It feels like spring is all around us. The peas are coming up out of the ground and starting their ascent. The strawberries are stretching up towards the warm sun and have numerous flowers opening up. The raspberries buds have unfurled and new raspberry shoots are poking up all over the place in the garden where they aren't supposed to be. The fruit tree flowers are mostly past up in the orchard, and the two apples down in the garden where spring comes a bit later are set to open soon. The fresh slate that is the springtime garden is starting to be committed to growing different things - onions in over there and across there, beans and corn to go in soon up there and down past there, the potatoes there and there, and the squash plants to go in past them down over there. This year's future in the garden is beginning to have a guided path that I'm liking quite a lot. Three years in to gardening here and the weeding, the estimating of plant quantities, and the ratios of the different plants is all so much easier and seems way simpler than even last year. In fact I'm almost thinking I might need to expand the garden next spring because its been so easy to handle this year so far.
Other aspects of our lives are starting to have a better defined path as well. First there's the rental, with it sold, we now know that we'll be staying in our current home, and without payments and improvements on the rental, we'll have a bit more disposable income consistently with which to pay the mortgage off early, fix the house up, put up some fencing, or plant some more fruit trees. Less options about where we'll live, but more options within the house & location that we would have chosen hands down anyways. It's been so nice to feel that much more settled and permanent in our home, and its been exciting to start working a little more seriously on our exact fence locations, talking more definitively about surveying the property to get a good topo layer in AutoCad to play around with pasture layouts and barn locations, and thinking more about finishing some projects inside the house including the spare bedroom and sunporch plans.
The other, previously not mentioned on the blog, item that has really changed this spring is my husband's job situation. I think I've alluded several times to the crap-tacular work environment he's been forced to put up with off and on for at least the past year, and likely longer than that. Well that all should change next month - he's accepted a position with a department a bit further away, and given in his notice with his current employer. Tomorrow is in fact his last shift. We still have to go through all his gear and paperwork at home, likely tomorrow morning before he starts work, and come up with the pile that belongs to work vs us, but we're so very close to having that door shut and a new and amazing one open in front of him.
We knew about a year ago that he couldn't stay long term with his current department. I can't go into the details, but early last spring things were really quite bad. The situation seemed to stabilize over the late spring and early summer, but then things deteriorated again in the fall. After looking in to other options off and on, and meanwhile hoping that the situation would resolve itself on its own, about a month ago an opportunity came up with this new department and my husband jumped for it with both arms wide open. I'm so proud of him for sticking with the old situation - understanding that his family needed that paycheck and health insurance, and that he wanted to be a police officer more than he wanted out of the crappy situation. But I'm also proud of him for knowing when it was time to cut his losses and leave a town & valley he loves working in, with some really great people that he will dearly miss, for a better job experience.
He'll have a couple months of training day shifts, then at least a couple more months of day shifts, so I'm looking forward to him being home 7 evenings a week so we can put Little M to bed together. For the first couple months we'll also have one day a week off together, which is fairly unheard of for us, and especially in the summertime! I know that it typically takes me at least a month to get used to our new schedule when his changes, so I know that the next 4 months will be a little unsettled and I likely will have to find new ways to find my down time if he's home every evening, but I'm so glad we'll have a day off together, and that he's going to a department where he will be appreciated, treated with respect, allowed to grow as an officer, and overall be able to love his job.
It's funny, we've had so many hard times in the past couple of years, a lot to do with his job. I'm sure the future will bring more drama, more hard times, and more upheaval - futures always do - but I really can't help but be grateful - there were times when life was hard, sure, but we got through it, and more than got through it even. Overall, we've had a great family life in the past couple of years, and the hardship that could have torn us apart has forged us together in ways we might never have if it hadn't of been for these hard times. I can't help but be grateful that we have had these hard times, because of the strong foundation it's given us in our marriage. And as we go forward into this oh-so-promising and exciting future, I can only hope that we keep allowing the bad to help us be stronger and better.
Months back, before the latest fiasco's began with his job, before the offer on our house, before the new job application went in, we had scheduled our flights to a belated & childless honeymoon to Hawaii. We leave in a couple weeks. A month after the rental closed, mere weeks after my husband accepted this new job & gave notice on his current one, and a few days before he starts the new job. How sweet is that?! Baring more complications in the next couple weeks (let's knock on wood, shall we?), we'll go on vacation with only one house & mortgage, with a new promising & exciting job to come back to, and with the crazy situation here a bit more distant since it won't be happening in his department any more. To say we're excited is just the tip of the iceberg!
