Dirty laundry

Last Saturday temperatures here on the Palouse skyrocketed over 110F.  One of the reader boards in town registered 113 for an hour in the late afternoon.  Needless to say, I spent last Saturday locked up in our bedroom, which was the only room that had air conditioning.  I got quite a bit done (as I posted on Facebook!)  Our bedroom now actually looks kind of like a room, rather than a dumping ground for stuff.

Unfortunately, our living room adopted the title of "dumping ground for stuff" in the process.

I've set a goal to get through 2 boxes per day so that I don't feel overwhelmed, and it's worked so far.  Most of the "stuff" is storage, things that don't get used regularly but don't need to be given away or tossed.  Like my fabric stash.  Eventually (when we finish the bedroom), my "little office" will get some deep floating shelves, and the fabric will get stacked there.  Thankfully I only have 3 small boxes with fabric.  It used to take up two shelves of the built-in cabinet at my old place, so it's not like I have a problem or anything.  I just happen to own 3 sewing machines (okay, 2 sewing machines and a serger...but one of the machines belonged to my grandmother!!)

Today's topic, however, is laundry.  Before Connor was potty trained, we used cloth diapers, so I was doing laundry every other day.  When he was a newborn and Damien was still in diapers, we did laundry every day (holy diapers, Batman!!)  I'd do it again in a heartbeat--not having to lug a trash bag full of funky diapers to the trash every couple days versus tossing them in the wash...easy.  Then again, I was a stay-at-home mom the majority of that time, so it really wasn't a big deal.  Even when I was working and C was still in diapers, it wasn't bad.  I'd throw them in to soak before work, finish the wash cycle when I got home and then toss them in the dryer and have them stuffed and ready after dinner.

Now that he isn't in diapers, however, we still have two pretty PlanetWise wets bags that I've since demoted (promoted?!) to clothes duty.  Until today, they hung on the back door handle of the boys' room and was more of a hindrance than anything as it would weigh down the door and make it difficult for them to open or close the door.

So I had an idea.  And the best part was, it was a free idea since we had all the supplies already!

The closet seemed the best place for them, since that's the area the boys do the majority of their dressing/undressing, but the problem was putting them in a place that was accessible to tiny humans while still keeping them out of the way.

The bonus of having a Handy Husband is he saves every nail and screw he finds.  I dug through my tool kit until I found a couple of nice long flooring nails and hammered them in at a slight angle.  I tested the weight on Damien's side first to make sure it wasn't just going to fall right out; but thankfully the construction of our house included shiplap boards along the walls...not so good for insulation, but GREAT for nailing stuff into the walls!  They're super sturdy and not going anywhere anytime soon.  When we (eventually) pull out all the awful panelling in the room and replace it, I can just have my HH remove the nails (they're in there nice and tight) and either replace them with a sturdier hook or just use the nails again.  They're not in an area that finds itself in constant traffic (a hazard to roughhousing humans), so they're safe enough for now.

I can hear the doubters saying, "Yeah, 'cuz they're going to clean up their clothes on a regular basis."  They actually do a pretty good job (with reminders and the occasional threat or me throwing their clothes at them while they play the xylophone HAH).  They also have a chore chart where they earn rewards if they keep their clothes picked up, put their toys away, make their beds, and help feed the dog.  I need to get a new dry-erase marker for it (the old one dried out), but it's highly effective.  The boys love marking off the day's chores and get very excited when they earn something new.

What is your laundry-collection plan?  Anyone have something cool they do that they want to share?  I'm envious of this lady, I wish my laundry area was THIS organized!!  Someday....

The good, the bad, and the very ugly

We had a bridal shower here on Saturday.  I wish that things had been a little more finished (ie., the walls painted!!) but it was still very nice.  There were places for guests to sit, eat, and socialize; and the bride-to-be had a good time!  Overall, a success.

I am really enjoying my new job--I'm off early on Wednesdays and all day Thursday, so I can get a lot accomplished around the house.  Today was "let's see if the fireplace is operational" day.  Spoiler: it is!  Once we cleaned all the stuff out of it (including SEVEN dead birds), I could see all the way up to the top of the chimney.  Adding to the list of stuff to do: mesh on the top of the chimney to keep the poor creatures out.  I also closed the flue.  Not sure why it had been left half-open for three years, but there you go.

Some progress photos:

Couch console is actually an IKEA shelf set on its side!
Eventually it should have more clutter in it--games, decorative
knick-knacks and such.

The black lines on the wall are spray paint.  Your guess is as
good as mine for why it's there.  My best theory is that it was
to mark where electrical line was run.

Note the pretty pretty paint test area XD

Obligatory dog photobomb

It looks so much better than it originally did, but we're still only part-way there to a finished product.  Still to accomplish in here for the meantime: paint on the walls, painted trim, and a light solution for the living room.  Long term is new windows that actually open.  WHAAAAT?!  Crazy concept, I know.  For the meantime, it's blistering hot in here.  I can't imagine why functional windows weren't installed when the house was updated in the 70s.  Every other room in the house has them, including the basement (wut.)

