Yesterday's post outlined the basic things that we needed to get done in each room. And I have to say, we jumped right into crossing things off the list. We have really started putting our noses to the grindstone.
On Easter Sunday a few friends volunteered to help me prime our living and dining room. I was so excited to have some help and couldn't wait to get started!
Monday we tackled the living room and finished it in four hours. It was a blast singing, chatting, and painting together. I'm so thankful for them. Our living room went from this:
to looking like this after our first coat of primer:
What do you think?! We decided not to prime the doors and windows yet. The doors are going to be taken off and sanded down first and the the windows will eventually be replaced, so we might just leave them as is.
On to the dining room. Before:
and now:
So, we are saying good-bye to the hideous wallpaper and hello to a fresh breath of white. It also helps that we took down those wonderful lace curtains. I sorta miss them (rolls eyes). Yet again, we are waiting to paint the doors and the windows.
I just have to say thank you SO much Laurie, Laura, and Joanna!!! I cannot believe everything is primed. It is such a huge weight off my shoulders.
Tonight, it is on to painting kitchen cabinets and prepping our bedroom floor for paint tomorrow! Like I said, we are full steam ahead!
As we inch closer and closer to our decided move in date, I am more and more aware of the little things that we need to do in each room. Yet, Jonathan and I have decided to prioritize and make sure to focus on the things that we truly have to do before we move in: things that would be impossible to do after all of our junk takes up residence and completing work that we can't live without.
You know, like a bathroom.
It would be really nice to have a bathroom.
That is sort of key.
And, well, I would love to have at least one room finished so that we have an area to relax and get away from it all. A place where we can sleep and not be surrounded by unfinished projects. I have been there and done that. This is what our current bedroom looked like the night before our wedding, the night of our wedding, and for two weeks after our honeymoon. Can anyone say "mood killer?!"
So, our priorities are the bathroom and bedroom.
Thankfully they are both coming along pretty quickly.
Yet, there are so many other things that we really need to get done. So, I am going to make lists. I mean who functions without a good list? I know I can't. I would lose my mind trying to remember all of the things we want to accomplish.
I figured I would let y'all in on our plans for the next one, two, three.........13 days.
Wow.
Only 13 days.
We are definitely crazy.
and in trouble.
Oh well, we will make it work! :)
For some reason, I just keep thinking, "All you need is love!"
Right?
So, I'm going to stop reminding myself about the lack of days we have until the 22nd and just present you with a room-by-room list of the things we hope to accomplish. You know, stuff that needs to be done before we set up residence in our home.
Kitchen:
--Caulk/fix cabinets
--Paint cabinets and walls
--Rehang cabinet doors
Dining Room:
--Rip out carpet
--Prime and paint walls/ceiling/radiators/trim
Living Room:
--Fix up floors (i.e. remove nails and leftover carpet pieces)
--Prime and paint walls/ceiling/radiators/trim
--Remove corner radiator
Bathroom:
--Install beadboard
--Finish painting tub and sink
--Install all fixtures (tub, toilet, etc) and hardware (towel bars, faucet, etc)
--Hang shelving and cabinet
--Install new window
Master Bedroom:
--Clean up, then paint floor
--Install new windows
--Paint and install trim
--Install hardware in closet
--Build and install bookshelf
That is the basic gist of it all. Plus, after all that is done, we need to clean up. There is a lot of dusting and sweeping in my future. To be honest, when you simplify all the work to the above list, it doesn't seem like that much. We just need to focus, put our noses to the grindstone, and kick 'it' into high gear!
After all, love ( and maybe some hardworking friends, a lot of ambition, and a little gumption) is all you need....
What are our readers doing on this beautiful Monday? Oh and please feel free to let us know how crazy we are. But remember, only constructive and uplifting criticism please. Our sanity is hanging on by a thread ;)
(in a smooth and sexy announcer voice) "This week on 'Git R Done' Elizabeth attempts to clean her apartment after months of not cleaning it...will she succeed? Let's find out, shall we?"
Well, that is the question this week, isn't it?
Yes. It's true.
I really haven't cleaned our apartment in a long time.
