Michael and I decided a few months back to rent a house his mother owns in Cooper-Young. We knew the house was old and that the task might be a little over-whelming, but to me, the thought of fixing up a home sounded fun. The house is three-bedrooms, around 1400 square feet, with living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, pantry, and backyard. The backyard was clearly a motivating factor, considering we've got this puppy that goes 100 mph 100% of the time - she needs a place to tire herself out. So June 1, the project began...
Day 1:
Michael goes over to the house and finds a disaster. Or as Michael says, finds the house destroyed. I walk in, and I am in shock. I just shook my head. There is no way this is going to happen. The prior residents were apparently hoarders. I'm talking, newspapers from 2005, Taco Bell sauce packets by the hundreds, empty shoe boxes - a.k.a. TRASH. Nothing but trash. We spent the day cleaning out two of the rooms but decided that it was just too much to handle by ourselves. So....
Day 2:
I head to Target on my lunch break to pick up cleaning supplies. I realize that I am actually a nerd, true-to-form, when I get excited about picking stuff out. Michael hires three guys he finds down the street for a $100 to fill up a 18 foot dumpster. Full. Overflowing. With TRASH. Bunch of junk. But the house is empty, and that is all that matters. I use some of my fancy new cleaning supplies to shine up the old piano that is left in the house. Things are starting to look up. Until we open the refrigerator. Eeek. Nope. Not going to happen.
Day 4:
I take the day off work. I'm ready to get going at about, oh, 8:00. Michael needs sleep of course. So I attempt to keep myself busy. Head up to Dad's office to get some pointers on spackling walls. Head over to Home Depot to make some purchases. I get sidetracked in the plant department and end up picking up some herbs. Pick up some spackling and a few tools. Plant my herbs. Wait for Michael to wake-up. Later that day, Mom wants to come see the house. Entices us with a free dinner so of course, we acquiesce. Today's project - clean the kitchen. I start in on the stove, Michael on the fridge. He gets the inside (minus disgusting drawers and shelves) pretty darn clean. We mop the floor and things are looking pretty darn good.
Day 5:
I head over to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and pick up some new stuff for the bathroom. Planning on making this the cutest, darn teeny tiny bathroom ever. We had on over to the house but we're lacking on time to do much. I work on fridge/freezer and get it SPARKLING clean. Make Michael move the fridge out so I can mop underneath. I clean off the countertops and head into the bathroom. Start in cleaning in there and get it looking pretty nice as well. However, there is a funky smell I am thinking is coming from the carpet... That is going to have to go...
Day 6:
Mom heads over to the house to help. I put her in charge of cleaning the front door. It's the cleantest, clearest front door there ever was. The neighbors ask if she can come over and do theirs. We start in on cleaning the door frames and spackling the walls. Michael rips up the carpet in the bathroom only to discover a nasty surprise - ANTS. Tons of them. But at least it smells better in there. We order a pizza for dinner from the place around the corner. A little expensive, but not too shabby. Feeling pretty good about how things are looking so far.
Off to the house to do some work. Will update soon on more progress that has been done.
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