• Shop With Me
  • Learn With Me
  • Login
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

My Homier Home

  • DIY
    • DIY Projects
    • Recommended Tools
    • Organization
  • Decorating
    • Decorating Tips
    • Before & Afters
    • Get C.O.N.F.I.D.E.N.T.
  • Start Here

Prioritizing Home Projects: My Favorite Way to Start the Year

Published: January 11, 2020 | Updated Apr 07, 2021

Spread the love

Want to create a home you are proud of this year? Get clear on your home priorities and make it happen!

Want to create a home you are proud of this year? Start by prioritizing home projects to kick the year off right.

Those that know me understand my insane love for planning.

I am a self-proclaimed scatter-brain, but I have spent most of my adult life trying to plan my way to clarity in order to find some focus to get something done.

To combat my scatter-brain ways, I prefer to approach fixing up my home on a room-by-room basis with only a few individual one-off tasks thrown in.

About a year ago today, I decided it was time to really take action and make some serious progress in my home. You can read all aboutย my 2019 completed projects here.

I ended up completing six areas of my home this past year and I finally feel like I’ve made some strides, especially on my main level (only one more room to go on this floor).

Now, let’s be real, six projects in one year is a lot.

These were major rooms of my home and I had been saving for a while, but also DIY’d my way through some of these projects to save some cash money.

This year, will not be as lucrative, but I do have some items on my list.

Today I want to share with you how I decide where to start each year as it relates to improving my home and what I plan to complete this year.

And just in case that isn’t enough, you can read more about how to prioritize projects at home.

Let’s get started!

Table of contents

  • Step 1: determine my overarching reason to improve my home.
  • Step 2: Prioritize using my Home Harmony Planning Toolkit
  • Step 3: Set home goals: Needs vs. Wants
  • Step 4: Set a timeline for the important projects.
  • Step 5: Start researching & take action

Disclaimer: This post does include affiliate links for your convenience. This is at NO additional cost to you but earns me a small commission. To read more, check out our disclosure policy. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Step 1: determine my overarching reason to improve my home.

MY WHY…

Sometimes you’ve gotta take a step back and consider why you even want to do some of these projects to begin with.

Some choose to improve their home for resale value or to get it ready to sell, but my why is a little more fluffy.

I choose to pursue this homier home idea I have in my head because I want to create a space I can be proud of, feel cozy in, and that fits the needs of my family.

I want to create cozy style and functional beauty, so I can welcome guests in, but also feel welcomed when I enter the door, too.ย 

A TIP FOR FINDING YOUR WHY

I wrote a post at the beginning of last year aboutย finding your whyย because I felt like without knowing why the heck you care about doing all these wonderful things to your home, you end up making one-off decisions that don’t fitย your vision.

This leads you to a non-cohesive home or worse the predicament of needing to redo what you’ve already done.

So, my tip for you is to take the time to find your why before considering what it is that needs to be done.

I promise, it will make every decision that much easier because your why is your driving force.ย 

DIY home decorating library opt in

Step 2: Prioritize using my Home Harmony Planning Toolkit

If you have been around awhile, you know that I have been preaching about how awesome thisย Home Harmonyย system is that I have created for over a year.

I was feeling so overwhelmed when we first moved into our current home.

I never knew where to start.

When I finally did decide on a room, I didn’t know what steps to take next to make it the way I wanted.ย 

Finally, I read a few productivity books and foundย Trelloย to help me organize my thoughts and ideas.

What I came up with is a system I still use every time I go to start a new project.

I’m telling you… it’s worth its weight in gold!

Definitely check out the full page of information.

Step 3: Set home goals: Needs vs. Wants

With the beginning of the year, there is always talk around new year’s resolutions, goal-setting, and habit-making.

As I was writing this, I went back and forth on whether or not to use the word goals because sometimes it comes with a negative connotation depending on how goals have been presented to you in the past.

So, let me preface this section by saying that your home goals are merely what you want to accomplish in your home this year… plain and simple.

If you work through myย home harmony prioritization systemย from above, this part will be super easy.

Keep in mind, there will be things you absolute must accomplish at some point throughout the year and things that will just be nice to have completed.

I like to keep these lists separate, so I can keep focused on what I truly need to do.

Here is what I came up with for our home this year:

MY NEED-TO-DO LIST

  • Complete the nursery (Baby Ciz coming April 4th!)
  • Finish majority of my declutter checklist (While I still have time, energy, and focus)
    • Master Closet
    • Coat Closet
    • Kitchen Desk
    • Pantry
    • Guest Bathroom
  • Rework the layout of my master closet for better functionality (because oh my gosh it is horrible)

MY WANT-TO-DO LIST

  • Other declutter checklist areas
    • Guest Bedroom Closet
    • Dining Room
  • Finish decorating the dining room (focusing on functionality to clear up some cabinets in my kitchen)
  • Invest in Fall decor (my fall decor is scarce and extremely lacking which is sad because it is my family’s favorite time of year)
  • Paint the garage doors (we got new windows with black exterior this year and now the garage doors stick out like a sore thumb)
  • Make room for the hubs in my office (the work space/desk space is very one-sided… meaning all mine lol)
  • Complete a screen-porch refresh (only if time and budget is working for us)

This will be a fun post to reflect on at the end of the year to see how much of this I was able to accomplish.