Yes, probably months.
I lost track.
I've been so busy focusing on the house, that well, our apartment became neglected.
It has been so bad that even my darling husband, while not trying to be mean, agreed that yesterday needed to be spent cleaning instead of working at the house.
Yea, that bad.
And if you had seen his apartment before we were married, you would think horribly of me.
Oh the filth that he lived in.
Let's just say, he can withstand a lot of...well...nastiness.
I figured that some of you may never believe that our apartment was that bad, so I took pictures to document it. And yes, I am posting them.
Without shame because this is how our living space really looks and I'm all about honesty around here.
So, let the horrifying pictures begin!
Part of our living room...clothes waiting to be ironed (they have been there for over a week) and miscellaneous crafting supplies that still need to be put away after this project.
Our fern that perpetually drops leaves. I usually leaf-it until there are enough to clean up. Then, when I move the plant to get the leaves behind it, it drops more. Ohh what a tangled web it leaves. Haha punny.
The dust...let me tell you about the dust. Between radiators that hoard dust deep inside where you can't get to it and two dogs that love to play and pull each others' hair out...there is TONS of dust in this place. I sweep and it reappears the next day. HELP!
Our kitchen. You know how I love to clean? Well I hate doing dishes.
I know you are thinking, "But wait, there is a dishwasher!"
Nope, I don't use it. For some reason it never gets everything clean...plus we are only two people..we don't produce that many dishes. This picture is after 3-4 days of not doing dishes. Like I said, I hate dishes.
Finally, we have reached the last piece of evidence that cleaning has been put on the back burner for awhile. Let me now show you our bathroom faucet. I wish I could have captured pictures of the build-up on the sink. But, on the other hand, those pictures aren't for the faint-of-heart.
Yup, she is looking pretty used and abused.
So, needless to say, yesterday was spent cleaning our apartment. I have been putting this off for weeks because I keep telling myself that I will clean as I pack. Well, it has gotten out of hand. My poor husband and dogs. They shouldn't have to live in filth just because mama decides she wants to!! :)
I also decided to tackle another thing I have been putting off for awhile: our filing system.
Believe it or not, my husband and I entered our marriage each with our own filing system.
Yup...I too drool over a man with his own filing system.
Ladies, he is mine...back off!
He even had a filing cabinet! Be still my beating heart!!
Well, it has been almost two years and our files have remained separate. His in his filing cabinet and mine in a little white crate. So, yesterday I organized them into one bunch of files. I picked the crate, for now, because his filing cabinet has seen better days.
Sidenote: anyone interested in a free filing cabinet let me know! It still serves its purpose, just doesn't open that great. I'm guessing it just needs to be oiled up, but we still don't want it due to lack of space in our house :)
Now our filing area looks like this and it can be packed away in a closet when we move. I'm liking it.
So, that was my week of Git R Done apartment style!
Now, I need to know...What have you been putting off for far too long? What is your least favorite thing to clean?
So it's been exactly two weeks since y'all have seen our master bedroom and bathroom progress. I have to say, it was an intentional break. I really don't think you want to see a play-by-play of every coat of paint and every little thing that happens.
Though, if you do, please let me know! ;)
So, Jonathan and I have been working like busy bees to get things done by the time of our move in date. I have decided that it is time to step my work into high gear. So, my days are spent painting, painting, and more painting. It has been awesome though. I honestly enjoy painting and find it very relaxing and cathartic.
So, let's get to business.
In the master bedroom, I was going for a calming vibe. I originally wanted it to have a shabby chic look, but it is slowly evolving into a very traditional space. We will see where it ends up...but that is a post for later.
Remember how the space looked at the beginning? You would walk up the stairs
and straight ahead there was this room
and if you turned right, there was this room.
It was a very closed off and dated space.
Now it looks like this.
Ooo a rare glimpse of the carpenter at work. Let's observe.
So, the wall color is New Born's Eyes by Benjamin Moore and I am loving it. I think that the sharp contrast between the blue and white is very pleasing to the eyes. Oh and the color is reading the truest in the first picture.
