Get Back to Work!

January is gone and February is well under way. We have been so busy around here! Doing what? Not all that much. It feels a bit like reorganizing, but I can't be sure. Most of January was spent working in the basement, a space that is vital to the rest of our house being finished. If the basement is a jumble, we will have to hunt down every tool, clamber over piles to get a can of paint and dig out the last scrap of wood or screw just to move on to the next project. We have continued to sort and unpack boxes and even move a few boxes off to storage.

Yes, storage. The word makes me want to cringe. I come from a LONG line of storage unit owners (I refuse to say hoarders and bring a curse upon myself!) and I know that once an item goes into storage it will almost certainly stay there. Forever. Mr. Ireland won't allow that to happen, however, and has set a time limit. All items must be sold or donated by the end of July. With his resolve and my "zero waste" kick, we are sure we can meet that deadline. So I shuffle things off to storage a couple times a week and it has freed up a lot of space in the basement. Enough to dig out the treadmill! Which I may or may not get around to using in February...

I've been taking pictures of things that are going to the yard sale. This is a tiny porcelain box given to me a long time ago by my little brother. It is pretty, but I never use it and everything will come under scrutiny during "the purge". If something you gave me ends up in the sale, I'm sorry, but I just can't keep everything and I'm not really a knick knack kind of girl.

We have also set a lofty goal of having *most* projects indoors completed by the end of May. We have set a major goal for each month and wouldn't you know it, we are already behind! Here is our new list:

January - Basement: Organize, purge, make room (check)
February - Remodel bathrooms...(nothing has happened with that YET)
March - Kitchen remodel
April - Trim work
May - Flooring upstairs
June - Paint house, yard
July - Yard, etc.

The back porch. Rotten, almost useless and covered with snow. This is coming down and will eventually be replaced. With a roof over head.













I attempt to trick myself by listing the fewest words possible when I write down a job, that way I look at it and say to myself "Oh look! How difficult could this be? There are only two words here!" It doesn't work for long.

Now that the baby takes real naps, I can pick up my saw and get back to work. I have a lot of wood projects waiting to be done, but the first is a sample board for bottle cap flooring. I hope to have that finished by the 15th and get a picture up. If you have any bottle caps that you have been saving for us, now is the time to send those on! Callen has collected 7 jars of caps! That's 70 dollars worth of caps - we will buy the caps from him and half of that money will be going to a charity of his choice. Thank you to everyone who has donated bottle caps!

Sweetest baby ever!












I have most of the materials for remodeling my bathroom, but we need to start upstairs. I am afraid that we will remodel mine and then decide not to do the upstairs and it is UGLY. We have decided to replace the upstairs shower with a corner shower. The bathroom is dark and light is cut off by a wall that houses the plumbing, which Mr. Ireland will move, so the wall can come down and that will really open up the tiny upstairs bathroom. I will be painting the bathroom and replacing the vanity light. I am also looking for a small window to install above the toilet. I have to have window's in bathrooms! Not everyone needs that, but I do. I need natural light. Just for fun, answer my poll to the right and let me know how YOU feel about bathrooms that have a window!