Post 2: "Obviously" Before the Move

We closed on our house mid-September and we didn't have to be out of our apartment until the end of the month, so that obviously meant to us that we would get some work done on the house the week before we moved in.  Nice idea, right?  We would put in a little elbow grease before the moving team got to work and then we wouldn't have to move all of our furniture twice to paint walls and tear down wallpaper.  No big deal, right?

Let me tell you what we thought would "obviously" get done in that week's time:

1. Bug bomb the house (it was vacant for a while -- vacant other than a few critters...)
2. Deep clean the place (ourselves, of course -- anything to save a buck)
3. Paint the living room blue
4. Replace the blinds in the whole house
5. Tear down wallpaper in the entry way

We aren't so crazy about the green...

6. Texture and paint the entry way
7. Paint the master bedroom
8. Install crown molding in the master bedroom
9. Change the locks

THEN if we had any time left (which, we probably would, right?)

10. Tear down wallpaper in the dining room

Again -- not crazy about the green wallpaper.

11. Texture and paint the dining room


Before I go any further, let me paint you a picture.  Alan and I currently work 8-5 in Northwest Houston.  After work, it takes us about 25 minutes to drive straight to the house in 5:00 traffic.  Upon closing, we had a drill and a small toolbox which held about 10 screwdrivers and a nice collection of nuts and bolts, but we did not have a paintbrush, drop cloth, or saw of any sort to our name.  Do you see where I'm going?  We had quite a few Home Depot trips ahead of us that we hadn't considered.



--> 12. Home Depot supply trips

So we had our list.  Our house would basically be done before we ever moved!  (Are you feeling the sarcasm yet?)

After closing, Alan had a softball game, but we were determined to get something done that first night.  After his game, we drove to the house and set off several bug bombs.

Half of our cleaning crew -- so blessed by them!

The next morning, we packed up our cleaning supplies and headed back to the house for what turned into a cleaning party.  Let me take a moment to brag on Alan's family -- they are fantastic.  Alan and I had a day full of scrubbing and vacuuming planned for the two of us when his parents showed up equipped to sanitize bathrooms and install doorknobs.  We could NOT have done it without them.  Sidenote: I understand now why people pay for cleaning services before they move -- it's a lot of work!

In fact, everything about our house seems to be turning into a lot of work.  I'm not saying we aren't enjoying it -- we're having a blast!  But things seem to take a little bit longer than we anticipate... quite often.

Remember our list of what was going to be completed before move in?  We completed everything!

Yeah.  Right.  Here's what we really accomplished:

1. Bug bomb the house (it was vacant for a while -- vacant other than a few critters...)
2. Deep clean the place (ourselves, of course -- anything to save a buck)

Multitasking -- windows and floors at the same time!

3. Paint the living room blue
4. Replace the blinds in the whole house (replace blinds in the master bedroom)
5. Tear down wallpaper in the entry way
6. Texture and paint the entry way
7. Paint the master bedroom
8. Install crown molding in the master bedroom
9. Change the Locks

Step-Dad Bo installing door knobs

*Sulak Suggestion

Okay.  So this is the Kwikset Smart Key Re-key Technology System.  We were skeptical, but after using it, we were really impressed.  We have four external doors in our house and we were under the impression that you had to buy a package of four locks to get matching keys.  After about 30 minutes of searching the Home Depot door knob aisle, we were at a loss -- there was not a set of four door knobs with matching locks to be bought.  Fortunately, one of the patrons of Home Depot saw our dismay and offered his assistance.  Apparently, locks are not made in a factory by hand where each individual lock and key are unique from one another.  You can buy matching locks by matching an identification code on the back of the packaging -- so technically, you could have the same house key as someone else!  (Lock companies vary the locks enough that we're probably safe... but we went ahead and marked out our lock number anyways!)  

Want a nice front door knob that still uses the same key as the rest of your doors?  That's where the Kwikset Smart Key Re-key Technology System comes in.  In literally 15 seconds, you can re-key the lock to match any key you'd like!  It's a three-step system and it's as easy as reading the box.  I know it sounds too good to be true, but we tried it and it works!

10. Tear down wallpaper in the dining room

11. Texture and paint the dining room
   12. Home Depot supply trips

 www.cbsnews.com

Okay, so we "obviously" didn't get all eleven tasks marked off our list, but six and a half out of twelve really isn't that bad, is it?

What did we learn about home improvement? How fast we think it will go:

www.carguydad.com

How fast it actually goes:

auto.howstuffworks.com

Be warned!

Stay tuned and we'll talk about transforming our master bedroom from a dim, purple cave to a bright, grand retreat (well, it's on its way to becoming one)!

Click here for the master bedroom project.