I have to say, I am very proud of this room. It is the first room that I have ever panted and I think it turned out pretty darn good.
Plus, not to toot my own horn, but Jonathan said that I may be a better edger then he is.
How about them apples.
Well, I did learn from the best. That is, he taught me. :)
So, needless to say our bedroom is shaping up pretty darn fast.
Oh! I almost forgot to show you the bling we added to her.
Very romantic. I'm pretty much obsessed. She is sparkly and shiny and casts an awesome glow on the ceiling. And she shall be named...
Ok.
I will move on.
Here is the current state of our bathroom. He received his two coats of paint yesterday and I'm telling you he is pretty dapper now! First, the before:
and now the after...
The color we chose is a muddy gray. Sometimes it looks more brown, sometimes more gray. It's also BM in Marina Gray. I would say that the middle picture represents the color the best.
This color, combined with the white of the wainscoting and tiles, is going to really pop. Plus, adding in the accents of yellow and oh man! He is really going to be a looker in the end. I can't wait to show you!!!
Oh! I almost forgot, here is a preview of our tile :)
Yet again...I'm completely in love. I can't promise I will move on from this one though. ;)
Well, maybe not. I'm not so sure you want to see my dancing skills...or rather, lack thereof. I sort of look like I'm trying to swat at a bee. I'm spastic and really uncoordinated...looks more like I'm attacking something.
Picture it. Then laugh.
Its OK. I'll laugh with you.
Want to know how I figured out that I can't dance?
I took Dance 101 in college.
Yea.
Bad i.d.e.a.
Anyways, let's talk about rugs. Carpets. The things that cushion our feet. A decorative element in a room. Le tapis.
Oddly enough I am really excited about the rugs that we have purchased for the house. You know, 'cause I'm in to things like rugs.
Back story: Our entire house was covered in what we thought were area rugs. But, they were actually carpet pieces that had been tacked to the floor. So, we ripped all of those up, only to expose the sub floor. Thankfully, the sub floor resembles a hardwood floor, so they will be staying for now.
Then we decided that we needed to purchase something to cover warm up the spaces a bit. Enter the idea of area rugs stage left. So, I went online to my favorite place to get big, inexpensive area rugs: rugsusa.com Having purchased a few area rugs from them, about a year ago, for our current abode, I knew what the quality was like. I was skeptical at first, but the rugs have worn really well with two energetic dogs in our apartment. So I naturally turned to them for something to adorn our new home's floors.
I decided to get two of them. One for our bedroom and one for the living room. The ones that I already own will go in the guest bedroom, sun porch, and dining room. So I think we are covered :) Why don't we start with the bedroom? You already saw a glimpse of the rug in this post, but why don't we slide on in for a closer look.
She is a beautiful 8'x11' rug that only cost me about $400!! For those of you who may not know, a rug this size should really cost about $1500. I am very impressed with this rug. Its 100% wool and very thick. I contemplated purchasing a pad to go under it, but I'm glad I didn't because this thing is so cushy without it! She is a bit more traditional than I usually go for, but I have a plan...you will just have to wait to see what it is. ;)
The second rug we purchased was one for our living room. Here he is...he is quite modern compared to his master bedroom counter part who rocks the traditional vibe very well.
He is a little more silky than the other one and definitely not as thick. But, still a beautiful rug. Measuring 7'10"x11' 2" he only cost about $350!! So, in total we spent approximately $750 on the two rugs. Plus, to sweeten the deal, there was no tax and shipping was free!! Now, that is what I call a bargain.
If you decide to purchase from them, I have a bit of advice for you: make sure you read the descriptions thoroughly. I didn't read closely the first time I purchased from them and bought an outdoor rug for our living room. It actually worked out great though, because we really didn't need an area rug for our living room and now I have a great rug for our sun porch in the new house!
So, what are your favorite places to find a bargain? Have you ever taken a dance class? I would love to know I'm not alone in the unable-to-dance category!
After this post, in which I revealed our freshly primed kitchen cabinets, I have been contemplating the idea of open cabinetry.