My heartfelt thanks go out to all of you who knowingly or unknowingly have provided us with support, be it through crossed fingers, prayers, or well wishes in the past months - we've been through this cycle with my husband's work before through the last couple springs, but this time it was so much easier, in part because we had all of you standing with us this time. So have a happy weekend folks, cause we sure will be!
Showing posts with label the rental. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the rental. Show all posts
Friday, May 18, 2012
Monday, April 30, 2012
We close today!
So today is the big day - the sale on our rental house officially closes today! Both sides have already signed the papers, today is just the handing over of the keys. That is, after we finish cleaning! Our (very sweet & wonderful!) renter is moving the last of her things out this morning, so after I post this we are heading up there to mow the lawn one last time, do a brief cleaning look through, and grab cuttings of some plants.
One of said plants is the backyard apple tree that we both love, so hopefully our first experience with fruit tree grafting goes smoothly... My friend & officemate at work is good friends with a local orchard guy, so I might get her to set me up with him to do it right the first time. And in the meantime, I've been closely reading this article on grafting over on Curbstone Valley Farm's blog to make sure I do everything as close to right as I can today!
So wish us luck! After today, the next big step is handing the proceeds of the sale (plus a good chunk of our savings and pretty much every other cent to our name, darn economy!) over to the seller of our current home who holds our mortgage, as part of an agreement in our contract with him. At least we then we will have a huge chunk of our mortgage paid off, so that will be a happy day too :)
One of said plants is the backyard apple tree that we both love, so hopefully our first experience with fruit tree grafting goes smoothly... My friend & officemate at work is good friends with a local orchard guy, so I might get her to set me up with him to do it right the first time. And in the meantime, I've been closely reading this article on grafting over on Curbstone Valley Farm's blog to make sure I do everything as close to right as I can today!
So wish us luck! After today, the next big step is handing the proceeds of the sale (plus a good chunk of our savings and pretty much every other cent to our name, darn economy!) over to the seller of our current home who holds our mortgage, as part of an agreement in our contract with him. At least we then we will have a huge chunk of our mortgage paid off, so that will be a happy day too :)
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Our Rental House - Unstaged
So one week last fall we had an offer on our rental house. After going back and forth over the price, we were all set to accept their counter, when the buyer withdrew their offer. We were pretty bummed. Two days later, they offered again. Needless to say, I stayed in the valley late to sign papers before driving over to duck camp for the weekend to be with the rest of the family.
Fast forward about a month and a half. It was two weeks until when we were supposed to close. I knew it was perhaps unlikely that we would close on time, because the sale was contingent on the buyer's house closing, and her closing was taking a bit longer than hoped. I started writing a post on how we were two weeks from closing, when my husband walked in the door from work talking about how closing was going to be later than expected. I decided to wait on the post until things seemed more sure.
A week later, just under a week from when we were supposed to close, the sale fell through on her house, so by default, our sale fell through. We had a bunch of difficult reality-checks in early December, and that was one of them.
However, we've moved on. On Christmas eve, the mother of the local fire chief had her house burn down. The house that she raised her 7 kids in. Talk about a truly crazy unfortunate reality check... Luckily no one was hurt, and other than water and smoke damage, a lot of her possessions are salvageable. The firemen were very diligent and managed to save the structure, but the insurance company is still deciding whether to total her house or whether gutting and rebuilding it will be the way to go.
She needed a place to live, and since her house was just down the street and around the corner from ours, she's moved in to our rental for a couple months until her house situation gets figured out. Turns out her daily walking route used to go right by our house, so the transition will be as easy as any such transition could be. She's a really sweet old lady and we are feeling pretty lucky to be able to help her out while helping our finances out at the same time! I'm still hopeful that our house will still sell this summer, but am not expecting anything in the months to come.
I know I never shared the fully staged house photos I had planned, because we weren't completely done our fix-ups and staging when we accepted that offer last fall, so the pictures in this post were taken shortly before we un-staged it prior to our new renter moving in last weekend, so you could see how nice it was looking :)
Fast forward about a month and a half. It was two weeks until when we were supposed to close. I knew it was perhaps unlikely that we would close on time, because the sale was contingent on the buyer's house closing, and her closing was taking a bit longer than hoped. I started writing a post on how we were two weeks from closing, when my husband walked in the door from work talking about how closing was going to be later than expected. I decided to wait on the post until things seemed more sure.
