Summer Bucket List Update (#2!)

Every summer I make a bucket list; a plan for how I want to spend my time before summer kicks the bucket. And every month I share an update to let you know how I’m doing at knocking things off my list.

It’s not quite August yet, but it’s close enough for a bucket list update, I thought.

Ready??

1. Declutter my house.

Decluttered so far:

-the linen closet

-the coat closet

-Sonia and Zoe’s room

-our schoolbook bookshelf

-the office.

Which was a GIANORMOUS undertaking and I got rid of so many papers and craft supplies and books and photos, and I’m actually hopeful that this room will stay kind of clean now.

(Also, I found some pretty, um, awesome old photos, which you’ve already seen if you follow me on Instagram.)

I’m being pretty ruthless with the decluttering (ALL THE THINGS MUST GO.), so hopefully that’ll pay dividends in the long run.

2. Make a Travelwee photo book.

Yup.   Shoo-Bop’s California adventures are all documented in a photo book, due to arrive on August 10th.   Woohoo!

(Shoo-Bop is a travelwee that Lisey made, and he went with Mr. FG and Joshua to California this past spring.)

3. Paint Sonia and Zoe’s room.

You all know how this one is going!   We tried sample after sample, finally hit up another paint store, and found a happy middle ground.   Phew.

(Summer usually brings painting projects for me. Last summer I painted Joshua’s room and his craigslist bed, and the summer before, I did Lisey’s room plus my kitchen cabinets.)

4. Teach my kids to cook meals.

Yep, I’m doing pretty well at this. We haven’t quite hit once a week, but I’m close.

5. Say yes to swimming/water play twice a week.

Most weeks I’ve hit this goal, except when impeded by bad weather, or a bout of decluttering.

Cough.

6. Eat outside.

I did not do this in July unless you count a few lunches at the pool.   Whoops.

7. Grab small moments to do fun things.

This isn’t super measurable, but I’m seeing progress here.

  8. Initiate/say yes to playdates/sleepovers.

Yep! July held a number of sleepovers and playdates.

9. Clean out our shed.

Yup!

This was, um, BEFORE the cleanout.

10. Finish odds and ends left from the wood floor project.

Erm, nope. We discovered that the stain we were using on the railings/steps is too red, so now we have to resand and restain everything we did so far.

Womp, womp.

We still haven’t gotten off our duffs and done this.     Oof.

11. Landscape the front borders.

Yep.   They’re landscaped AND mulched now.   Woohoo!

12. Go to the beach once.

Yes!   The kids and I took a trip to the ocean with my sister and one of my brothers.

13. Plan for the next school year.

Nope.

14. Keep the library basket full.

Yep! Much reading has been going on.

15. Teach my girls how to use the sewing machine.

Nope.

(Please note: Sonia and Lisey have asked how to use the sewing machine.   Joshua and Zoe have not, but I’d teach them if they were interested.   So, this isn’t a sexist item on my bucket list as many of you have worried, but rather an item based off of my children’s desires.)

16. Redo chore lists.

Nope.

(I hang their chore lists on their walls.)

17. Go see a cheap movie once a month.

Yes! We’ve been to two $1 Regal movies so far this summer.

18. Write to my grandpa once a month.

Yep! I wrote him a letter this month and also emailed my dad a bunch of photos to bring on his laptop for my grandpa.

(The lack of internet at his house requires some creativity!)

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How’s your summer going? Have you been spending your summer days in ways that are meaningful to you? Let me know in the comments.

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P.S. In case you like looking at bucket lists, here’s my 2014 bucket list, my 2013 bucket list, and my 2012 bucket list.

P.P.S. I do random updates on my bucket list progress on Instagram, so if that sort of thing interests you, follow me! It’s a pretty fun place over there.   😉   I’m thefrugalgirl.   Of course.