When I look back on the best and worst of 2025, my first thought was “oh what a disaster that year was.” And I’m not wrong. It was a year filled with adversity, marriage struggles, health issues, LOTS of therapy, breaks from blogging that were much longer than I had anticipated (hi…I missed you!), and a general sense of floundering in life. That’s normal, right?! Although I am about to hit the peri-menopause years, so maybe I can chalk it up to that!
Anyway, I have so many words to share about wintering, taking breaks, and living seasonally in our homes, but I’ll save that all for another day. Today is the highlight reel, the best and the worst of 2025.
Best Project: Low Kitchen Bookshelves
Dare I say it was the only project we completed in 2025? We built a long, low set of open bookshelves to improve the storage in our kitchen. Here’s the before for reference. It has made a huge difference in the functionality of our kitchen. I now have extra pantry storage, locations for some of the small kitchen appliances (like the pressure cooker), and it has become a home for a coffee station of sorts.
We even added some open shelves above the bookcase to boost the storage capabilities of our kitchen. This is where things like cake plates, cookbooks, tea, a kitchen scale, and other items have found a home.
We’ve lived with the shelves for the last six-ish months, and we still love them. I still haven’t decided if I want to curtain the bottom shelves. I change my mind daily. Today, I’m on team curtains.
Most MOST Stalled Project: The Girls’ Bedroom
Last year, in my best and worst of 2024 post, I wrote about our most stalled project, the girls’ shared bedroom. Well…I have made 0.02% progress. I finally landed on a design plan that BOTH of the girls loved and agreed to, which I still need to share with you. Although I finalized that in the fall, so they probably hate it by now. Hashtag kids.
But I swear that the girls’ room will be a priority this year. I did finally get them appropriately sized sheets and a comforter for each of their beds, that’s progress, right?!
As the girls keep getting older (why do children do that?!) I realize I really need to work on and finish this project. Otherwise, my eldest will be heading to college before it’s truly done. Here’s where we last left off. The one nook of their room that feels finished. The other side of the room housed the bunk beds. Which leads us to…
Biggest Relief: Trading In The Bunkbeds For Twin Beds
One of the delays in working on the girls’ shared bedroom is that our original plan for their space included some bunk beds. We inherited a set of beds from a relative and tested them out for a while. It was one of those bunks that has a full-size bed on the bottom and a twin on the top.
You can read all about the pros and cons of bunk beds and how we really felt about them, but they just weren’t for us. So many fights, so many struggles, such a tough fit for our family.
We have since picked up a matching pair of vintage twin beds for a steal, sold the bunks, and modified the new-to-us vintage twin beds to fit modern mattresses. I owe you some updates. But RIP bunk bed. You were a struggle, but we appreciated the floor space you gave us in the girls’ room.
Random sidenote, this might be the last time the girls’ bedroom felt clean.
The Coolest Room I Designed But Did Nothing With: The Keeping Room
I put together a design plan for the keeping room of our home, which is the fireplace room slash Colby’s home office slash guest room slash library slash the pretty room we decorate for Christmas. While I knew I wasn’t really going to tackle the room anytime soon, I wanted to have a plan in place to serve as a shopping guide while thrifting. With a plan in place, I would know whether or not items would work in the room. I hadn’t intended to completely neglect the room; it just kind of happened.
Maybe this is the year I really focus on the room and make it happen.
The Coolest Room I Designed And Did A Tiny Bit For: The Laundry Room
Another room I designed was the laundry room plan. We have this weird extra space at the end of the first-floor bathroom, and it would make the perfect spot for a small laundry room. We have slowly started chipping away at this project. We’ve replaced the window, removed an interior wall, and started setting up the plumbing and the electrical. There’s even a stack of wood planking that we’ve acquired—so many updates to share.
The current state of the bathroom is abysmal. 100% embarrassing, and yet we’ve continued to host friends and family for various occasions. I’m anxious to dive into this project and help Colby finish it.
Most Neglected: Greenhouse
I hadn’t intended to neglect the greenhouse as much as I did last year. We were making good progress, finishing up the roof, installing siding, and repairing all the windows. Then spring planting season hit, and suddenly I had hundreds of seedlings needing more light than my basement grow lights could handle. Innocently, I started using the greenhouse. One thing led to another, and the next thing I knew, winter was coming, and I was still using the greenhouse, which made it hard to finish working on the greenhouse.
Although a source of tension between Colby and me, I’m planning on spending a solid week (or more) to finish up EVERYTHING that the greenhouse needs to set it up for spring seedling season. I 100% refuse to use the structure until it’s finished.
Biggest Decluttering Task: Books
I decluttered ALL the books in our home. And by decluttered, I don’t mean we got rid of every book in this home. I mean I pulled every precious title off the shelf, sorted through whether or not they still held value to me, passed on the ones that didn’t for our local library’s book sale, and shelved the stars.
