Thursday, April 8, 2010

Progress

April and the spring cleaning bug has hit me really hard. It seems to be spreading to the whole family. My brother wants me to help clean stuff out of my mother's house. She doesn't want to do that, but the bug has gotten to my brother. I think he should clean out his own house. Or maybe he has and there is nothing left to organize. But for me- my house is a mess and I have got to get some control really soon.

We have been working on a Living Room remodel for the last two years. We are finally making some progress toward getting it "done". I have done the tile work, repaired the wall from the electrical work, and had the 10 foot by 10 foot book case unit built and installed. I cut the carpet (temporary measure until new carpet is in) and we started putting in the books last night. That is 7 giant boxes of stuff and three piles off the floor and out of the way. The bookcase is almost full and we haven't even started on the garaged books. Or the DVDs. That means some things have got to go. If they can't fit in the bookcase, they can't stay.


To make sure that the sorting was equally distributed, I have claimed 1/2 of the bookcase as my space. I will have a section for crafts and resources of interest to me. My favorite casual reading books will have a place, too. My music, my dvds, my my my....Just the thought of having all my stuff in an organized single location is getting me really excited. Last night, I found a book that I wanted to get rid of. I am sure that I will find many more that won't get to stay. But just knowing that I can put them all into a single location where I can use them and put them back has me in a twitter. And I want to design the space so that I can also display some of my favorite KnickKnacky things. Not much, just little bits of personality leaking out. But I haven't had much room for any of that and I want just a tiny bit.

So that brings me to the next phase- Cabinet Number 2 (3 and 4) on the TV side. The other side of the room will have a TV area, with some low shelving for pillows and blankets, a doored cabinet that is also a window seat, and a shelving unit for the stereo (and other stuff). That part will be in around the beginning of MAY and then the carpet will go in. I am beginning to believe that there will someday be an end to this room remodel.

Just so that you can have some perspective on my patience, we started the Kitchen/Dining area in May 2003. Most of it was done in May 2005. But the last part- baseboards for the dining room- languished. Now with the new cabinets getting done in the living room, I requested baseboard for that room and the dining room. The dining/kitchen remodel will be complete in 2010. Only 7 years. After the carpet, the living room will still need the new front door (with new hardware) and entry way light fixture, a small electrical outlet, and the antenna cable re-route before it is "done". I will be sewing some new pillows and a seat pad for the window seat.

I am hoping that the living room remodel is done sooner than 7 years from the start date. But in the mean time, I will be dedicating myself to cleaning out some stuff and getting the room organized. At least until the spring cleaning bug wears off.