So Much To Do! Here's My Elephant.

With Daughter moving out on May 19th(less than 3 weeks from now), we are in a holding pattern on home repairs/renovations until then.
This doesn't mean I can't take this couple of weeks to plan how to attack this elephant and what we will do and in what order these things will get done.

Over the past month I've been searching the house(other than her room)for Daughter's stuff that she is taking with her to Louisiana.  Here are the things I've found and gathered in the living room so far(not the turquoise book and the purple items under it).  This is hardly everything-the hanging torture rack takes up the whole side of the living room behind me from where I was standing taking this photo, the huge dog crate which her dog never uses is taking up 1/8 of the den floor space, there's a "dreadmill" folded up but still taking up lots of space in the garage(and blocking access to some of Hubs garage cabinets), a metal trash can full of her dog's food also in the garage, the automotive tools and such her Fiance left in the shed, plus everything in her bedroom. 

The only thing I think I'll miss is her portable deep fryer(makes some tasty pork tenderloins and shrimp tempura).lolz

So here are the things that will get done once Daughter leaves.  It's a big old game of Dominoes really. ;-)


*  Her old room gets cleaned(clear out furniture/vacuum/shampoo the carpeting/clean walls/trim/ceiling/ceiling fan/dressers she isn't taking.)  Then EX-CB moves in his crap and takes that room.  He was planning on moving out within the next few months but then the new job search happened so that's delayed.

* After EXCB vacates his room, rinse and repeat cleaning that bedroom(clear out furniture/vacuum/shampoo carpeting/clean walls, trim, ceiling, ceiling fan/dresser.  Then I am painting that room(hasn't been painted since 2005).  Once we get the room cleared out we can evaluate whether carpeting needs replacing.

*  Once that bedroom is cleaned out and up I can move all my crap into there-a combination of sewing crap and toiletries stockpile(what doesn't fit into upstairs hallway closet).

                 Hubs "man cave" aka the room of toiletries/books/fabric/brewing equipment.

*  Once my crap is out of Hubs' room then we clear that bedroom out and rinse and repeat all the cleaning/fixing.  This bedroom will definitely be getting new paint and carpet(original carpet from before the previous owner we bought from in 2000 so very old and nasty rug).
Hubs puts his room back together.

      One side of the master bedroom where a coffee table(Hubs refuses to get rid of)and a plastic etagere are stacked with my fabric stash(well, some of it).  Also I've got piles of clothing sitting there as well.

* Once all these bedrooms are done we can attack the master bedroom, the whole cleaning deal including the furniture.  We will be getting a new mattress and bed frame(adjustable one). 

* Also on my plate is the master bedroom walk-in closet.  I've used that closet to hold, besides clothing, some out of season clothing, my Xmas gift boxes(shopping all year round does have it's downsides in that you need places to keep all the things you are gifting until Dec. lol), as well as the bulk of the family photo albums.  I have NOT done the seasonal clothing change out from there yet because of the upcoming Domino game of cleaning/sorting.....I want to get it all done at once.

*  Then we can move on to the upstairs hallway.  Cleaning and clearing it.  We need to have someone come in and fix the drywall and finish painting the hallway(where I couldn't reach-especially the stair well).

* This leaves the laundry room and the main upstairs bathroom to fix/redo, both of which will wait until EX-CB moves out or we set a date to move from this house.(Update-EX-CB may be moving out before the year is out.  He wants to move but this leaving his job/finding a new job has delayed his move-out time table.)

These few projects, along with a few others, will keep us busy for most of the rest of the year.

The expenses on all this?
Paint supplies, carpeting and installation, paying for someone to fix and paint the upstairs hallway.  I'v got tons of cleaning supplies already so the rest is just physical labor which Hubs and I can handle.  Carpet(if only 1 small bedroom needs it)and paint will come in around $600 and no clue on having someone drywall/paint hallway.  The mattress/bed frame will cost about $1500.  I'm "optimistically" thinking of keeping all this under $3K total.
The big expense will be the main bathroom redo and isn't happening this year.  Perhaps next year so it's not THAT far down the road and once we get all this finished we need to start planning for that project(planning for the outlay and who we'll contract with to do the job like we did the master bathroom a few years ago).

So besides our trip to New Hampshire in June, this and the garden and Chester and other home projects will keep us busy and at home most of the Summer. 

