The Joys of Homeownership

So, I took the interview/quizzes this afternoon. On the “health” score for the house, it came out “Weak. Energy drain. Visible problems in need of work and have probably put off for some time.” It was at least on the high side of the category – and much better than “very ill/depressing.” Honestly, I would have gone with the “Healthy, Comfortable. Could use improvement at least one area and toning all around” but I suppose we all tend to rank ourselves a little higher than we really are.

I’m pretty secure with my style. My style is, “I’d rather be at the beach.” Pretty straightforward. However, most of this house is decorated colonial. But, there is a fair amount of cool Asian that is sadly hidden away where no one sees it in the parlor/dining room. I see some rearranging of artwork in the future.

The repair list is pretty short, thank god.

– Fix curtain rod on back door
– New lampshades in the living room
– Entry hall light fixture needs replacing
– New lampshades in the master bedroom
– Re-secure the shelving behind the bed (it can be tippy)
– Re-secure one of the shelves in the vanity area
– Re-evaluate lighting in master closet
– New swing out mirror in vanity area in master bedroom
– Fix coat closet door
– Fix linen closet door

I’m sure there will be more as I hit each room more thoroughtly, but this is all we’ve got at the moment, and that’s OK.

Now, as far as the “one room remedy” goes, I’m kind of veering off track I think, but I want to start small, I guess to prove to myself that yes, I can do this. I’m starting with the master closet and vanity area in the master bedroom. It’s not that the area so much needs a makeover/redecoration, but it is a very non-functional area and it should be a very HIGH functional area. That simply MUST change.

So, the room has been chosen, I guess I need to find some pics of vanity/dressing area setups and see if there is something that pops out at me and set a budget on the changes to be made. I don’t dislike the setup and decor at the moment, so it may just stay the same – but I will make the effort to look around.

Tonight I’ll toss some fresh batteries in the camera and we’ll have some proper before and after pictures.

As I said, I finished up the book last night and we will be kicking off Week 1. I really like this because it is nicely structured without being militant about the whole thing.

I’ve got to do a little questionnaire thing – appears to get me to start thinking about things, hardly a bad thing. Then things kind of “split off” between getting things in shape and actual upgrades/improvements/redecorating.

First, there is the “deep treatment”, which will encompass the following:
– Listing the necessary repairs and solutions
– Vacuum and mop the floors
– Remove one item from the house and put it outside
– Buy fresh flowers
– Sit for 10 minutes in part of the house that I never sit in
– Look into earth-friendly cleaning products

This is all exceptionally do-able. The house is very structurally sound, which means the repair list should be pretty short. The vac & mop may be a tad more challenging, since I’m pretty sure they mean the whole damn house. :)

Then there is the “One Room Remedy” – this may actually be the harder part.
– Choose one room
– Gather pics of rooms I love
– Start the Style Tray
– Visit my fav home store
– Set budget

This is going to be very difficult, because I don’t even know what room to choose. There aren’t any rooms I want to radically makeover in the house – just some minor things. I want some different prints in the master bedroom, things like that. What each room needs more than anything is a massive decluttering. I still think I can make it work – just a matter of finding the place to get started.