Before we could even begin to work on remodeling the house we had a lot of cleaning to do.  I mean like 20 years worth of cleaning.  This house has a way of accumulating possessions and not letting them go.  Besides months (maybe years?) of dust sitting in all the cracks of the woodwork (which literally fills EVERY room), there was also a huge basement AND a 3-car garage full to the brim with boxes, and furniture, and trash.  That’s a lot of stuff people!

It took us two whole days and a whole crew of family and friends to clean this place out.  Take a look at the garage.

And that was day 2!  Luckily, we found a lot of treasure amidst the trash. We were able to salvage some wood materials, three lawnmowers, an elliptical machine, tons of tools, and a sizeable scrap pile that we can use to offset some of our remodeling costs.

Cuz let me tell you people, remodeling is expen$ive!! Emphasis on the $$$!

And anyone who knows me, knows that I am a budget queen..well, let’s just call things by their real name. I am a 100% CONTROL FREAK! Especially when it comes to my pile of savings. lol

I budget down to the last penny. Really, you have to with a mortgage payment, utilities, food, gas and remodeling labor and materials on top of all that.

Luckily, we are using a reliable and affordable, not to mention extremely qualified contractor to help with the remodel- my DAD! 🙂  Check out his facebook page if you’re considering any kind of repair or remodel. The guy does it all, really.

Now that the house is cleared of all the clutter we can actually start to plan out how we are going to complete all of the repairs…and then after that…many, many, months away…comes the fun part- DECORATING!!!