The 2013 To-Do List

Springtime is the traditional time for sorting and organising, and there is nothing better than an end of winter clean, but the start of autumn has always prompted a bit of springclean too.  I'm infamous in my little family for always disturbing the peace and quiet with a "it'd be good if we did...", in my mind there's always a little job to be done and in theirs, another time to be doing it!  I'm at my worst come autumn when I can't help but think about all the things we said that we'd do this year and, there's no denying it, I get a little crazy lady about what we should have done and what we need to do now.  It's my mental springclean, and it's also usually the point at which the rest of the family look at me in faint despair and make sure that my wine glass is near to hand and well topped up!  I've been holed up for days, googling and hoarding gardening and cookbooks and this year I have plans... BIG plans, well, ok, two big plans, maybe three... the current list, in no particular order, is:

1. Reduce our heating bills.  We've been talking about insulating the loft since we moved in, it's going to be a horrible job but now is the time to just do it!  Also, our open fireplace is fabulous but a heating nightmare... it needs to be sorted.... and I rather like the idea of installing a multifuel stove.
2. Convert the external dog run into a storage shed/greenhouse.  It was going to be my studio but this would be more useful and if we sort the garage out (see below) I can carve out some space there.
3. Grow some more of our own veg and herbs - nothing fancy but the things we buy a lot of.
4. Reduce our food bills with better planning - we're pretty good, but fall into the trap of cooking the same thing over and over, I'm hoping that a bit of planning will save some more pennies and liven the weekly menus up a bit too.
5. Replace the garage roof - no more leaks please!
6. Line the garage and put in a floor so that we can put is worksurfaces etc.  There is a lovely view out of the back, over the churchyard, I could be inspired sat there.


oh, and 


A wooden floor throughout downstairs.  That may be beyond the budget this year, but it is firmly at the top of the wishlist

(Never mind my musings about needlepointing a series cushions for the sofa, or a rug for the fireplace (post new floor of course), or replanting the back bed of the garden, or redecorating the bathroom (never been keen on the colour), or touching up all the paintwork round the house, or what next years big sewing project should be... the list, truly, is endless.) 

As a slight aside, there's a new series on Nat Geo about American Preppers.  The boyf and I have been watching it, clutching our wine glasses and with eyebrows firmly raised ;o)  When I mentioned the above list and he cited to-do's 1 through to 4 as reasons why I shouldn't be allowed to watch it any more.  If I have any ideas about water storage (there goes the waterbutt at the end of the greenhouse) and underground bunkers, I think he'll be signing me up for therapy!  Though if the underground bunker was a wine cellar and we stored a lifetime supply of cheese, he's all for it... that man has his priorities right.

Now all I need to do is sort out the design for this years Christmas cards, get ready for Halloween, start on the Christmas present planning, learn all I need to know about greenhouse growing and get to work persuading the lovely boyf, who is no fan of either my lists or DIY, that they're actually a pretty good thing!  Now where is that glass of wine....