A week later, just under a week from when we were supposed to close, the sale fell through on her house, so by default, our sale fell through. We had a bunch of difficult reality-checks in early December, and that was one of them.
However, we've moved on. On Christmas eve, the mother of the local fire chief had her house burn down. The house that she raised her 7 kids in. Talk about a truly crazy unfortunate reality check... Luckily no one was hurt, and other than water and smoke damage, a lot of her possessions are salvageable. The firemen were very diligent and managed to save the structure, but the insurance company is still deciding whether to total her house or whether gutting and rebuilding it will be the way to go.
I know I never shared the fully staged house photos I had planned, because we weren't completely done our fix-ups and staging when we accepted that offer last fall, so the pictures in this post were taken shortly before we un-staged it prior to our new renter moving in last weekend, so you could see how nice it was looking :)
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Making progress slowly but surely
So my time until my self-imposed end-of-the-month deadline to have the rental house back ready for viewings is fast approaching, and although we're crossing things off the list, our progress might not be as good as I might have liked. However, I have gotten an extraordinary amount of painting done in the last 5 days!
Let's see, I had already painted 2 walls in the kitchen, and now adding both spare bedrooms and the bathroom, plus every inch or trim in the house and every door in the house (and garage), that is a lot of painting! I do still have a second coat to do on several of the doors, since I ran out of paint (oops!) and will have to run across to Home Depot to get more of the low VOC stuff that we have been using. The local Ace Hardware doesn't carry any low VOC paints and I've never been that happy with their color matching abilities, so we don't bother go there for paint any more.
I also still have to paint the bathroom walls in color, to go over top of the kilz odor blocking primer I put down in there over the weekend. I'm not so sure about my color choice on that one, what do you think? I'm worried the color might be a bit dark. But it's hard to tell since we haven't gotten the light fixture completely installed yet, so we don't have very good lighting in there.
Oh, and here are the after pictures of the spare bedroom (light grey/purple) and office/spare bedroom (light grey/blue). I'm finding that photo's of the rooms make them read a lot more grey than they actually are in real life. In real life the purple room looks amazing. I think I might need to paint Little M's room in that color I love it so much! And the Blue room looks really great too. These new colors really bring the whole house together - they match nicely with the grey/green of the master bedroom and the tan of the main hallway and living room. Before the 2 spare rooms really didn't match well at all, and the colors weren't that great even on their own. I really hope these are some of the extra touches that help someone fall in love with the house and make them want to buy it! So here are a couple pictures of the new bedroom colors:
Let's see, I had already painted 2 walls in the kitchen, and now adding both spare bedrooms and the bathroom, plus every inch or trim in the house and every door in the house (and garage), that is a lot of painting! I do still have a second coat to do on several of the doors, since I ran out of paint (oops!) and will have to run across to Home Depot to get more of the low VOC stuff that we have been using. The local Ace Hardware doesn't carry any low VOC paints and I've never been that happy with their color matching abilities, so we don't bother go there for paint any more.
I also still have to paint the bathroom walls in color, to go over top of the kilz odor blocking primer I put down in there over the weekend. I'm not so sure about my color choice on that one, what do you think? I'm worried the color might be a bit dark. But it's hard to tell since we haven't gotten the light fixture completely installed yet, so we don't have very good lighting in there.
