Before we dive too much into 2015–boy it feels weird typing that–I’m going to take a little look back to my Home Goals from 2014.

I’m proud to say that Matt and I kicked butt in 2014. I don’t mean to sound boastful. But we got a lot done around the house over the past year. Today’s post is about celebrating some of our accomplishments. Woo-hoo!

Here’s the list of my original goals and how we did on each.

1. Painting. Check!

• Main floor hallway
• Kitchen
• New addition – Living room

Painting the hallway and kitchen was the first project we tackled last year, and we crossed them off the list in February. The living room wasn’t on the list at first, but over the course of the year we slowly got it painted one wall at a time. In fact, we finished the final wall just last week (okay, so it was Jan. 2, but who’s counting?).

2. Laundry room. Check!

The laundry room was my first participation in the One Room Challenge. I love how I was able to transform this utilitarian space with just a bit of paint, some simple updates to the cabinets and a few fun accessories.

3. Master bedroom. No check.

We were not very successful at the master bedroom makeover. I was supposed to scrape the popcorn ceiling back in the summer but never worked up the effort.

… That is until last week. Yup, the master bedroom makeover is underway.

Matt and I bought a new bed (a king-size one–yipes) just before Christmas. Its imminent delivery motivated me to deal with the ceiling. We’ve got a bit more work yet to go, but that’s what Home Goals 2015 are for (that post is coming up next).

4. Furniture. Partial check.

I had a few pieces of furniture that I wanted to find/make last year. I can cross off about half of my list.

• Refresh bookshelves and living room TV stand with new trim and paint – More on the bookshelves here and the TV stand here and here
• Coffee table for the living room
• Sofa table for the living room – Details here
• Hutch/cabinetry/built-ins for dining room
• Narrow dresser for my office – Details here
• Hutch for my office
• Free-standing cabinet for the hallway to the laundry room – No details, but you can see it with the ironing board hanging on it here

5. Living room fireplace. Big fat check!

I honestly did not expect to be able to cross the fireplace off the list this year, but I can. And it makes me a little bit giddy. We squeaked it in right at the end of 2014. The full wrap-up post is still coming, but I can let you know that the fireplace is fabulous. It was wonderful to lounge in front of the fire over the holidays.

And no, you’re not getting a picture of this yet. 😉

6. Landscaping. Maybe a partial check.

Landscaping continues to be my nemesis at the farm. I did some work outside, but not as much as I had hoped.

• Reestablish the flowerbeds around the house. I’m about halfway around the house and have come to the decision that we don’t need flowerbeds on the south side or the back. It will take a lot of work to rip out the old beds, but once I do mowing will be quicker than weeding.
• Plant grass seed where old firepits were and clean up the detritus that’s still hanging around. Again, halfway done. The grass is growing, but there are a few more piles still to clean up.
• Tidy the east shore of the pond and build a new firepit near the water. I decided that this task is too big to take on myself, but budget constraints prevented me from recruiting some professional help. Maybe next year.
• Continue to plant the turnaround. Half the turnaround is in really good shape. The other half we’ve gone with grass until I can work up the energy to make it a flower garden.
• Put in a vegetable garden. Oh I had such ambitions around this one, but it was a complete non-starter.
• Continue with the landscaping master list. I don’t think this task is ever going to go away.

2014 was much more successful than 2013. Last year at this time I was quite frustrated with how little I had accomplished. This year, I’m over the moon by how much we’ve done.

Having my goals was really important to help me stay focused. What made the difference this year was translating those goals into monthly projects. Thanks to all of you for sticking with me and encouraging us through 2014. Coming up next, Home Goals 2015.

Was 2014 a productive year for you? What was your biggest accomplishment last year? How do you stay on task?