Where I've been...

I know the blog has been really quiet lately.  I've been so busy I don't know what direction I'm moving in.  In July I got a new job, bought a house, started the crazy task of getting painters in, pulling up old carpet, having flooring installed, moving all my worldly possessions with nothing more than a pick-up and a bunch of picking-up, travel for work for no less than two weeks out of every four and try not to lose my mind.  I've got some before photos of one of the bedrooms so I'll share those.  So you can see not only how far we've come, but also the depth of my crazy.

This is a bedroom that I will be using as an office and maybe a guest room.  

The first thing that had to go was the carpet.  Not a single piece of carpet in this house was worth saving.   This blue paneling?  That's got to go, too.

I'm not a fan of carpet anyway.  It is a breeding ground for who knows what.

I set about removing the carpet and padding.  You can save a few dollars in labor if you pull this stuff up yourself.  You also know that every staple was actually removed.  

This sand.  Yes.  Sand.  All trapped under the carpet and padding.

I didn't weigh it.  Maybe I should have.  This is all of it, piled into my dust pan.  This is one reason I hate carpet.

Sadly, the flooring tiles were too damaged to leave as-is, so I had to get some flooring put in before moving into the space.  That chair rail had to go, too.  I kid you not, every room in the house had chair rail.  

That closet space has such potential!

Ready for the next step:  Painters!

I don't know how often I will share these before/after photos.  But I did want to provide at least a little explanation as to where I've been.  This room is just one of the four we worked on to make them livable.  All while trying to move ourselves (that was a poor decision) and work full-time and travel for work.  We've made great progress but it hasn't been easy or quick.

When we are done, it will be awesome!