Oh, and here are the after pictures of the spare bedroom (light grey/purple) and office/spare bedroom (light grey/blue). I'm finding that photo's of the rooms make them read a lot more grey than they actually are in real life. In real life the purple room looks amazing. I think I might need to paint Little M's room in that color I love it so much! And the Blue room looks really great too. These new colors really bring the whole house together - they match nicely with the grey/green of the master bedroom and the tan of the main hallway and living room. Before the 2 spare rooms really didn't match well at all, and the colors weren't that great even on their own. I really hope these are some of the extra touches that help someone fall in love with the house and make them want to buy it! So here are a couple pictures of the new bedroom colors:
Friday, August 12, 2011
Rental update at 2 weeks
So it has been (almost) 2 weeks since we took possession back on our rental house, and while it isn't quite ready to be staged, it is coming along. Some parts (the main bathroom) are definitely worse than we thought, and definitely not at the stage I wanted them to be at, but other parts (the doorbell, back doors, front yard in-ground irrigation, and many more) are doing much better than I anticipated or could have dreamed 2 weeks ago. Last week I shared a bit of what we had been up to, but I thought this week, as we head into the weekend, I would share more details with you, in the form of some picture-interspersed lists. So then, here is the list breakdown, with things that we've done crossed off:
Master Bedroom
replace cable outlet
wipe baseboard,door & window trim
install new door & hardware
clean window glass
clean closet mirror door
scrub walls
scrub floor vent
dust/wipe off light fixture
paint baseboard, door, & window trim
touch up wall paint
paint closet (white/color?)
Master Bathroom
scrub walls
scrub shower & tub
clean toilet in & out
clean mirror
clean counter & sink
wipe baseboard, door & window trim
clean window glass
dust/wipe light fixture
use soap on door
hammer nails in flush in door trim
paint door
paint baseboard, door, & window trim
touch up wall paint
paint ceiling white with ceiling paint
scrub floor vent
strip wax off floor with ammonia
rewax floor
Spare Bedroom
scrub walls
spackle walls
sand spackle
wipe baseboard,window & door trim
clean window glass
rehang curtain
replace door
paint door
paint baseboard, window & door trim
touch up wall paint (repaint?)
paint closet door (?)
paint in closet (?)
scrub floor vent cover
Office Bedroom
fix closet door
scrub walls
spackle walls
sand spackle
touch up wall paint (repaint?)
wipe baseboard, door &window trim
paint baseboard, door & window trim
clean window glass
scrub floor vent
Living Room/Hallway/Closet/Dining Area
remove trim
clean behind trim
level behind trim
scrub walls
cut trim
paint trim
install trim
caulk trim
touch up paint on trim
spackle walls
repaint hallway wall
touch up wall paint
clean ceiling spots
scrub down ceiling vent
scrub 3 floor vents
clean window & door trim
paint front door trim
replace back door
put trim back up on back door
paint back door & trim
replace front door knob
replace back door knob
wipe off dining room light fixture
replace fan in living room
wipe dining room floor down
ammonia floor
rewax floor
scrub door to garage
paint door to garage
clean window glass
fix doorbell
clean entryhall floor
hang curtains
trim curtain tassels flush
Kitchen
remove appliances & clean floor under them
scrub walls
spackle walls
paint tan on east & south walls
touch up paint
replace outlet covers
ammonia floor under appliances
rewax floor under appliances
scrub appliance sides
move appliances back in
replace stove fan filter
wipe out inside all cabinets
wipe down all cabinet & door faces
wipe down fridge
wipe down stove
clean kitchen counters thoroughly
clean sink
clean window glass
fix garbage disposal
fix plumbing under sink
replace faucet
clean up behind sink
touch up paint behind sink
clean ceiling spots
replace light bulbs with the right bulbs
Main Bathroom
thoroughly clean under laundry & dryer
trap mice out of dryer vent hose
fix dryer vent hose exit outside
move laundry & dryer out
clean laundry & dryer
move laundry & dryer back in
replace dryer cord
replace dryer vent hose
scrub walls
remove trim
cut new trim
paint trim
put trim up
caulk trim holes
touch up trim paint
mud around tub
sand mud around tub
finish mud around tub
caulk around tub
spackle walls
sand wall spackle
paint kilz odorblock on lower walls
paint walls (color?)
