At the end of every school year, I start the summer with a to do list of all the house projects I want to complete before the next school year begins. These projects usually involve deep cleaning, errand running, and decorating…things I usually need time to sit down and think about.
Last summer, I only completed one of the projects on my to do list: deep cleaning the entryway. This involved taking my area rug to be cleaned (this took 4 weeks…long story), vacuuming out the entryway closet, thoroughly cleaning the baseboards and banisters, and repairing cracks and repainting the wall going upstairs. I intended to get the area above the closet decorated, but I am still working on this.
If my summer to do list remains undone, it usually waits for the next summer. But this year, I have actually been motivated to continue some of my projects. I deep cleaned our laundry/utility room and re-organized one of the downstairs linen closets.
Another project on my list is photo albums. My mother-in-law always prints out pictures from each year and puts them together into an album. I enjoy computers, but it is nice to look at photos in an album or photo book, and it is so much easier to share those photos with other people. For one of our anniversaries, I started this project for Jesse and I but never continued it. This winter I began again. I am now current through 2009 including some of our big vacations.
But, of course, every project has multiple steps. Every time I look at the photo albums, I have to take them off the shelf to determine what year I am looking at, so I have also always wanted to label them in a cute way. On President’s Day, I enjoyed a day off making labels for my photo albums. If only I didn’t have two more years to finish before I can check this item off of my to do list…
Please add “spend time with your mom” to your summer “To Do List” (and to your spring, fall and winter one, too)!!! Glad you have been motivated lately in addition to all the other things you fit in each week. I enjoy looking at your photo albums:) Love you lots!
I have been thinking about this lately. I hate only looking at albums on the computer. There is always something nice about the tactile-ness of albums.
Oh, and visit the baby is on the list too right?
Admirable job, Andrea! I’ve all but given up on printing out individual photos and putting them in albums since Claire was born. I do love designing those hardcover books on Shutterfly and having one printed out for Claire’s birthday every year. That might be the best I can do 🙂