I realized recently that I had not blogged in a year. I'd thought having a little baby was time consuming....oh silly me.....I had idea the time sink a vertical baby is. It was a year ago this week she found her way to her feet, and has only picked up speed since then.
I have continued to do work at the new house; mainly on furniture projects and decorating rather than the house's structure, so I'd like to get back into the swing of posting on occasion, even if no one reads this anymore.
As I was going through ancient draft posts today, I found an old to-do list that I never published, and was amazed to see how much stuff I plowed through in under 3 years at the Cabindo. It's incredible what productivity a single point of view and no munchkin affords you....
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As many blogs do, I thought I should put together a to-do list for The Cabindo.
Entrance
Gussy up porch (had tons of plants during warmer months)
paint inside of front door to match outside
Get rid of realtor lock (3 days before finding renters. better late than never)
create storage solution in utility closet (leftover ikea bare wood shelf for the win)
Foyer
paint
Replace light
Decorate walls
Make 'crash' zone (a certain spot on the floor where crap piles up counts, right? right)
Come up with organization system for pantry (small rubbermaid bins with lids)
paint pantry door
fill out shelving in pantry (those tubs spanned any gaps, didn't need to be pretty)
put down rug
Kitchen
paint walls
install new light (3 light fixtures over time)
install new switch
new stove
new dishwasher
new microwave
new faucet
paint fridge
add open shelving
make kitchen island
install backsplash
install window dressings (2 different kinds)
put down rug
put down sink mat
put up wall items
Dining Room
paint
install new light & switch
install window dressings
decorate walls
update dining room table n chairs
slipcover settee (got a new one that didn't need a slipcover)
put down rug
refinish shelving
add more shelving
Porch
fix sliding glass door
remove carpet
put down rug
make plant stand
plant plants
screen in
make tables
make seating
enable air movement
decorate walls
install sun/privacy shade (had one, never made it on)
get small lighting
get electrical wired (extension cord worked fine)
remove screen door
Living Room
paint
decorate walls
install tv on mount
put down rug
install window dressings
update couch (4 or 5 times)
add extra comfy seating (what started my chair hoarding tendencies)
figure out storage solutions (2 different mid century refinished dressers)
figure out best layout
Hallway
implement storage solution for coat closet (getting enough hangers went a loooong way)
build shelves for 'garage' closet
build storage solution for 'garage closet'
paint coat/garage closet door
decorate walls
cover fuse box with art
get laundry machines to fit in nook (they always stuck out about 1". I stopped caring)
build door for laundry nook (a curtain worked great)
implement storage solution for linen closet
paint bathroom doors
paint bedroom doors
put down runner
build barn door at end of hallway (stupid idea)
Small Bathroom
paint walls
replace mirror
paint vanity
paint or replace hardware
install towel bar
install shelving
decorate
fix crooked toilet (that sucker was attached to the sub floor with wood floor cut around it. was not gonna happen)
replace flushing mechanism (compliments of either Al or Papa Steve, I don't remember)
put down rug/matt
Large Bathroom
re-glaze tile surround
re-glaze tub
build tub front
replace showerhead
paint walls
build wainscotting
paint wainscotting
install shelving
implement storage solution for bathroom items
replace mirror
paint vanity
paint medicine cabinet
paint or replace hardware
tile floor
seal grout (Didn't know this was a thing when I first put it in. Got quite stained so I used grout renew to color and seal it before renting, that stuff is a miracle.)
install quarter round
figure out towel solution
get wastebasket
dye all towels to match (I bought new ones. Like a sane person. It happens sometimes)
replace flushing mechanism (compliments of either Al or Papa Steve, I don't remember)
put down rug/mat (a highly coveted kitty landing spot)
Office/Guestroom
paint (3 tries to get the right shade of yellow. Accent wall in fuchsia got painted yellow before rented out.)
build closet shelving (conveniently ripped itself off the wall when moving right before I was going to take it down)
install window dressings
find desk that works
refinish furniture
install floating shelves
install built in
hard wire in a ceiling light (running a ceiling light to a plug counts for me)
address litter box (in the best way: getting rid of it)
implement storage solution for stuff
decorate walls
Master Bedroom
paint
refinish bed (refinished the original, replaced. refinished replacement. replaced replacement. replaced 3rd one. broke 4th one)
refinish dressers (and then gave away when free idea wardrobes came into my life)
refinish light stands (I don't even know what this means? Did I mean night stands? I'll take it to the grave)
build shoe racks
implement storage solution for clothes/shoes/accessories (craigslist a palooza. shocking)
create dressing area
replace closet light
hard wire in a ceiling light (I'm cheap and lamps worked fine)
install plant hooks
install wall sconces (" ")
install window dressings
install shelving
decorate walls
put down rug/matt (Giant free craigslist rug that I drove 40 mins each way to get. Has found a happy new home in the big living room at Links House)
Bedroom Balcony
screen in (compliments of Papa Steve)
install sun/privacy shade (compliments of Papa Steve yet again)
build litter box solution (now I'm spoiled for life and never want litter in the house again)
create outdoor storage (threw some high shelves up on the wall for gardening stuff)
add greenery (didn't last long, apparently a plant is hard to distinguish from a litter box if they are in close proximity. ew)
build cat tree
put down rug
put in seating (why I thought I'd want to sit next to litter boxes: a mystery)
decorate walls (again; why Lindsay, why?)
remove screen door (happened on its own, like magic one day jumped off the track! where did I put it though? also magic: disappeared)
External Storage Unit
find (was a mystery for 6 months or so until the key I had been given to the 'storage room' finally unlocked one of the doors I tried it on)
clean out
build solid floor (chicken wire worked just fine)
put in shelving
get camping/outdoor/winter/construction stuff moved over there
put in battery powered light (totally unnecessary)
come up with organization system (labeled tubs count)
Idle hands?? Pfft, the devil has nothing on me.
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Post occupancy update: The place has been rented for two years as of this month! The tenants are lovely and staying for a while longer, but there have been some necessary updates throughout that time, with the most severe/expensive of those happening recently and all at the same time (#life).
- New washer & dryer (The existing dryer cut out as they were packing to go on their honeymoon, and being a combined 20 year old unit; it was time for an update. I got the SHALLOWEST stacking full size washer & dryer on the damn market, and they still stick out a bit. Oh well, I tried.)
-New electrical line run to plug in new seperate washer (small bathroom fan broken in the process & hole cut in textured ceiling, which I have yet to fix)
- New wall in the 2nd bedroom & ceiling in the large bathroom (Thanks to shoddy plumbing in the unit upstairs. Also, home insurance agents are *so* pleasant and responsive....for months. This happened while my poor tenants were welcoming family in town to get MARRIED. They were thrilled...)
- New thermostat (old one crapped out, new one with wi-fi connectivity installed compliments of Al)
- Carpet cleaning in dining room (concrete rained down from above when new owner was using leveling concrete prior to installing new floors but did not seal the concrete substructure gaps....same thoughtful person who caused the plumbing leak, what a gem)
- New flushing mechanisms for both toilets (guess the water is hard and bricks things up pretty quickly)
Hopefully there will not be any more surprises in the near future, and all the place will need is a good cleaning and a few holes in the walls filled when I get it ready to re-rent over the winter.