replace vanity/doors
clean door trim
repaint door trim
clean door
repaint/replace door
scrub floor vent cover
thoroughly clean vent parts in subfloor
replace towel bar
replace toilet paper holder
wire in new light fixture
ammonia floor
rewax floor
hang curtain blocking hot water tank
clean counter & sink
clean tub
Front Yard
weed garden
finish weeding the teensy weeds in the garden
replace garden wood barricade
tidy up the garden space
weed the corner garden
trim lilac in corner
trim rose bush in front
remulch strip beside driveway
get rid of wasps nest above front walk
replace outdoor faucet
shim & screw in outdoor faucet trim
put in-ground sprinklers in
cover sprinklers & pipe up
clean up the yard from piping
set sprinkler coverage up
reseed disturbed areas
put timer on sprinklers
finish the start of the irrigation
replace wood beams
paint new beams green
sand sun down
paint sun green
reattach trellis to new beam
clean front door outside well
sand/scrape wood trim on front door
repaint front door & trim
touch up tan paint on spots beside door
sweep cement walkways
sweep cement driveway pad
clean 4 window/door glass
clean 4 window screens
Back Yard
caulk garage window
touch up green trim paint on garage window
touch up exterior tan paint
get rid of large wasps nest above back door
wire in replacement back porch lights
remove piles of old boards under deck from destroyed planter boxes
replace some boards in deck
clean deck off thoroughly
paint deck guard on deck
pick up dog poop
rake rocks out of yard
get rid of rock & grass piles in yard
clean dirt level in yard up
replace outdoor faucet
screw in outdoor faucet trim
put underground sprinklers in
set sprinkler coverage up
set sprinkler timer up
reseed grass
get rid of pee smell in backyard
hose/scrub off house siding
build new garden gate
hang garden gate
put fencing on garden gate
weed in garden
remove pile of compost & planter boards in garden
hack out all the hops vine coming over the back fence
trim the low branches of the apple tree out of the way
fix side gate latch & hinge
Garage
replace furnace air filter
spackle dog scratches on wall by back door
replace back door
install door knob
install dead bolt
replace trim around door
paint door & trim outside
paint door & trim inside
measure broken garage door spring
order garage door spring
install new garage door spring
wipe down door & trim to inside
repaint door & trim to inside
remove garbage compactor
remove all trash & tools
thoroughly sweep
get rid of cobwebs on ceiling & in corners
The list of what we still have to do is sometimes overwhelming me, perhaps especially since I at first wanted to have everything done and the house staged by today... At home I've recently started making my daily to-do lists only ten items long, and if there are more than ten items then I make a note of them at the bottom of my whiteboard. I got the idea from a book I've been reading - Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider (and if you haven't read Tsh's blog - Simple Mom, I would recommend a visit!). I've been really enjoying the book and all the great tips I've been getting from it, and this ten item to-do list is one of the ideas I've been using that has really been helping me feel like I'm on top of things and productive but not overwhelmed. So that's why this whole having a to-do list that is many tens of items long is getting to me!
I've been trying to pick cross 5 things off everytime I'm up there, but there are times when I put more than 5 new things on the list even while I'm crossing some off... It's hard being at the point of still not making noticeable forward momentum on my list! I guess that just means my list wasn't all that complete though! :(
Right before we took possession back we spent a weekend at my mother in law's place near Spokane. She is right on the lake, and so we spent the weekend playing in the water with the dogs, playing in the sand & grass with Little M, going out on the water in the boat or jet-ski's, and just generally enjoying a weekend off. It was a really great break, and we got some great pictures that I should have shared, but I haven't sorted through them yet since the rental house has been keeping me so busy. The good news is that Little M and I are going back this weekend!
I started a closet organizing project there 2 weekends ago but we ran out of time to finish, so I promised to come back, and since this weekend my husband is working 2 nighttime overtime shifts for another department and will be needing to sleep during the day, it worked out perfect to be away from the house for him to get that sleep in. I'll take one of the dogs with me, that way he only has to worry about the older 2 dogs who are pretty good about being let out only infrequently and at odd hours and my chickens, who he will be able to tend to when he gets home at around 7 in the morning before he heads to bed.
So I'll get a good break this weekend, and am really looking forward to organizing all of her quilt fabric and halloween costumes (she buys costumes at thrift stores during the year and then sells them before halloween on ebay and makes pretty good money doing it!). I'm not looking forward to the four hour drive there, or back, with just Little M and I, but she has done ok on that drive in the past. And hopefully she sleeps better than the other night, where she kept herself up until what must have been midnight or later... makes for one tired mama! Here's hoping I come back refreshed and relaxed and ready to dive back into the rental-fixing next week :)
Master Bedroom
wipe baseboard,
install new door & hardware
scrub floor vent
dust/wipe off light fixture
paint baseboard, door, & window trim
touch up wall paint
paint closet (white/color?)