I encourage you to make and keep a list to look back on come December, too!

Let’s see what we can get done this year!

Step 4: Set a timeline for the important projects.

Understanding your timeline is critical in my opinion.

There have been times in my early decorating life that I was forced to make rush decisions, spend more money than I had planned, and was still unhappy with some piece of the room.

Knowing how much time you have and/or when you need the project complete is so helpful when you want it done right and you want to stay within your budget because you can work backwards and give yourself plenty of leeway.ย 

For my Need-To-Do list, I am hoping to accomplish all of these items before the baby comes in April.

Now, I have been told that come the third trimester, I’m not going to want to do much of anything, so the clock is definitely ticking. Here are my timeline goals with all of this baby stuff and our schedules put into consideration:

JANUARY/EARLY FEBRUARY

  • Operation Finish the Nursery.

FEBRUARY

  • Operation Declutter All the Things
  • Complete the Master Closet

As for the Want-To-Do list, I’m going to have to revisit timelines for these items after our little bundle of joy has arrived and settled in.

My guess is I will pick back up on these projects come summer time since they are not super pressing, but would help reach my home goals this year.

Moral of the story, keep it flexible, but understand your deadlines, if any, to help yourself stay on track and not rush through the process.ย 

DIY home decorating library opt in

Step 5: Start researching & take action

Last, but not least, you have to get started!

The key to getting your projects off and running is to start doing your research on your highest priority project.

This will help you come up with a budget and decide what it is you actually need to be able to complete your project.

This is also a great way to decide how much time you are actual going to need to complete what you want to do.

If you follow myย Home Harmony system, making a list of all the things you want to happen in that room and prioritizing those individual tasks will be right at your fingertips.ย 

What great things will you accomplish in your home this year?

Did you enjoy this post?

Never miss another post again! Get all my best home decor, DIY, planning and organizing tips delivered directly to your inbox each week to help you create a home you can enjoy one room at a time.

    We won’t send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.
    Built with ConvertKit
    Save for later.
    Want to create a home you are proud of this year? Get clear on your home priorities and make it happen!

    Spread the love

    Leave a Comment

    About Christin

    Christin lives in central Indiana with her husband, daughter, son, and fur-baby, Lambeau. Her mission is to help you become a confident DIY decorator, so you can reach dream home status with the home you have. At My Homier Home, you'll find time-saving tips to rescue any room and DIY tutorials to keep the cost down. Christin also offers affordable virtual workshops for the do-it-yourselfer that needs a little extra guidance visualizing and completing their home projects. Be sure to grab your quick start checklist at promos.myhomierhome.com/quick-start today!
    Previous Post: « Best of My Homier Home 2019 – A Year in Review
    Next Post: Baby Girl Nursery Ideas | Accent Walls, Animal Themes, & Beautiful Pinks »

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    ๐Ÿฅ‚ Welcome ๐Ÿฅ‚

    Christin from My Homier Home

    Hi, I’m Christin, a DIY decoratin’ mama of two under two who believes anything is possible with the right plan and a little determination.

    My mission is to help you become a confident DIY decorator so you can create a cohesive home that enhances your daily life.

    Let’s get C.O.N.F.I.D.E.N.T.!

    LEARN MORE

    Let’s Connect

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Tour My Homier Home

    Spring Decor Ideas for the front entry

    Spring Home Tour
    Fall Home Tour
    Christmas Home Tour

    Check out my latest posts…

    • 5 Reasons You Need a Garage Ceiling Storage Lift
    • The Best Garage Organization System for your Home
    • How to Support Small Business and My Favorite Small Home Decor Shops

    Let’s go shopping! ๐Ÿ›

    Wanna shop all my favorite picks from all my favorite stores? See something you like in one of my room designs? Girl trip! Come shop with me!

    Shop My Home Decor Favs

    My Secret Weapon for Picking Paint Colors

    Benjamin Moore Paint Colors


    Samplize is the best way to test paint colors in your home from all different paint companies using their peel-and-stick samples. Read more below.
    Our Review

    ๐Ÿค“ Content Creator?

    Access the Content Creation Organization Shop Here

    Disclaimer: This site does include affiliate links for your convenience. This is at NO additional cost to you but earns me a small commission. Also, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. To read more, check out our disclosure policy.
    About
    Contact / Advertise
    FAQ
    Consulting Services

    Keep In Touch

    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
    Shop With Me
    Get C.O.N.F.I.D.E.N.T.
    Learn With Me
    Course Login

    Copyright © 2023 My Homier Home ยท Sitemap ยท Policies

    My Homier Home logo
    • DIY
      • DIY Projects
      • Recommended Tools
      • Organization
    • Decorating
      • Decorating Tips
      • Before & Afters
      • Get C.O.N.F.I.D.E.N.T.
    • Start Here