I had big plans when I found out my closing date for my fixer upper.  It was scheduled at 1 PM on a sunny summer afternoon, and I was going to go straight from the lawyers office to my new home and start working.  I wanted to move in that weekend.

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Some of that happened - the work part.  I knew from the beginning that the house needed a lot of cosmetic work, but hadn't realized how much needed to happen before it was livable.  And clean.  The house had been vacant for almost three years, and hadn't had much maintenance done in the years before that.  

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My house had been home to an elderly couple (who come to find out are distant cousins of mine!).  The husband was a very skilled carpenter who made custom built-in shelving throughout the house.  The wife was a nature lover, which was clear with the beautiful flower bushes and vined arbor surrounded by quaint bird feeders.  It was clear by what they left behind that they had a home filled with love, and knew how to put in a day of hard work. 

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I spent the first couple of weeks cleaning and doing some minor demo with the help of my amazing friends and family.  All of the carpeting was worn, and some had been victim to animal activity.  We were able to remove all the old carpeting to expose the original plank flooring.  It would be so beautiful if I could leave the planks exposed, but unfortunately the boards were not in good enough condition to serve as a primary floor.  Eventually new flooring will be needed.

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My dad was able to replace the broken doors on the house and garage with new steel doors and brand-new locks.  This was the most important thing pushing back the move-in date; I had to be able to keep myself and my belongings safe.  Check!

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My mom and I spent countless hours cleaning and scrubbing.  My mom had a personal vendetta against the kitchen cabinets, which had become very sticky from many years of use, stain deterioration, and grease build-up.  After trying everything she could think of including Goo-be-gone, vinegar, bleach, dish soap, even tire cleaner, to no avail, we finally admitted defeat to the sticky cabinets.  I ended up painting them to eliminate the stickiness.  (Check out the "Kitchen" project for the final result!).

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Once all the smelly carpeting, and dusty old curtains were removed, and everything was thoroughly sprayed, scrubbed, swept and mopped, the house was finally ready to move in.   The following weeks were filled with many trips getting things out of storage down to the house.  It's true what they say- you never realize how much stuff you have until you go to move!  To top it all off, my things were in several different places, so it seemed like I would never really have everything in one place.

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After moving everything in the house and garage, the seemingly never-ending process of unpacking began.  I decided it would be best to tackle it little by little and only fully unpack the kitchen and clothes.  Once there was a functioning kitchen, and a comfortable place to sleep, the projects around the house could begin and I could unpack as needed.

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Let the projects begin!

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