Friday, April 12, 2013

Project Log - 2 weeks in the new house

So we've been in the house for 14 days.

The first night Danny rolled over in bed and said, "Feels like we're on vacation".

I agreed. I had the same feeling. Like this wasn't our usual routine, something was different. Manuvering in the dark is weird, like I'm worried I'm going to stub my toe or knock over a lamp because things are in unfamiliar positions.

It doesn't help that there are floor to ceiling mirrored sliding doors in 4 places throughout this tiny house. I keep catching glimpses of myself as I unpack, not necessarily a pleasant sight after a day of housework. I don't need to see myself head to toe walking down the hall, hanging up clothes, sweeping the floor, etc. At the very least, the mirrors in the hallway need to go. I'd prefer accordian doors or even just plain sliders, even though that still seems odd, sliding doors in the hall. Maybe chalkboard paint and make an entire art wall?

You know who likes the mirrors?

The baby of course. He's been hamming it up all week, posing in front of them, giggling at the sight of himself, positioning his toys in front of the mirrors so he can watch himself and playing peek-a-boo...with himself. I spent the weekend wiping all his little handprints off and of course, they were all back on again by the evening.

I found my camera cord while unpacking...finally! Something is up though and my photos aren't uploading directly to my Pictures file so I had to make do and create a collage in Picasa as that was the only thing that would work. Need to get my computer-minded brother on the job, I guess...he'll figure it out.

But here is a quick collage of what we've been doing.  photo f27f9e4f-28d4-4b54-b1b0-0cd7e193378f_zps2783930d.jpg

Danny and The Boy spent a good part of last weekend cleaning the yard. They edged the lawn, mowed it, removed a ton of rocks from the backyard "grass" (weeds, actually) and mowed back there as well. There was some citrus tree trimming and dead-fruit removing too. Things definitely look more polished in the yard. Next up, patio furniture!

Unfortunately we forgot trash day and didn't set out the cans so the green waste container is totally stuffed and they can't do any more yard work until there's a place to put the clippings.

I was inside, unpacking and arranging The Girl's room. She has quite a lovely space now, except for the pile of Dad's clothes on the desk that he's yet to find a home for (don't think you're going to find it in the closet, that's already a tight fit...sorry, honey!). The Boy doesn't have any of his things unpacked yet as he is sharing a room with Baby D and well, there just isn't any space yet! My idea is to put a plywood sheet on the top bunk, top with a layer of carpet squares and put up some shelving so The Boy has a safe place for Legos and things without Baby D pulling a "Godzilla" on all his stuff.

My bedroom is coming along nicely. Spent Saturday morning with Baby D at The Container Store buying stuff to organize. I had lots of ideas but seemed to flake out and couldn't make a lot of decisions once I got there! I think I got overwhelmed with possibility, I love that store! I did pick up colored bins for the kids to store their soaps, toothbrushes, mouthwash and a drinking glass under the sink. I also found a two-tiered sliding mesh rack for under my bathroom sink. I hate a cluttered bathroom counter! At some point we'll have some shelving installed in our little bathroom too.

As I am the Queen of Baskets, I have tons of them that I'm using to store items throughout the house. And canvas bins, they are holding everything from toys to linens to extra diapers and wipes in every closet. At The Container Store I bought inexpensive boxes to hold extra shoes in the garage. So much better than seeing shoes piled up on shelves and falling on the floor.

So we are facing another weekend. Next on the project list is a fence for the retaining wall in the backyard so Baby D doesn't take the 4' drop off the edge. One of the sprinklers is broken and needs replacing as it's leaking water down the driveway. And cable needs rewiring so we can move the desk to its proper location next to the dining room table and the TV can be mounted to the wall.

Exciting stuff. Any projects going on for you this weekend?

2 comments:

Mary said...

You'll have to update on what you got done!

We just had general spring cleaning, nothing too exciting. Until we realized the car key was missing. We've realized that the baby had it, and now it is gone. And of course it's our only key for MY car. Luckily I can walk to work....

Julie said...

Thanks Mary, once I get the camera situation figured out I plan on doing more detailed looks at each of the rooms in the house :)

Missing car key! Hope you can get that figured out...eventually you'll want to drive!!