Master Bathroom
dust/wipe light fixture
use soap on door
paint door
paint baseboard, door, & window trim
touch up wall paint
paint ceiling white with ceiling paint
scrub floor vent
strip wax off floor with ammonia
rewax floor
Spare Bedroom
scrub walls
spackle walls
sand spackle
wipe baseboard,
replace door
paint door
paint baseboard, window & door trim
touch up wall paint (repaint?)
paint closet door (?)
paint in closet (?)
scrub floor vent cover
Office Bedroom
fix closet door
scrub walls
spackle walls
sand spackle
touch up wall paint (repaint?)
wipe baseboard, door &
paint baseboard, door & window trim
scrub floor vent
Living Room/Hallway/Closet/Dining Area
remove trim
clean behind trim
level behind trim
scrub walls
cut trim
paint trim
install trim
caulk trim
touch up paint on trim
spackle walls
repaint hallway wall
touch up wall paint
clean ceiling spots
scrub down ceiling vent
scrub 3 floor vents
clean window & door trim
paint front door trim
replace back door
put trim back up on back door
paint back door & trim
replace front door knob
replace back door knob
wipe off dining room light fixture
ammonia floor
rewax floor
scrub door to garage
paint door to garage
fix doorbell
clean entryhall floor
trim curtain tassels flush
Kitchen
touch up paint
replace outlet covers
replace stove fan filter
wipe out inside all cabinets
wipe down all cabinet & door faces
wipe down fridge
wipe down stove
clean kitchen counters thoroughly
clean sink
clean window glass
fix garbage disposal
replace faucet
clean up behind sink
touch up paint behind sink
clean ceiling spots
replace light bulbs with the right bulbs
Main Bathroom
clean laundry & dryer
move laundry & dryer back in
replace dryer cord
replace dryer vent hose
cut new trim
paint trim
put trim up
caulk trim holes
touch up trim paint
sand mud around tub
finish mud around tub
caulk around tub
sand wall spackle
paint walls (color?)
replace vanity/doors
clean door trim
repaint door trim
clean door
repaint/replace door
scrub floor vent cover
thoroughly clean vent parts in subfloor
replace towel bar
replace toilet paper holder
wire in new light fixture
ammonia floor
rewax floor
hang curtain blocking hot water tank
clean counter & sink
clean tub
Front Yard
finish weeding the teensy weeds in the garden
replace garden wood barricade
tidy up the garden space
trim lilac in corner
trim rose bush in front
remulch strip beside driveway
get rid of wasps nest above front walk
shim & screw in outdoor faucet trim
finish the start of the irrigation
reattach trellis to new beam
clean front door outside well
sand/scrape wood trim on front door
repaint front door & trim
touch up tan paint on spots beside door
sweep cement walkways
sweep cement driveway pad
clean 4 window/door glass
clean 4 window screens
Back Yard
caulk garage window
touch up exterior tan paint
get rid of large wasps nest above back door
wire in replacement back porch lights
remove piles of old boards under deck from destroyed planter boxes
replace some boards in deck
clean deck off thoroughly
paint deck guard on deck
get rid of rock & grass piles in yard
clean dirt level in yard up
screw in outdoor faucet trim
put underground sprinklers in
set sprinkler coverage up
set sprinkler timer up
reseed grass
get rid of pee smell in backyard
hose/scrub off house siding
hang garden gate
put fencing on garden gate
weed in garden
remove pile of compost & planter boards in garden
hack out all the hops vine coming over the back fence
trim the low branches of the apple tree out of the way
fix side gate latch & hinge
Garage
replace furnace air filter
spackle dog scratches on wall by back door
install dead bolt
replace trim around door
paint door & trim outside
paint door & trim inside
measure broken garage door spring
order garage door spring
install new garage door spring
wipe down door & trim to inside
repaint door & trim to inside
remove garbage compactor
remove all trash & tools
thoroughly sweep
get rid of cobwebs on ceiling & in corners
The list of what we still have to do is sometimes overwhelming me, perhaps especially since I at first wanted to have everything done and the house staged by today... At home I've recently started making my daily to-do lists only ten items long, and if there are more than ten items then I make a note of them at the bottom of my whiteboard. I got the idea from a book I've been reading - Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider (and if you haven't read Tsh's blog - Simple Mom, I would recommend a visit!). I've been really enjoying the book and all the great tips I've been getting from it, and this ten item to-do list is one of the ideas I've been using that has really been helping me feel like I'm on top of things and productive but not overwhelmed. So that's why this whole having a to-do list that is many tens of items long is getting to me!