I went through everything from novels to cookbooks, children’s books, and more. We are a book family. Naturally, as such, the books were starting to take over, and we were running out of room. Decluttering the books made such a difference in the state of our home. Which reminds me, it’s starting to get out of control again, despite my best efforts to become a library family. This might need to be a yearly task.
I’m currently reading a book (from the library…yay!) titled Jane Austen’s Bookshelf by rare book dealer Rebecca Romney. It’s an interesting read and is changing my perspective on book collecting. My next decluttering will keep book collecting more in mind, as I’ve recently imposed stricter rules about the novels I keep.
Most Popular Post According To Google: Comparing Dark Stain On Fir
Who knew that my most popular post, according to the powers that be at Google, would be about comparing dark stain color options on Douglas fir?! Which has me thinking that sooner rather than later, I should do the same thing, but for other wood species like pine, oak, maple, and more.
The color comparison has been helpful to have at home. It’s like having my own personal collection of swatches to help me choose what stain works best.
Most (Or Least) Creative: Finding Lost Creativity
I went through quite a creative slump last year. I shared all about that and some tips and strategies for how to recover your lost creativity. What worked, what didn’t, the strategies I tried, and more. I’m happy to report that after a winter of wintering (it was a bare minimum kind of winter over here), the creativity is back and raging. Now to harness it before another slump descends upon me.
Best Thrift Store Makeover: Task Lamp Refinishing
Sometimes I forget that the smallest and simplest projects can be the most impactful. For instance, refinishing a thrift store task lamp with Rub ‘N Buff. It cost next to nothing and has made such a difference to writing work, now that it is perched atop my writing desk. Now…which item in our home is my next Rub ‘N Buff victim…I’ve got a fever, and the prescription is more cowbell Rub ‘N Buff.
Biggest Outdoor Change: Playhouse Progress
Towards the end of the summer, Colby and I made some big, BIG progress on the playhouse project. After sitting on the plans for converting an old shed into a playhouse for a while, we got to work. We finished the demo, reinforced the framing, raised the roof, shingled it, reconstructed the floor, sided the structure, cut out window and door openings, installed a large round window, built a loft, and more. It’s solid and ready for the fun part…finish work!
At the end of September, I picked out a playhouse paint color palette along with the girls. I even got the paint sample pots, but shortly afterwards, the weather turned too cold for painting. Here’s to diving back into this one in the spring.
Most Family Friendly: Bucket Lists
2025 was the year we became a bucket list family, and I am hooked! In a funny turn of events that everyone and their brother could have predicted, this type A list tackler found great pleasure in putting together seasonal bucket lists with the kids and doing the things on the list. I’m typically not one to make room for pleasure or play, but put it on a list, and suddenly it’s important.
Our favorite lists we shared were our family’s fall and Christmas bucket lists. I also shared all kinds of options in the fall bucket list ideas post and the Christmas bucket list ideas post. I’m currently working on some spring bucket lists…stay tuned.
Hardest Project That I Didn’t Write Anything About Because I Kind Of Hurt: Clearing Out The Nursery
When a friend posted on social media about needing a crib, I jumped at the opportunity to rehome our unused one. Without the crib, suddenly the rest of the baby items were unnecessary, so I’ve been decluttering the space a little at a time, since slow and steady is the pace my heart can handle. Our beloved little nursery is no longer a nursery.
It was a painful process since there’s still a part of me that craves a third child even though I know that our baby days are over. I’ve dealt with the pain, and the decision was the right one, but sometimes I worry I’ll never truly let go of the pain.
After much mulling over the proper use of the space, the girls and I declared that it would be the perfect reading room. Think Harry Potter style, a starry hand-painted ceiling, and lots of bookshelves.
Best Paper Crafting: Valentine’s Heart Garlands
I have long wanted to make Valentine’s heart garlands, but you want to know what always stopped me from making them? I didn’t have a paper cutter. Many, many moons ago, I came across a vintage paper cutter at a flea market and passed it up. I never stopped thinking about the one that got away, and over the years, I regretted not purchasing one. So I picked one off an eBay listing and finally made the garlands. They are magic, that is all.
Paper crafting honorable mention goes to the paper bats, which the kids have declared need to return next Halloween, but multiplied to cover MORE of our home.
And with that, I officially put the tough year that was 2025 behind us. Here’s to more creativity, finishing projects as budgets allow, and just generally being a better blogger. Here here!
Psst….Catch up on the last couple of years’ highlights, including the best and worst of 2024 and the best and worst of 2023.
Hey, giant hugs from Oregon, and thanks for sharing your real life successes and tricky tasks. 2025 was kind of a bust for our extended family in so many ways, but we had some successes, too–your post was a great reminder to remember that both things happen in a given year.
Here’s hoping that 2026 is better for everyone!