Cooper says

      January 8, 2016 at 11:07 pm

      Awesome! Can’t wait to see what you do! It’s always good to have a list, right? 😉

      Reply
  2. Mickey Wood says

    January 8, 2016 at 2:39 pm

    Wow! Good luck, Karen.

    Reply
    • Karen Cooper says

      January 8, 2016 at 11:07 pm

      Thanks, Mickey!

      Reply
  3. Cheryl @ Artzzle says

    January 8, 2016 at 3:31 pm

    Ooh . . . I hope Comcast is compensating you for some of that work that now has to be done, because of their big mistake!

    Reply
    • Karen Cooper says

      January 8, 2016 at 11:07 pm

      They are going to, for sure. I have called them four times without a response, so far. But I’m not going to stop until they pay for this damage. Unreal.

      Reply
  4. Mary D says

    January 9, 2016 at 3:05 pm

    gosh, sorry t hear about the moisture issues in your home.
    All these fixes are neither easy or cheap …darn that Comcast!!!!

    Reply
    • Karen Cooper says

      January 9, 2016 at 8:49 pm

      Thanks, Mary! No kidding. The wire through the pipe is on Comcast.

      Reply

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Hi! I’m Karen. I call myself a “recovering lawyer,” because I turned in my power suits for power tools and a life of DIY. This blog is all about DIY, home decorating, repurposing and upcycling, and organization. I believe in merging old and new to make a house a home.




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About Karen

A "recovering lawyer," I turned in my power suits for power tools and a life of DIY. I believe in merging old and new to make a house a home. Read More…

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