I mean look at the curves and the simple beauty of those babies! I don't know about you, but there is just something that is speaking to me. It's telling me to leave those upper cabinets alone and just fill 'em up with all of my kitchen loot. The only problem is, I'm not sure if it's the designer in me gently nudging or the worker in me crying out for a break! ha! Either way, I thought I would look to Pinterest for some inspiration. (Don't you just love that someone created this website?!)
After doing some research, I am loving the look of the open cabinets. My only concern was the issue of grease and grime build up. I am no stranger to having my stuff hang out...kitchen stuff that is! Take a look at our current set up...
These cabinets, while making me nervous at first, have been a true love of mine. I love that I can see where everything is and it makes searching for a misplaced item so much easier. Yes, it happens pretty regularly around here. So, suffice it to say, I'm not worried about everyone seeing what we have.
Yet, the issue of grease kept gnawing at me. But a solution was placed right in my lap! As I was venturing around Pinterest, I came across this blog post. It was a simple and straight forward post on the ins and outs of open shelving! Basically she said that you don't need to worry about a dirty build up as long as you display things that are used frequently! Since you will use them and then wash them on a regular basis, the dirt and grime doesn't have a chance to get really bad.
This made complete sense to me and now I'm a bit less worried about the whole idea. Plus, in reality, I can just slap up those cabinet doors if I decide the open shelving isn't for me.
Now, just to clarify, we won't be leaving all of the cabinets open. I decided that I am going to put the doors back on the lower cabinets
just because I figure no one really wants to see all of my pots and pans. So that will eliminate some of the display worries. Oh and I am also opting to put the doors back on all of these cabinets because of their proximity to the stove.
Plus, I really don't want to display our lovely duct for the world to see. It's not really the 'in' thing to do! And the larger cabinet to the left is going to become our pantry and will eventually be filled with all sorts of food items, so that is getting covered up as well. It's not exactly what you would call 'eye candy.'
Oh and for those of you who may be wondering about the cabinet under the sink (please ignore the unpainted walls in this picture, its just an old one),
I plan on leaving the doors off of that too. I would love to make some cute curtains to cover up the unpleasant-ness of its underside. I think the curtains will lend themselves to the 'cute country' feel that I'm going for in here. Also, I'm hoping it will help to open up the space.
So, that's the cabinet 411. I would love to hear what y'all are thinking! I want to make sure that the side of me that is tired of sanding cabinetry isn't making the call on this one. Please back me up here people!
No, I promise this post isn't going to be as bad as a Ricky Martin song. I just hope it's as entertaining as William Hung's rendition. Don't you just love his gumption? He's my hero :)
So, you probably understand have no idea what I'm talking about today. Let me make it plain and simple for you: MOVING! More specifically, moving without stress!
Yes, wonderful readers of mine, we are going to be talking about moving and the exciting process that it is. Or the horrible process it is.
I'm sure some of you hate it...meaning 99.9% of you. But if you are like me, then you look forward to it as a new and thrilling opportunity. If you are like my husband, then you despise it with every inch of your being. But if you are like me, then you look for an opportunity "to move" on a daily basis.
You know, "Hmm I could move this room around and change that furniture arrangement to this."
or
"Hmm, I wonder what the dining room would look like if I switched it with the living room."
Yup, once again, I'm crazy--I know.
But anyways, today I thought it would be fun if I doled out some of our moving tips. Plus, just to let you in on a little secret: we have set our moving date! Yup! No more of this living-in-two-places thing. We have decided that come April 22nd we want our predominate residence to be our new house. You may be asking yourself, "Why the 22nd?" Well, that is the day that we will have owned our house for 100 days. I like things like that--giving special meaning to a date. Wouldn't it be cool to say that we moved in on the hundredth day of owning the house?! Yea, I'm the only one excited about it. I know.
So, lets get on with:
THE GEIGER PACKING TIPS!!! da d-da! (say it out loud)
tip 1: Clean as you go.
I highly recommend using this time to do some deep cleaning. Think about it this way, if you clean as you go, there will be less to worry about in the end. As you are packing things, make sure to clean the place that you take them from. For instance, say you decide to pack up that spare closet you use for miscellaneous storage. After you are done boxing everything up, dust and sweep it clean. The people who move in after you will appreciate the clean space you left them and you will feel good because you won't have to clean your entire house/apartment right before you move.
