I wanted to share some of the pictures of what we did to our house before we moved back in.
First thing first...We scrubbed the kitchen! It was filthy. Actually the whole house was filthy. I didn't dare lean against a wall. With being landlords, we discovered that renters don't try as hard at taking care of the place they are in. I'm assuming because they aren't paying the mortgage. We put in well over 50 hours just cleaning.
***Funny side story. Before the renters moved out, Jim and I walked through our home. We could see how filthy it was. Jim said to me, "Maybe you should contact the Relief Society President and see if she would help get some sisters together to help the renters clean." I just laughed it off. Well, the next Sunday while sitting in Relief Society, the president came over to me and let me know that they were passing around a sign up sheet for volunteers to go help my renters clean "my" house. She didn't want me to be surprised or caught off guard. I smiled and told her that was just great! When they passed it around, they totally avoided handing it to me. I had to laugh at this. Thanks to some great sisters in the ward. I didn't have to wash the walls downstairs!***
We decided that we would try to redo the wood floors and replace the carpet that I don't think had been vacuumed in several months. While the carpet was out we also thought that we should paint those rooms that needed paint.
Jim rented a sander and went to work. He sanded for several hours and was getting exhausted....to the point of giving up. Just then, in walked his dad and brother. I honestly wanted to cry at this point. They came just at the right time. They both took over the sanding and with in a couple hours we had the floor how we wanted it....until the next day.
When we got back the next day, with the sunlight shining on the kitchen floor, we could see so many grooves. So Jim went and rented the sander again and worked several more hours. We finally decided that we were just going to leave it how it was. (I think doing it ourselves, we were being very picky). Jim's dad and brother returned that night along with some friends. They helped us wash and vacuum all the sawdust up. So glad that I covered the cupboards and doorways with plastic. That sawdust was everywhere.
New Carpet!!
We didn't get new carpet downstairs (except Brindley's room). Picking out carpet is hard! I knew what color I wanted and I knew that I wanted to be able to run my toes through it. We went to about 8 different places looking at carpet. Finally we found a place that answered our questions, made suggestions for us, and even let me come to his house to see what the carpet was like. I'm am so happy with our choice!
The carpet on the stairs is a shorter cut so it doesn't mat as easily.
Front Room
My bedroom! I Love the colors we choose!
Lexie and Sam's room! There will be white trim covering where the two colors meet.
Putting the polyurethane on the floor. So beautiful!
I REALLY LOVE how the colors go with our bedroom set!
Jim did such a great job on the floor. He worked so hard.
Brindley got a whole New Room too. Her room had mold in it so we had to tear out the wall and carpet. I don't have pictures of it. Guess I had better have her clean her room now so I can get pictures.
We still have a few projects that need to be done, but I honestly feel like we have a New Home!
