Though it might not officially be summer according to the calendar, it FEELS like summer here at my house. We’re just tying up a few odds and ends with school, which means that my schedule is way more empty than usual, in a very delightful way.
Since I’m a big fan of not wasting even leisure time, every summer for the last few years, I’ve made a big ‘ol list of things I want to do before summer ends (or, kicks the bucket, so to speak!)
I want to spend my summer days in ways that are meaningful and refreshing (with a dash of productivity thrown into the mix), and making a list really helps me with that.
This is kind of a mix of practical tasks and fun stuff and it’s in no particular order.
1. Declutter my house.
I do this pretty much every summer, mainly because things start to pile up during our homeschooling year, and it’s nice to start out the new school year with more order.
I do some organizing along the way, of course, but my main focus is decluttering.
Less, less, less.
(So far I’ve decluttered my linen closet and coat closet.)
2. Make a Travelwee photo book.
Mr. FG and Joshua took Lisey’s travelwee on their trip to California, and I think it would be fun to make a small photo book of the travelwee’s adventures.
3. Paint Sonia and Zoe’s room.
Theirs hasn’t been painted since 2006 or so. And the color of their walls (light purple) was chosen by Lisey, who doesn’t even share that bedroom anymore.
So. I just have to get them to agree on a color (which might not be a “just” sort of task! We shall see.)
Before I paint their room, though, I think we’re gonna have to do some decluttering. Too much stuff to paint around right now!
(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.
Several of them have been wanting to learn more about cooking (most of them can bake just fine!), but during our busier season of the year, I’m usually in, “Get dinner on the table in a hurry.” mode, which is not conducive to mentoring young chefs.
But I think this summer would be a perfect time to get them more comfy in the kitchen.
To make this a measurable goal, I’m going to say that I want to get one kid cooking one meal each week. If I surpass that, great, but at the least, this will be a good baseline.
5. Say yes to swimming/water play twice a week.
This is weather-dependent, of course, but if the weather is good, this is my goal.
6. Eat outside.
We’ll probably do some picnic lunches, but I’m also gonna apply the last tip in this picnic article and think outside the lunch box. Bring on the breakfast picnics!
7. Grab small moments to do fun things.
Laura Vanderkam’s I Know How She Does It
got me thinking about using little bits of time in fun ways.
Sometimes I fall into the trap of thinking that we can only go to the park if we have all day to spend there, or we can only go swim at the neighbor’s pool if I have a few hours to spare, or we can only go on a bikeride if we have an empty afternoon.
This isn’t a very measurable goal, but I’m going to try to seize the smallish bits of time for fun things…a quick dip in the pool, a short park trip, a little bike ride, and so on.
8. Initiate/say yes to playdates/sleepovers.
We do get together with friends during the school year, but it’s a whole lot easier when we’re not doing school and when friends aren’t in school.
9. Clean out our shed.
I’ve pretty much never decluttered the shed. Also, there’s still some stuff in there from the previous owners, and we’ve lived here, um, ten years.
It’s getting awfully crowded out there, and I know the shed would be much easier to use with less stuff in it.
10. Finish odds and ends left from the wood floor project.
We had new wood flooring installed, which is great, but there’s some work left for us.
I need to paint the new trim around the wood floors, and we need to finish staining/polyurethaning the steps and railings in our foyer (they are solid oak and so we didn’t replace them. But they have to be refinished to match the new.)
11. Landscape the front borders.
I’m sort of a clueless landscaper, but my brother (who is great at landscaping) has promised to help me. After ten years, our front borders will actually have things growing in them, hopefully!
12. Go to the beach once.
I’m not talking a week at the beach or anything, but given that we live not super far from the coast, a beach day is do-able.
13. Plan for the next school year.
Obviously this needs to happen before the school year starts. 
14. Keep the library basket full.
My kids do love to spend time reading in the summer, but in order to read, they need material. So, I want to make sure I keep our basket stocked so that they have plenty of options.