I've been trying to pick cross 5 things off everytime I'm up there, but there are times when I put more than 5 new things on the list even while I'm crossing some off... It's hard being at the point of still not making noticeable forward momentum on my list! I guess that just means my list wasn't all that complete though! :(
Right before we took possession back we spent a weekend at my mother in law's place near Spokane. She is right on the lake, and so we spent the weekend playing in the water with the dogs, playing in the sand & grass with Little M, going out on the water in the boat or jet-ski's, and just generally enjoying a weekend off. It was a really great break, and we got some great pictures that I should have shared, but I haven't sorted through them yet since the rental house has been keeping me so busy. The good news is that Little M and I are going back this weekend!
I started a closet organizing project there 2 weekends ago but we ran out of time to finish, so I promised to come back, and since this weekend my husband is working 2 nighttime overtime shifts for another department and will be needing to sleep during the day, it worked out perfect to be away from the house for him to get that sleep in. I'll take one of the dogs with me, that way he only has to worry about the older 2 dogs who are pretty good about being let out only infrequently and at odd hours and my chickens, who he will be able to tend to when he gets home at around 7 in the morning before he heads to bed.
So I'll get a good break this weekend, and am really looking forward to organizing all of her quilt fabric and halloween costumes (she buys costumes at thrift stores during the year and then sells them before halloween on ebay and makes pretty good money doing it!). I'm not looking forward to the four hour drive there, or back, with just Little M and I, but she has done ok on that drive in the past. And hopefully she sleeps better than the other night, where she kept herself up until what must have been midnight or later... makes for one tired mama! Here's hoping I come back refreshed and relaxed and ready to dive back into the rental-fixing next week :)
Friday, August 5, 2011
Weeding & Cleaning
This week has been filled with a busy balance of work, mama & wife duties, and landlord duties. I'm finding it hard to multitask - I would rather just be able to concentrate on one thing all day! Then it would seem like I was making faster progress, even though I would likely get just as much done either way :)
This afternoon we will be making the drive across to the nearest Home Depot to get an assortment of things - 2 interior doors, many feet of baseboard trim boards, a couple of gallons of paint, a toilet seat, sprinklers & irrigation tubing, grass seed, deck guard, and maybe some new light fixtures. It will likely be an exhausting afternoon, but I do love browsing around in Home Depot so I'm sure I'll manage :)
I've been mostly splitting my time at the rental house between the worst area (main bathroom/laundry room), and the best area (master bathroom). On one hand I enjoy making the master bath look all pretty, and on the other hand it feels good to get really dirty bits in the main bathroom cleaned up. The professional carpet cleaners will be coming in about an hour, and then I will move on to touching up paint in the bedrooms & living space. I also spent a morning weeding and will spend some more time pruning & weeding this weekend. The front bed areas still look fairly messy, but they look loads better than the overgrown mat of weeds that was there when we got possession of the house back last weekend. The backyard still looks bone dry and in need of some serious attention, but once we get some supplies this afternoon that should start to turn around!
Here are a couple of progress shots:
Hopefully I will be at the point of sharing the true after shots next week, as I'm hoping to blitz through things and get it ready for staging next weekend... However my to do list gets longer every time I look around in there (for example, yesterday while cleaning under the dryer I realized that the dryer power cord had one prong sawed halfway through - talk about unsafe and bizarre!), but I am definitely getting a better handle on what needs to be done, and every time I go in there it seems more and more doable, which is really all I can ask for at this point!
This afternoon we will be making the drive across to the nearest Home Depot to get an assortment of things - 2 interior doors, many feet of baseboard trim boards, a couple of gallons of paint, a toilet seat, sprinklers & irrigation tubing, grass seed, deck guard, and maybe some new light fixtures. It will likely be an exhausting afternoon, but I do love browsing around in Home Depot so I'm sure I'll manage :)
I've been mostly splitting my time at the rental house between the worst area (main bathroom/laundry room), and the best area (master bathroom). On one hand I enjoy making the master bath look all pretty, and on the other hand it feels good to get really dirty bits in the main bathroom cleaned up. The professional carpet cleaners will be coming in about an hour, and then I will move on to touching up paint in the bedrooms & living space. I also spent a morning weeding and will spend some more time pruning & weeding this weekend. The front bed areas still look fairly messy, but they look loads better than the overgrown mat of weeds that was there when we got possession of the house back last weekend. The backyard still looks bone dry and in need of some serious attention, but once we get some supplies this afternoon that should start to turn around!
