I’m admittedly a bit behind on these updates. I’m going to give myself a break though because I’ve been working essentially around the clock and juggling class, work, and the condo for the past 10 days. I’ve been home long enough to go to sleep for a few hours, grab some coffee, and start over again.

So what happened on Day 1 – A LOT.

The focus for Saturday was getting rid of all the junk. If I haven’t mentioned it before, the lady who lived here had a love for wallpaper, ceiling fans, window clings, cats, and lots of pink.

{Sidenote: as we started to remove wallpaper, we found that many of the walls were never actually painted underneath. I have a suspicion that this unit may have been a model unit given all its “upgrades” and convenient location in the building –  at least I can think so.}

I also want to apologize for the horrendous lighting in the pictures. We only had light from windows at either end and hallways to work with.

First order of business was to start removing the carpet.

Work is definitely made nicer by the trees and pond behind my balcony provided you ignore the ugly fence. I have already enjoyed a few mornings with coffee out there even though there’s no chairs at the moment.

By the end of the day, the carpet and padding were entirely gone, and the dining room was holding my kitchen appliances. I believe we filled at least 2 box trucks worth of junk from the place in just this day alone.

 

And here’s the living room. We did manage to save the massive mirror which was actually glued to the wall, and we were also able to start on wallpaper removal.All in all, we got a lot more accomplished on Day 1 than I ever imagined.

Day 2 coming soon.

 

Well, folks, it finally happened. I’m officially a homeowner, and I’m embarking on a journey of renovating a fixer upper at 24!

I settled last Friday evening after work, but to be honest, I don’t know whether I was more excited to get my new iPhone 6 waiting at home or getting the key to the condo.

That night, after stopping at work to utilize decent internet to restore my phone, I headed to the condo armed and ready, or so I thought. Turns out one person with a box of microfiber cloths and 1 bottle of cleaning spray don’t do much at 8PM. The night was a bust, but I did manage to get some things accomplished

I started removing the botched DirecTV install. They actually ran the coaxial cable from the dish balcony over the fireplace, and back down, and it was the first thing to go. It was unsightly to say the least, but it was nothing compared to the way they ran the rest of the place. Every where you looked was coaxial cable (running through the kitchen, in front of the water heater, sticking out of the coat closet, running through the entry way, in the linen closet, peaking out in the guest room,and finally culminating in the master bedroom

My next task was removing all the homemade window clings from every glass surface imagineable. This lady had bugs, birds, and lighthouses EVERYWHERE. I thought I got rid of them all, but they keep turning up, including a ladybug that appeared in my purse somehow.

My last task for the night was removing the faded blue lamp shades from the light fixture in the dining room. I had originally planned to replace this light, but in an effort to save money, I’ve decided I’m going to spray paint it instead.

Now are you ready for the before pictures?! (Images courtesy of MRIS)

Notably missing are decent pictures of either bathroom or the guest room.

Check back for Day 1’s progress coming shortly.