Summer Bucket List for 2014

Every summer I like to make a list of things I want to do before summer “kicks the bucket” so to speak.

(This is not a real bucket list, which is a list of things you want to do before YOU kick the bucket.)

My lists are usually a mixture of things I want to get done (because during the school year, I am so busy homeschooling, I don’t have time to get a lot of other things done!) and fun things I want to make time for (because we have more time for fun things when we’re not doing school.)

1. Declutter my house from top to bottom.

During the school year, clutter slowly builds up and every summer, I like to get rid of it so that we start the school year with a fresh, clean house.

I think every year I realize that I need less and less stuff and I have more of a burning desire to be free of it.   So, it’s not so much that I keep adding junk to our house each year (although I’m sure I do add some), it’s that I want less and less of the stuff I do have every year.

Also, some of what needs to be decluttered is stuff that we no longer need because my kids grow and move on to new stages (clothes, toys, and so on.)

2. Paint Joshua’s room and new loft bed.

We bought a loft bed off of Craig’s list for Joshua last fall, and I want to paint it and get it installed into his room.   We’re going to screw it into the studs for extra sturdiness, and so I’m going to repaint his walls before we install the loft bed (he wants a new color and it makes sense to do it before we put the bed in!)

3. Play in the water twice a week.

We’ve got several pools we can frequent, plus a sprinkler and slip and side, and I want to make time for that during the hot weather.

4. Say yes to sleepovers.

These are harder to do during the school year, but during the summer, we’re going to invite friends for sleepovers.

5. Go biking at least once a week.

Zoe especially is a huge fan of biking and she’s not old enough to take off and ride on her own.   So I need to make time to take her (and other interested kids) out to ride.

6. Visit the library every other week.

We don’t do formal schooling during the summer, but my kids love to read just for fun, and I want to keep them supplied with books, books, and more books.

7. Redo chore lists.

I did this last summer, but I like to revisit these every year because my kids’ skills change in a year and I can give them each a little bit more responsibility.   😉

8. Plan school for next year and buy curriculum.

This is pretty self-explanatory. Kind of needs to be done before summer is over.   😉

9. Write to my grandpa once a month.

I have two living grandparents…my mom’s mom and my dad’s dad.   My mom’s mom has a computer, so I can email with her (and she subscribes to my blog too!).   But my grandpa doesn’t do the whole internet thing, so I write him real, paper letters.

  10. Eat outside once a week.

This might be a little challenging come July, but maybe we can sneak in some cool morning outdoor breakfasts.

11. Go fruit picking.

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I could think of many more things to put on this list (especially things of the productive, to-do sort), but painting the room and bed are pretty big undertakings, and decluttering my whole house and organizing school for next year are also not small tasks.

So in order to leave time for the fun stuff on this list, I’m going to stop here!