I was out in the garage working in spurts. I'd get some stuff done and then I'd sit and stare, stuck in overwhelm mode. Then Ken came walking up the driveway. We had talked the other night about him coming over to help me with stuff, but I didn't want to call him until I really needed him for stuff like heavy lifting and plumbing. But here he was. I had already mostly cleaned out one side of the garage. I was planning to paint the walls before assembling my shelves and workbench, but since my help was here we decided to get things started and I could paint around them. Ken and I hung a big, heavy cabinet and moved some shelves and the base cabinet for the workbench into place. That took up a big chunk of the afternoon. Then we worked a little on getting things cleaned up. We loaded up a lot of stuff into his truck to be taken to Second Time Around. That helped a lot.
I think he was a little taken aback by how much crapola I have. Really, I am working on it and several loads have already been taken to thrift stores or thrown away. But compared to him and Sherri, I'm Dad. Their house is the tidiest place I've ever seen and it's ALWAYS like that. They don't have any extra junk. NONE. I admire that.
Drew has the counter top for my set-up and he's bringing it by tomorrow. Having my work area put together is going to make such a difference. I'll have TOOLS. I think on Wednesday I'll go buy some paint and get started.
This feels good. I'm finally starting to take possession of the place. Thank you, Ken. You really helped move things forward today.
6 comments:
I can't believe how much crapola you have, either. With all the truckloads you've hauled, the place should look like a "Designed to Sell" in that cleared-away time between before and after!
Did you see Antiques Roadshow last night? A guy had this little bitty drop-leaf desk that had come down through his family for almost 400 years and it was stuffed with 400-years' worth of memorabilia: letters and maps and false teeth. It was fabulous: $100,000.
I in no way imply that you should save your stuff in this fashion.
-dean
the fambers--the cleared-out spaces
Well, I'm getting there. I do get inspired by Designed to Sell.
Yeah, every time I see those ka-ching moments on Antiques Roadshow I get all jealous. I know I don't have anything worth more than a couple hundred bucks.
But isn't it annoying when you go into an antiques store and see the stuff from your childhood? If only we could know when we're young what's worth saving. Dave's sister Suzi was smart enough to save all her playbills from the Fillmore & Winterland, etc.
What's Designed to Sell?
It's a show on HGTV. Someone will have a house to sell. They have a snotty realtor walk through and criticize the crap out of everything the homeowner is doing wrong. They'll point out clutter, outdated decorating, deferred maintenance, bad curb appeal, and other stuff that would turn off a buyer. They'll choose three rooms or two rooms and the landscaping or patio, and have a designer and a crew come in and redo the place for under $2,000. It's pretty amazing how much they can do with that little bit of money. Of course, they're not factoring in the labor.
Mostly they're just clearing out clutter and correcting paint colors but often they'll install new countertops and new floors and tile and a lot of stuff that ends up looking pretty high-end. Everything always looks reeeally good when they're done. They have good designers on that show. After they're done they have an open house so they can sell the place.
fornicsh- Let's do it, but don't make so much noise this time.
Yeah... $2000! HAR! Let's start at the top: the consultations are free, from the realtor to the designer to the contractors. (When I sold my house the stager charged me $75 just to walk through the place! And then was pissed off when it sold without her.) Then the discounts they get! I remember one show they got matching couches for $300. Puhleeeeeez. And sometimes the homeowners will buy all new appliances or hardwood flooring because it isn't possible in the "budget". And of course there's all that fabulous furniture hiding in the garage or the basement or at Mom's. And something doesn't work out like they thought? Riiiiiiip it out and start over, but the extra time and materials don't count.
But I LOVE that show! Viewing tip: if you DVR it, skip the middle.
-dean
suddist--a television cynic
Yeah, you're right. It's probably more like $20,000.
Drew brought the counter top over. Man, it's a lot longer than I remembered. I spent some time today notching out the cabinet and shelf unit so they fit snug against the wall. Then I put the counter top on the cabinet. I'll have to take the whole thing apart so I can paint it and tweak the fitting, but seeing it all put together gave me a boost. I can see myself puttering around out there making fun, artsy things. I wanted to just keep going but I won't be able to get to it until next week. It feels good to be looking forward to working on this house. It's been a big, overwhelming blob for the past year.
centasy- the cheapest kind of ecstasy.
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