Heather's wedding is this weekend (yay!) so she'll be moving out and we can reclaim her room (mixed feelings...we'll miss you, little sis!)  I think for the meantime it'll be a guest room with the eventual idea that it'll be turned into a nursery.  No pictures of it--that's the very ugly part of this post, haha!!  It's half packed, all dark brown and miserable.  Heather started pulling down ceiling tiles to get to the light so she could change it out, so the ceiling is visible.  Sadly it does a lot to lighten the room.  I still don't understand the 70s obsession with dark rooms.  I don't want to live in a cave, thanks!!

What updates are you working on in your home?  Do you have any fun (or disgusting!) projects that you'd like to share?  I hope nobody else finds seven birds in their fireplace.

Floors, decor, and furniture!!

One of the most exciting things about getting married was that we had our floors refinished by Chris Mathia of Western Heritage Flooring while we were on our honeymoon.  We left patchy filthy floors and came back to gorgeous clean floors that show the history of the home.

 Living room

Kitchen

 Boys' room

We needed somewhere to store all the stuff, though, so our bedroom and Heather's bedroom didn't get done.  We were fine with this--this way the majority of it is finished, so when we need the other two rooms done, we have somewhere to put our bedroom while the floors are being finished!

I'm so happy to finally be unpacking stuff.  The house actually looks like someone lives here now :)  Unfortunately the house is still in a state of BEING unpacked, so it's kind of a mess.  Hey, we're aiming for progress here ;)

For time and eternity

These crazy kids are getting married tomorrow!  No new posts for a while while we settle in to our married life together.

For more information on temple marriage and marriage in the Latter Day Saint faith, click here.

Minute to breathe

The last two weeks have been extraordinarily busy.  We're 100% moved in (have been for a week), but everything is still in boxes.  Basically I worked all week, came home, ate dinner, hung out for an hour, then came home and went to bed.  I'm praying that my load lightens a bit so I can spend more time at home, accomplishing the things we need to do here!  I did manage to get two of the three bedrooms into usable order.  I need to finish putting away clothes and remove some of the extraneous items from my bedroom (which got used as a storage room for a few days) but after that, bedrooms are good for use.  I just need some curtains!!  I think we'll work on that next weekend, when Mom is in town.  I'm thankful I have access to 4 sewing machines and a serger!

Today I am thankful for quiet Saturday mornings.  I woke up this morning before my alarm and took the opportunity to take a short run.  Jazz is a great running buddy!  He keeps my pace, don't stop to sniff every single interesting thing, and because he's a small dog, his stamina level is still better than mine.  He's been doing much better recently.  Now if he does, for some reason, go out into the yard, he comes back in right away when called.  He has his own blanket on the floor next to the bed in my room, but the other night he slept at the foot of Damien's bed (which completely made Damien's day!!)  Connor is still somewhat resisting sleeping in his own bed, but we had forward movement Thursday night: he fell asleep initially in my bed (while I was toddling around finishing up evening chores) and I woke him up (accidentally) to move him to his bed.  He was unhappy when I laid him down, but it was because I had neglected to grab his pillow from my bed (which he thoughtfully brought with him when he crawled into my bed in the first place.)  That remedied, and a couple of minutes of snuggles, he was a happy camper, and slept the whole night in his bed.

Status update on the house: floors are 80% stripped and ready for sanding.  Joey did a lot last night, finishing up the hallway and made good progress on the kitchen.  I'm grateful for that, I was getting tired of tracking adhesive all over the house!!  This stuff is nasty, and it triggers my asthma.  A lot of the windows are open and this morning I have both screen doors open, too.  Although, the front door is kinda useless as far as clean air.  One of our neighbors has a beautiful simple wooden screen door on her front.  I told Joe that we should make one like it!

We also tore out the dishwasher!  The cutoff valve wasn't working correctly and it was collecting water from the sink and when it was going to drain, the pipe was leaking.  We wound up with soaked beams and a puddle in the basement.  I'm grateful we have family close by who knows a thing or two about plumbing (thanks, Chris!)

On today's list: get the living room to a usable point, move extra storage boxes downstairs, finish making the kitchen usable.  We may make a trip into Pullman to look at flooring for the kitchen again.  I found some really cool options at Pullman Building Supply when I was there 2 weeks ago.  You can pretty much scratch at it with a set of keys and it won't scuff!  I'm not sure what the long-term wear would be like, but combined with the fact that it's a plastic-type floor, I wouldn't worry about spilling water or other liquids on the floor and having it stain the wood floors underneath.

Love you all, thank you all for your support!!

Also: THREE WEEKS!!!!

Update

I am still alive!  We survived the move (only a few things left to bring over here) and I have some pictures to post to the blog soon.  We have changed quite a few things at the house, including ripping up the floor in the living room to expose the hardwood!  Joey has said he thinks it is Douglas Fir.  It's beautiful and I cannot WAIT to refinish it!

I'll try to update more tomorrow night after work and FHE.  Love you all!!

Ceiling!

Okay, naked ceiling! No other updates today. Well, I guess we cleaned the living room up to prepare for stuff to get moved in on Saturday, but other than that nothing new!