In just a little over three weeks, Colby and I will celebrate our one year anniversary of co-existing under one roof. Just over a year ago, we crammed my Mazda Tribute literally to the roof with all of our luggage and wedding shower gifts and began the four day drive from Louisiana to Washington. When we pulled into our driveway at dusk, Colby swept me off of my feet and carried me over the threshold, where my eyes were met with this sight:
Clearly, we've come a long way since then. Almost all of the house is painted, most of our windows have coverings that didn't have a previous life as a bed sheet, and the majority of our pictures have been hung. However, as we approach the one year milestone of home ownership, I'm feeling an intense desire to just get everything DONE for crying out loud. Our loft is still overtaken with wedding gifts that haven't found a home, our master bathroom and upstairs guest bathroom still haven't been painted, one of the hallways is still lined with family photos that have yet to be hung, etcetera, etcetera, and so forth. I know that when you own a home your work is never really done, but I'm so tired of thinking about all of the basic final moving in steps that haven't been finished yet.
So, when Janet mentioned that she was going to begin a 21-day makeover centered around organizing her home, I jumped on board without a moment's hesitation. I've never been good at just getting things done on my own timeline, but when there are rules involved and a deadline is set, I am golden. What can I say, I'm a toddler at heart and I crave structure. Beginning today, I will spend one hour every day doing something around the house with the end result of getting the crap off of the floor and making every room presentable should the Queen Mother decide to stop by for a visit. I'm not limiting myself to these items, but these are my main goals:
- Paint the two bathrooms
- Hang the pictures in the upstairs hall
- Hang pictures in the stairwell
- Clean out the loft (move all extra furniture to the Salvation Army pile, and put away wedding gifts)
- Buy window treatments for the master bedroom and living room
- Hang curtains in the loft
- Mount knobs on kitchen cabinets and drawers
Some other tasks that I'd like to accomplish are a little more dependent on other elements--for example, I'd love to get the window treatments actually hung in the bedroom and living room, but if they haven't arrived by March 25th, I'm not going to beat myself up over not getting that done.
I'll update once a week with my progress for the next three weeks, and hopefully 21 days from now I will have a whole lot less home improvement hanging over my head, and a whole lot more pride in our beautiful house. Who knows, maybe I'll even get around to putting those promised house pictures up here in the next few weeks!
Good luck! I feel like I'm never finished. Like there is one more thing to do. And I'm still in an apartment :)
Posted by: Miriam | March 04, 2008 at 07:47 PM
Oh good luck!
Posted by: katelin | March 04, 2008 at 10:57 PM
Awesome! I can't wait to see the finished product!
Posted by: Bre | March 05, 2008 at 12:13 AM
I never reach the end of my home makeovers because I keep adding new ones. I have a couple planned for this summer. Including the master bath I've not finished yET!
Posted by: simplypink | March 05, 2008 at 01:53 AM
This here list makes me tired. Remember what I told you at dinner? HIRE someone. :)
Posted by: RisibleGirl | March 05, 2008 at 02:15 AM
I really should do this too! Less than a month until we've been in our house a year....and I still have a hot pink room that's full of boxes! I'm thinking I'll wait until the summer so that I can actually find an hour at the end of the day to get something done around the house (teaching pre-k special ed is exhausting!).
Posted by: Erin | March 05, 2008 at 03:02 AM
It took me almost 3 years to fix up my condo the way I wanted it. And then I got bored and traded that sucker in for a house. :)
Posted by: M | March 05, 2008 at 06:31 AM
Because I followed along with your wedding planning, I have no doubt in my mind that you'll get most if not all of those things checked off your list by the end of the 3 weeks! So what if it takes a deadline, many people just don't get things done with or without a deadline.
And I'm so jealous of your 4 day drive. As soon as I buy a new car, I'm going on a 4 day drive somewhere, anywhere!
Posted by: Girl, Dislocated | March 05, 2008 at 04:34 PM
I TOTALLY feel you!! There is so much to do in this enorous hous of mine, I feel like I will never get anything done. And then, I look at my closets and furniture and realize, when the hell did all this stuff get put in my house? It is truly a never ending cycle!
Posted by: Andrea | March 05, 2008 at 06:16 PM
Have you heard about 'The Cure' over at Apartment Therapy (http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/sales-events-calendar/the-spring-cure-starts-next-week-043757)?
I have the book, and you're more than welcome to borrow it if you're interested!
Posted by: Ashley | March 05, 2008 at 06:46 PM
Yay! I have a partner in my makeover! I have to admit I'm having a hard time on weeknights, ugh. Lots of cleaning. But this weekend I am vowing to get lots done.
Posted by: janet | March 06, 2008 at 05:18 AM