Cleaning Out & DIY

Going through and throwing away things in the past can be difficult, especially when it is an enormous tast and nearly 40 years of memories in one house are involved.  But the job is over 3/4 complete now and we can almost begin to see a light at the end of the tunnel.  Sorting, pricing, estate sale, carpet and house cleaning left, then we're on the market.  Pray for a fast, uncomplicated sale...



20-yard dumpster; we're getting one of these at our Tallahassee house in the near future!

Starting a DIY project on a rainy weekend, thinking you're going to "surprise" the hubby with your mad skills - well, let's just say, didn't quite work out as I had so well planned for the last several weeks.  Carl went on a men's retreat and I just knew I would have a full day and a half to remove border and paint our little foyer.  It is, of course, not a large area, and should not be a difficult project!  Wrong!  Unless I am totally out of touch when it comes to border/wall paper removal, or unless the previous home owner used the world's most secure wall glue, this was a chore!  And I failed in the first rule of DIY projects -- take before pictures -- so, I don't have the original "look" of our foyer. 

I just knew I could take down the border on Friday night and be ready to paint on my [expensive] primer/paint in one (and "should only take one coat, even on a wine-colored wall") and have everything back on the walls, ready to go "ta da" when Carl came home!  RIGHT! 

Oh, well - it is what it is, but as of last night I finally had the border down (thanks to equal parts of white vinegar and hot water sprayed on scored border, let sit before scrapping) and the "goo" scrubbed off (sprayed again with vinegar solution, then scrubbed off with nylon scrubbie pad with solution of Dawn in dishpan of hot water - one foot-at-a-time sections).  Now, I'll get to go back and (per instructions from our oldest son, helping his mother via text): step 1, spackel, step 2, sand smooth, step 3, spray "orange peel", step 4, paint. 

Did I say I took off some sheet rock with the border?

 

 

At last, smooth walls, post-goo -- on to spackel!

 

Carl offered to help me last night, but I told him this was my surprise project, and I really wanted to try to do it all myself.  It's definitely going to be a longer process than I anticipated, but hopefully, we'll have a nice foyer when I'm finally finished!  [the poor secretary is totally yellow - not green & yellow as shown]    AND, I made the executive decision this weekend, should we finally get to the point of re-doing our kitchen, we are painting or tiling over the extensive wall paper!  [Sadly won't be the case in our master bath - peeling at all the seams, will have to come down.] 

Folks, don't wall paper unless you just love to be tortured or enjoy working like a fiend!

Hugs to all - now on with the adventure!