Here are a couple of progress shots:
Hopefully I will be at the point of sharing the true after shots next week, as I'm hoping to blitz through things and get it ready for staging next weekend... However my to do list gets longer every time I look around in there (for example, yesterday while cleaning under the dryer I realized that the dryer power cord had one prong sawed halfway through - talk about unsafe and bizarre!), but I am definitely getting a better handle on what needs to be done, and every time I go in there it seems more and more doable, which is really all I can ask for at this point!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
When you buy before you sell...
This has been on my mind several times in the past 2 years, and is on my mind again - what it means when you buy before you sell. Two years ago, after several months and several extensions, we closed on our current home. We did so assuming that although it had been several months and we had pushed back the closing several times, that my husband's home would sell relatively soon after.
It has now been 2 years that we have had his house (for the most part) on the market. This leads me to what happens when you buy before you sell... You end up with:
So this leads me to the next thought that has been on my mind lately... cleaning. Oh, and repairing. Yup, the last renters we had weren't exactly the best. There might be only patches of grass left in the backyard. And there might be a bathroom that smells like there is still a dirty dog hiding somewhere in it (don't worry, I checked under the washer & dryer that live in that bathroom, and although there was some mouse & (shockingly) dog poo (and pee?) under there, along with a random assortment of dingy dirty socks and rags, there wasn't a dog hiding there). And there also might be smear marks scattered over the walls.
But life wouldn't be worth living if it didn't teach you things now and then. And boy have we learned some unexpected lessons from this last set of renters. And I expect that I'll be learning some new things as we repair and clean in their wake (I may have a father-in-law who was in the garage door business, but I certainly have never replaced a garage door spring!). Really though, I can be nothing but thankful that they moved out and left the place in as 'good' of a state as they did, because it could have been a lot more painful and a lot dirtier!
So please bear with me as I spend my time over the next few weeks pulling mammoth weeds in the flower beds, touching up paint, stripping floors down & re-waxing them, and any number of other fix-up tasks to get the place looking beautiful again so we can leave it vacant and staged for a couple of months, and leave my house & garden to tend themselves. Some of the before pictures are a bit too disgusting to share (namely what I found under the washer & dryer), but I'm sure I'll share some of what I'm up to as the place gets back under my thumb :)
It has now been 2 years that we have had his house (for the most part) on the market. This leads me to what happens when you buy before you sell... You end up with:
- 2 mortgages
- 2 sets of utility bills
- 2 houses to maintain & upkeep
- 2 gardens to keep weeded & watered
- 2 lawns to water & mow
- 2 driveways to keep clear of snow
- 2 places to insure and stress over
- and ultimately one home too many!
So this leads me to the next thought that has been on my mind lately... cleaning. Oh, and repairing. Yup, the last renters we had weren't exactly the best. There might be only patches of grass left in the backyard. And there might be a bathroom that smells like there is still a dirty dog hiding somewhere in it (don't worry, I checked under the washer & dryer that live in that bathroom, and although there was some mouse & (shockingly) dog poo (and pee?) under there, along with a random assortment of dingy dirty socks and rags, there wasn't a dog hiding there). And there also might be smear marks scattered over the walls.
But life wouldn't be worth living if it didn't teach you things now and then. And boy have we learned some unexpected lessons from this last set of renters. And I expect that I'll be learning some new things as we repair and clean in their wake (I may have a father-in-law who was in the garage door business, but I certainly have never replaced a garage door spring!). Really though, I can be nothing but thankful that they moved out and left the place in as 'good' of a state as they did, because it could have been a lot more painful and a lot dirtier!
So please bear with me as I spend my time over the next few weeks pulling mammoth weeds in the flower beds, touching up paint, stripping floors down & re-waxing them, and any number of other fix-up tasks to get the place looking beautiful again so we can leave it vacant and staged for a couple of months, and leave my house & garden to tend themselves. Some of the before pictures are a bit too disgusting to share (namely what I found under the washer & dryer), but I'm sure I'll share some of what I'm up to as the place gets back under my thumb :)
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