DIY Projects, Plan by the Moon-style

I’m not by any means an expert DIY-er, but I do love a good home improvement project as much as the next person, and I have a bit of a passion for aesthetics. To me, the environment we’re immersed in plays a critical role in our happiness, productivity and contentment, and I think it can sometimes be overlooked as a “lesser” area of life that’s maybe a bit vain or unimportant, and this seems to my mind a genuine mistake. You don’t have to take my word for it, either– the idea that aesthetics matter and contribute to a positive human experience is fairly well documented in a number of ways.

 

With that established (steps off of soapbox), I of course like to plan for my projects, to make them more attainable both from a financial and time-value perspective. Here’s a little more on my process, plus a tentative list of the DIY home projects I’m planning to tackle in 2023, in case you’re interested in checking any of them out. As I’m a monthly planner, yes, this is largely organized by the moon, as I say– but that doesn’t mean that some projects won’t span multiple moons, if you will. If others are shorter, I just take that as a win and let the remainder of the month be a bit of a break on this front– because life certainly has plenty else for me to do.

 

October

Around late October, it starts to feel like “end of year” to me. November is within sight, and since the holidays tend to accelerate the speed at which life whirrs by, I think now is a great time to pause and start considering what kinds of projects I might want to tackle in the upcoming new year. I don’t do anything too involved here; just let my mind brainstorm what I’d like to do. Top of mind for me right now is transforming a room in our basement from a spare bedroom (that no one ever uses) to a second office (because we’re working from home more than ever). I also have some little things on the docket: there is a window in our stairway left undressed, for example. Little projects are helpful to round out the year– I don’t want things to get too expensive, or so involved as to be unrealistic. So I try to plan some of these in between the larger ones, such as the fact that I’m really hoping we can finish off our kitchen in the spring! So, I sketch out a general list of what house projects I’m aiming for in which month in late October. Also an important step is I’ll add to my “monthly” list of November that I should look at the financial feasibility of these projects. I use the BlueSky planner, so what I like to do is accumulate tasks for a given month on the monthly page, and then when it comes that month, I’ll review the list and slot the tasks into dates that work for me, now that it’s near at hand and I’m more confident of my schedule. I’ll also add to December a to-do of finalizing this whole list.

 

November

I look over the tentative list and focus on the financial aspect of these projects, and whether they’re going to be feasible. To be honest, often they aren’t. I can get carried away once my mind starts considering what I’d like to do, and sometimes we have, err… expensive taste. But that’s okay, because this is when I get realistic and correct my lofty goals down to more reasonable ones. Maybe that “paint the front door and add hardware that is shockingly pricey” project isn’t going to happen this year– and that’s okay. I’ll also consider what we might be able to do to earn a little extra to fund these projects. For instance, we just cleaned out our basement, and have a number of things (furniture, old-but-great-condition toys) we can sell. Of course, adding to the trickiness is the fact that we’re also spending on the holidays this time of year, so extra money has about a thousand paths of diversion, and last time I checked, a dollar doesn’t split a thousand ways very well. Nonetheless, all this focus on our spending makes November a good gut-check time to think about what I do and don’t want to spend on in 2023. If you find yourself feeling differently– maybe this time of year you get into giving mode, and the money flows too freely– you could also plan this step for a month that comes with a tougher mindset for you, possibly January, or whatever that looks like in your world! Projects don’t have to begin and end with the calendar year, either.

 

December

So come December, after crossing out a few things in November, most likely, I’ll take another look at my outline and make some final tweaks. Maybe I’ll add in smaller projects after denying myself the big ones (our kitchen remodel is one I’ve put off a few times). Maybe I’ll make some concessions instead (okay, we can convert the room in the basement to an office, but it’s not necessary to put hardwood floors in – the carpet is in good shape and is fine). Sometimes I have to talk myself down from a vision, or simply get more creative with it– and if I’m being honest, that’s actually part of the challenge and fun, and totally okay. As I finalize my project list, I’ll go through and add the projects to their respective month pages in my planner, to be organized in greater detail when the month approaches.

 

My 2023 List of DIY Home Improvement Projects (Tentative!)

 

January

Laundry closet

 

February

Basement office phase 1

 

March

Basement office phase 2

 

April

Kitchen phase 1

 

May

Bookshelf built-in

 

June

Outdoor lighting

 

July

Outdoor firepit area- phase 1

 

August

Kitchen reno

 

September

Breakfast nook

 

October

Stairway revamp

Make plans for 2024- tentative

 

November

Embellished wall

Estimate financial feasibility of 2024 plans

 

December

No plans- holidays

Finalize 2024 plans, and build in 3 planning months