4 Major DIY Projects To Complete This Year
Take a look back on your year. Were there some things that could have made your life more productive or enjoyable, or at the very least, less stressful? Consider these major DIY projects as potential improvements next year.
1. Reclaim Garden Space for Edible Plants
If you’ve ever considered dedicating more garden space to vegetables than ornamentals, perhaps the Covid-era got you even more inspired. With all the worry of being out in public and shopping in grocery stores at the risk of becoming exposed, you might have kicked yourself for not putting one in sooner.
Whichever you choose—in ground, raised containers, or informal and mixed among the ornamentals—makes no difference. Just as long as you get it going. You don’t have to go full on homesteader.
Urban plots can go toward the trend of no-lawn gardening, increasing your garden space for coveted edible plants. It’s a heck of a job removing all that sod, but anything to keep you eating the fruits of your labors is worth your time.
2. Add Energy Efficient Updates to Your Home
Did your home become an oven over the summer? 2020 left us no way to escape into the cool, dark of a movie theater or air-conditioned comfort of the mall or the library. The climate crisis affects us all, and if you haven’t begun to make energy efficient updates to your home, make 2021 the year you start.
There are lots of choices available when it comes to energy efficient upgrades. Big jobs like putting in new windows are expensive and can drain the budget, so consider some of the other things you can do throughout the year before tackling those windows.
Everything is on the table here, from upgrading to energy efficient appliances to smart home devices that put saving energy on autopilot to properly insulating your home for maximum comfort.
There are budget friendly ways to help you along, and potential financial help in the form of rebates and tax breaks for conscientious homeowners.
3. Protect Your Home from Damaging Storms
One result of the climate crisis is the increased frequency of major storms. Hurricanes in the gulf and cold weather events in the upper portion of the United States and Canada and tornadoes in the mid-west and beyond can be deadly.
Prepare for the worst with regular checkups and maintenance of your home, including the exterior landscaping a.k.a. trees that have the potential to cause major damage. Vigilance and preparation are essential to keeping you and your family safe throughout the year.
4. Get Your Digital Memories Organized
Being quarantined might have made some of us a bit morbid, but can you blame us? Life “in the before times,” seems like a distant memory. A time when we could be out and about, sharing moments from the most mundane to the spectacular accomplishments, all via social media.
You likely continued to share from where you were quarantined, but it got us thinking about all the fantastic photos that are just occupying space on our phones and floating around on the interweb.
Their digital existence seems transitory and unimportant. We might be old-fashioned in thinking this, but why not make their digital existence more tangible?
While you can print them for traditional albums, there are other ways to save those photos that may be a bit easier to manage—because we know how many pics you took of that amazing creme brulee that kept taunting you in your dreams.
Check out some of the services that print your pics into photo books. Gather them into themes, or keep it simple by printing the most treasured moments in an annual photo book. It’ll take some discipline to stay on top of those images throughout the year, but the reward will be yours for life.
Make it a point to keep your resolutions this year. 2021. She’s just around the corner.