15. Teach my girls how to use the sewing machine.
Lisey and Sonia have been wanting to give it a whirl, and summertime seems like a great time to do that.
(During the school year, I only have my sewing machine out for necessary mending jobs.)
16. Redo chore lists.
I do this every summer, since over the course of a year, my kids’ ability to handle tasks changes.
(This usually means they get a little bit more responsibility every go-round.)
(I hang their chore lists on their walls.)
17. Go see a cheap movie once a month.
We rarely go to the movie theater because for 6 of us, $8-$11 tickets equal a fairly expensive few hours.
But, during the summer there are the $1 Regal summer movies. And there’s also a super-cheap-but-nice theater here that has $3.50 matinees, and even for 6 people, that’s still doesn’t end up being crazy expensive.
18. Write to my grandpa once a month.
He doesn’t do email, so snail mail is the only way to write to him.
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Alrighty…that seems like enough things to keep me busy for the next three months.
I’ll do a bucket list update at the beginning of each month to let you know how I’m doing, and because knowing I’m going to do an update somehow ups my motivation factor immensely.
If you wrote a summer bucket list, feel free to leave a link 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.
Bethany says
Here’s my bucket list! I’ve been so inspired reading everyone else’s posts too!
http://www.bethanyrossbrown.com/2015/06/summer-bucket-list/
Kristen says
Love your goals to get out and about to enjoy free community events!
Ali @ Anything You Want says
Teaching your kids how to cook full meals is such a great idea. They’ll thank you when they’re in college or on their own!
Isabelle says
Nice list!!
For us it will be pretty basic. We bought a new house, we are moving in in 3 weeks, so we will be prepping the garden for next (yes, next) year, and fix little things. We also have to keep the current house ready for visits (to sell it). Then we are having our family holiday in 2 weeks, hubby 30th birthday in july and our 5th wedding anniversary in august, then my oldest is starting school in September…. ouff!! Busy summer ahead!
Melissa says
Just curious how you get all of this done when the kids have relatively unstructured time? We school during the summer for flexibility, but also because I don’t want to hear them fighting all day long if they have large stretches of free time. How do you handle this with your kids?
Kristen says
Are you just wondering what thy do to keep occupied? Joshua has a good friend here in the neighborhood that he hangs out with, and the girls have several friends here too that they play with. Also, they do spend a fair amount of time reading/drawing/playing together.
And a number of things on my list involve them…the cooking, sewing, swimming, doing fun things in small bits of time, etc.
Don’t get me wrong…there’s some, “I’m bored!” that happens and there’s some fighting too.
But there’s also enough peace and self-entertainment to allow me to get some things done as well.
Walnut says
As kids, we were encouraged to make ourselves scarce or else Mom would find a new chore for us to do (dusting…it was always dusting. Such an annoying task!). You learned pretty quick to go outside or hole up somewhere that wasn’t under foot!
Gladys (The Pinay Mom) says
You’re such a passionate mother for teaching your kids how to be responsible at their early ages.My grandmother taught me how to cook (started with rice) when I was barely seven and by the time I was 10,I can cook few meals.I’m glad I learned that because as a mother,it does really help!
Katy @ The Non-Consumer Advocate says
I need to be more intentional about my summer. My younger son and I will be visiting NYC for a couple of weeks, but I know how easy it is to let those precious summer days slip by. Love your list!
Annie says
I’m all about keeping the library book basket full too. My 13 yo son is a big reader and we’ve run out of books on his want-to-read list. And unfortunately, a lot of books in the young adult section are not quite appropriate for his age. Anyone have any book recommendations for his age group that are not as well known?
Kristen says
This is a great question! I’ve been keeping my kids in books based on the suggestions in our Story of the World curriculum (It has literature recommendations for each chapter of the book), so I’m gonna have to go digging once we finish the curriculum.
Jenessa says
I don’t know much about what 13 year old boys read these days, but I would recommend pretty much anything by Gary Paulson. His stuff is very adventurous and I loved it when I was around that age. The City of Ember series is also good.