It is feeling overwhelming right now but we'll take it one step at a time until it's all done...plus with Hubs retired most of it won't be left to me to do. 
Like the old saying, "How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time." 8-)

I'll share photos, progress reports and more laments as work begins in May.

Have you got home projects planned for this Summer?  Tell us about it.

Sluggy

Week 3 Low Spending & Decluttering Challenges Results

Week 3 of Carla's Double February Challenge is done....at least for me it is!

First the Mini-Challenge.....where you are suppose to help someone.  That would be today, when I used my mechanically prowess to help #2 son with his problem.
Yah see, his friend gave him a guitar flanger pedal for his Birthday.  It's a little hunk of metal and plastic that you plug your electric guitar or bass into and it distorts the sound the instrument produces.  #2 son says "this pedal makes your guitar sound like it's on acid."
Okay....
Anyway, it worked for the first few minutes he used it but now it won't work at all.  He's been nagging me to order him a new one on Amazon since Sunday.  No, he can't wait to take it to the music store and see if they can fix it first.  He has to go out and drop $30 on a new one.....and pay for Express shipping to boot!
So "hell no you don't need express shipping" mom goes on Amazon.....and she starts reading the reviews on this item since she knows nothing about guitar flangers, heck, she didn't even know what a flangers was until #2 son told her about them.
And mom reads in a review that there is a battery inside this nifty little device, so mom asks #2 son if he has opened the flanger up and changed the battery inside.  To which he responds no.
You see where I am going with this now, don't you?
So mom opens and changes out the 9Volt battery and Voila!....It's a miracle!!....his Flanger works!
I saved him $30.
Of course after all that I don't get a thanks mom....he just grumbled some more when I told him he owed me $4 for the battery. ;-)


As for the Low Spend part.....
Food shopping.......$73.02
I actually spent money on something other than food though.  #2 son is in need of new footwear as he has holes in every last pair now.  So I went on eBay and bought him 2 pair of Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers.  We usually hit the Converse outlet in Rehobeth Beach to get them for a discount price but he wore the last pair out sooner than expected.  I got them on eBay and with the shipping they were the same price as at the outlet-but without paying for gas for the car to get there.lol
2 pair Converse....$72.98

As for the Decluttering Challenge.  This week was the Productivity Challenge.
I am working on my dining room/living room.
I don't think I was very productive though.

Before I show you my living room, let me explain that it isn't really a living room yet.   I've used it for storage....stored various things over the years.  First we moved here sort of in a hurry so it held lots of moving boxes.  Then after I got that stuff put away we got another load of my mother's things....my mother passed away the week before we moved here. So the next 2 years, as my brother settled her estate, we had to cart my inheritance stuff home from VA and find places for all that stuff. Then my eBay inventory grew so some of it got shoved into the living room.  At one time the room was wall to wall boxes of crap.....very similar to one of those Hoarding shows, except without the trash and animal feces. lol
We also had 4 dogs-one of which was very destructive-at one point and there is a white carpet in that room, so we had to gate off the living/dining room.  The destructo dog is gone but we still have 2 dogs, 1 of which is paper trained but she also considers the dining room her toileting area, so we still have to gate the rooms off.

I have almost gotten the living room emptied at this point.  I am tired of waiting for the last 2 dogs to pass on to fix up my living room, so I am working on getting repairs made and the room painted and furniture bought so we can use it as a living room.
*Deep Breath*

Here are the before shots.....

 That old rug is there from when the Xmas tree was up.  Not quite as bad as leaving your lights on your house all year, but close.lol

 Tubs of eBay merchandise that hasn't sold yet....and that isn't even listed right now.lol

I emptied the ugly plastic shelving unit and got rid of it.
I also got rid of 2 boxes of trash.....

And I gathered all this to donate......

And here are the after shots.....

I cleared the paperwork off the table(for the most part).  The stuff in the chair are my Xmas presents I still haven't opened. lol

I washed and rehung the curtains.

 I gleaned and restacked the eBay merchandise that's left.

 Other than sending some Christmas stuff back upstairs where it belongs and trashing that plastic shelving unit, I still need to work on this part of the room at another time.

The same goes for the table at the bottom of the stairs...though some of this is stuff that is going upstairs.

So that is that.  I am not done but progress was made this week.

Sluggy