Now is the time to really go through all of your belongings. Even if you aren't down sizing like we are (going from approximately 1500 sq ft. to 1000 sq ft.), moving is a great excuse to get rid of all the extra things you have laying around. Think about it this way, why would you take the time and energy to pack something and move it to your new space, when you are just going to get rid of it anyway?
For the past few months, I have been picturing where I would like things to go in our new house. As I have begun to pack, I have realized that I really need to get rid of a bunch of things. I need to be realistic about what I will need in our new space. I have come to the conclusion that I have WAY too many decorative pieces. In our current space we have three fireplaces. Yes, three. This means three mantels to decorate. And if you have been reading our blog and looking at pictures, you know that we have a total of ZERO fireplaces in our new space. So where do all of those pieces go? Yup, to Sal Val.
tip 3: If you are getting rid of furniture, try to do so before you move.
Now, this may seem pretty straight forward, but it amazes me that people will move a big piece of furniture only to realize that they can't keep it (i.e. not enough space) or want to replace it with something else (i.e. a change in decorative taste).
Our goal before we move on the 22nd, is to get rid of every piece of furniture that we can't and don't want to take to our new space. We gave our extra kitchen table to a friend, we Craigslisted our too-big furniture, and we are working on giving borrowed pieces of furniture back to their original owners. The more we do now, the less burdened we will be come moving day. Plus, its really nice to put an easy 'check' beside one of the things on our huge to-do list.
tip 4: Know where everything is packed.
Do this, by numbering each box and making a list of what is in each box. At the beginning of packing, I took a composition notebook and wrote numbers down the left side and put a description of what was in each box next to it. I actually took this tip from the Duggars. I figured if they used this technique to stay organized with all those kids, then it has got to work for us--and it has!
Back at the beginning of February, I thought we would be moving by the end of the month. So, I started packing things that I knew we wouldn't use. Well, it's almost two months later and we are still in our apartment. This is what our guest bedroom has looked like since I decided to start packing--a huge stack of boxes.
Since we didn't move as fast as I was planning, I have needed things that were packed away. It has been wonderful to just reference my notebook and not have to go digging through everything in an attempt to find, say, my extra toiletries. Plus, when we do eventually move, I will be able to do it in an organized manor. I will just reference my notebook and be able to tell which box goes in which room.
tip 5: If possible, take your time.
My last tip is all about convenience. We have been very blessed to have my father as our landlord. He has been wonderful in letting us be flexible about moving. We are able to stay here as long as we need to and I have been using that to our advantage. Because we have had unlimited time, I have been able to plan out this whole process. It has allowed me to stay really organized and not so overwhelmed by all we have to do.
So, if you have the time, use it! Mentally prepare yourself by visualizing your stuff in the new space. Make lists of where you want each thing to go. Measure the new space for your current furniture. Know whats going to work and what isn't. If we hadn't taken the time to measure our new living room before we moved, we would have attempted to put our couches in there only to find out that there isn't enough space for them. Measuring--which took a measly five minutes--saved us a whole lot of hassle in the end.
Plus, another thing about being able to take your time (and if you aren't moving too far away)...you can also turn your moving day into moving days. We plan on gradually moving our stuff. Once our bedroom is complete, we will move certain pieces of our bedroom furniture. Once the kitchen cabinets are painted and dry, we will begin to move our minimally used dishes and small appliances. This will allow us to do things gradually and minimize the stress that comes with moving everything all at once.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Now, I know that everyone's situation is different and you may not have the option to take your time, but use the above tips and adjust them to your situation. My whole point is, if you plan ahead and make the effort to know where things will be going once you move, you will be a lot less stressed in the end. Knowing what you own, organizing it, and planning for its future location can really save you a huge headache once moving day arrives. Plus, who doesn't love designing a whole new space?!
Ok, so this is what is working for us, but I would love to know what your moving tips and suggestions are! Please share :)
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