Annie says
I’m pretty sure he’s read all of Gary Paulson’s book, some multiple times. And both my kids love the City of Ember series. I’ve read the first 3 myself and enjoyed them.
Liz K. says
Has he read The Book of the Dun Cow by Walter Wangerin Jr.? Also The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander. Those are a little lesser known. And my husband, Scott Keen, has just gotten his book published (it’s middle grade/YA fantasy) called Scar of the Downers. It’s an action/adventure epic fantasy. I know, I’m shamelessly plugging, but I think it’s a great book, and the boys who have read it (ranging in age from 4th grade to 11th grade) have really liked it.
Annie says
I haven’t heard of any of these, so I will check them out. Thanks!
Barb @ 1SentenceDiary says
I might recommend the IQ series — They are really fun and completely appropriate for a 13 year old. I don’t think they are very well known, but the kids have loved them. This is a link to the first one:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Series-Roland-Smith/dp/1585363251
Laura Vanderkam says
Great list! I need to seize some small moments too…
kris says
You should check this link out and see if there are any of the bowling alleys in your area – free bowling for the kids. I always register my son because his children’s pastor always takes the children’s group bowling during the summer.
http://www.kidsbowlfree.com/
Carrie Willard says
I posted my summer bucket list yesterday. We have several items in common. I need to get my kids in the kitchen more this summer too!
Kristen @ Joyfully Thriving says
That’s an ambitious summer list…but like, I want to maximize our summer time, too! My big projects are to finish the blogging class I’m taking, keep cleaning things out, replace our kitchen floor, and yes, paint our kitchen walls again. It’s been 6 years since we moved in and painted everything.
EmilyMB says
why not teach Joshua to sew too?
Kristen says
Well, if he’s interested, I’m certainly not opposed to teaching him! But he hasn’t really shown an interest in sewing like Lisey and Sonia have.
(He IS interested in learning to cook, though, so he’s gonna be in the learn-to-cook-dinner rotation. Like the girls, he does know how to bake, but his cooking skills could use some work.)
Battra92 says
Just remind him that girls like guys who know how to cook. I mean, that’s one way I won my wife over.
Kristen says
And single guys who know how to cook eat better meals too!
Right now, he’d just have to impress a girlfriend with his baking skills.
Amanda says
Thank you for sharing. Your list has inspired me too. Here’s what I’m planning:
1. Finish thesis
2. Learn enough Spanish to pass language exam
3. Read for fall research project
4. Prep for fall semester (do all the little household things I have been putting off–get sunglasses fixed, catch up on mending, catch up on bookkeeping, whole house clean out)
5. Prep for baby (transition James to Louie’s room, get nursery ready)
6. Pool at least once a week
7. Library each week
8. Beach in June (July too?)
9. Write enough columns to get through December.
SandyH says
I was all set to post my goals, then I saw “finish thesis” and suddenly my “clean bedroom closet” seemed rather mundane, lol
Amanda says
Haha! Luckily I’m almost finished, so depending on the size of your closet, you may be in for more excitement.
Kristen says
Congrats on being nearly finished!
Battra92 says
Decluttering and cleaning are pretty much the only thing I expect to do this year besides get the baby’s room ready for its arrival. Hopefully I can do some fun things but at this point I’m not planning anything.
Lauren says
Great list! I especially like #7 about grabbing small bits of time for fun. So often, we grab those bits of time to get another task done. Last night, I had 30 minutes before the kids’s music lessons. I found a great, new-to-me park and we had a quick visit. We discovered some cool walking trails with bridges, played on the swings and hit the road. 30 minutes well-spent on a weeknight!
Eileen says
I see decluttering on the list. After months on the waiting list at the library I got. “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up”. It is an interesting concept. I thought you said in a post you were going to read it. What did you think? Did you try to do it? Success? Great list of summer activities – have fun. I love your blog.
Kristen says
Yep, I sure did! Here’s the post with my thoughts on the book: https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2015/02/what-i-thought-of-the-life-changing-magic-of-tidying-up/