Itty Bitty Update

Yes, gross, I know. The oven before.

And after getting blasted with my usual baking soda/vinegar combo (which did not do a thing), and 3 rounds of Easy Off (thanks to my SIL!). Still a few stubborn spots, but exponentially better.

Miscellaneous things had collected on our small front stoop.

A weed eater, weed eater string, antifreeze, brake fluid, oil, oil changing bin, a trash can, Baby Boy's kiddie pool, a plastic bin full of rusted toys, a bag of quickcrete, and a few (heavy!) odds and ends collected from Hubby's construction days.

This is what I encountered while trying to clean it.

Why yes, that is a black widow. Guarding three egg sacs.

One brave brother later, and it's a dead black widow. It made a glorious splatter. The egg sacs just went 'smush'.

I was too creeped out to do any more on the stoop that night, so work stopped for the day.

The next day, I worked on it again and had the pleasure of meeting a tarantula.

It was monstrous! I have never seen a live spider that huge in my entire life. Not the kind of people I'd like to make permanent friends with.

I didn't have time to take a photo of it. Bro was at work, you see, and I was in too much of a hurry to kill it.

He was nice enough (my bro, not the spider) to find a website with a photo of it for me, to be sure I saw what I did. I called it a tarantula because (judging from TV) that's the only arachnid I could compare it to, being so hairy. I was so grossed out to find it was an actual tarantula.

Here's it's twin: *shudder*

Cleared of all spiders.... for now. The grass has been cut since then so it looks a little better than this photo.

I've also found two thriving hornet's nests high above the stoop. So high, I can't get at them. But I've had to kill 4 of the wasps. It seems like every time I come back inside, I find one wasp that has followed me into the house. All I can say is, God bless Black Flag and fly swatters.

Tutorial Tuesday: How to Replace a Light Switch Plate

It seems the previous owner used a sprayer to paint all the rooms, including the light switches and outlets. Not a great look. To top it off, it is flat paint so it absorbed every smudge and print left by frequent use.

This was my very first time changing out switch plates, so I figured I'd document it.

STEP 1: Use a box cutter to cut through the paint attaching the plate to the wall. Do not cut into the drywall! Notice the angle of the blade. All that was needed was to separate the plate from the wall.

STEP 2: Using a screwdriver, remove the tiny screws and then lift off the plate.

STEP 3: Install the new plate with new screws, making sure it's straight. 

These took less than 2 minutes each. I can imagine how quickly it would go replacing plates that aren't fused to the wall with paint. 

Repeat on outlet covers.

You can see the switches and actual outlets are still caked with paint, but it looks a whole lot better. I was excited to do this little makeover! During my cleaning, I came across a bunch of these plates Hubby collected while he was working construction. I think it makes a big difference! Not perfect, but much better. Only a few more plates to go before I'm done with this little project.

I found remnants of a pretty (but dated) wallpaper under the kitchen light switch plates. I'm curious now what this place looked like originally.... it has me daydreaming about the people who may have lived here.

Well... back to the grindstone. I get to see my man soon! Yay!!

Cove Cleaning Recap Day 6

I know you're all probably dead tired of cleaning progress photos. I tried to warn you. Oh well. I wasn't kidding when I said it was this or no blogging. And since I need a visual aid to stay motivated, it's this.

Above the sink, it was time to give the old kitchen window sill a good wipe down. This is the best photo I could get because of the bright sunshine.

Well, hello clean!

I thought my poor African violets were as good as dead once our car was totaled and our returning to spruce up/clear out the house was postponed.

Y'know, I don't expect others to take care of my plants. I forget about them half the time, poor things, so asking someone else to is kind of weird for me.

When I was unable to come back for almost 2 months I thought my violets were goners.

I was ecstatic to see the plant had a little gumption. It was a bit dried out, but still thriving.

I've been carefully nursing it back to health and after a week, I've pruned many dried leaves and watched these lovely few plump back to life again. I even see some new growth!

Looks like it'll make it to our new home after all. That makes me smile.

Freshly scrubbed kitchen floor. I feel like tiptoeing, it's so clean!

On to the laundry room. Various random sticky detergent stains on the shelf....

Floor and baseboards in need of a good cleaning.... you get the idea.

After maneuvering the machines around in their impossibly tiny space, the floor beneath and behind them was scrubbed, as well as the baseboards, shelf and walls.

The machines themselves got a good wipe down too. My grandparents would have been so proud of me. Who would've thought all those hours 'volunteering' to detail clean machines at the family laundromat would come in handy one day? Ha!

Dryer lint filter tip: I learned this from my grandparents. Use an old toothbrush, hot water and a bit of dishsoap to scrub your lint screen every few months. Rinse well and dry off with a clean lint free cloth before replacing.

You'll be amazed at the gunk that was unseen on the filter!

Tiny pieces of lint and residue from dryer sheets collect to form a film on the filter that keeps your dryer from performing at it's best. This simple tip will help clothes dry faster and when coupled with routine removal of the little blankets of lint after every load, will prevent your lint trap from becoming a fire hazard.

So fresh and so clean.

Why yes, below the shelf is a swipe of paint that is two shades lighter than the rest of the wall. What's sad is I never noticed it until I took these photos. At least it's clean! :)

Freshly cleaned master door & frame. I was shocked to see the evidence of sticky toddler hands on every door in the house. Not any more!

Turn to the right and here we have freshly scrubbed laundry room doors and frame. I need to pick up a replacement knob for the left door.

Clean baseboard directly across from the dining room.

You can see one of the outlet covers that need to be replaced. All of the light switch and outlet covers are caked with paint. Again, leftover from the previous owners. I'm hoping it will make a huge difference to have unpainted new ones put in.

One more day of cleaning done!

I took today off, so will have nothing to post tomorrow until I get more things done. It's been such a trying week and I'm trying very hard to not be discouraged or overwhelmed by this seemingly impossible task. One step at a time. God has been so good. Look how much has gotten done in a week! It's a miracle, considering that while I clean, a toddler has to be potty trained, fed and entertained, dinner cooked, blogging done and items sorted for the goodwill, trash and 'keepers' piles. Which reminds me, I really need to buckle down and sort like a madwoman.

One of the hardest parts of all this is when I go to bed, I lay awake until nearly 3AM because my mind won't shut off. It's frustrating, but I'm learning little tricks to help me unwind.

I read my Bible.

Listen to soothing music.

Prop my feet up and imagine a relaxing place and consciously push any thoughts that surface about cleaning out of my mind.

I think I'm getting the hang of this. The other night I got to bed by 2AM and I was ecstatic about that :). I'm hoping to shave off more hours in the coming weeks and be back at a decent bed time soon.

If you think of us in the next two weeks, please pray that everything gets done and that we stay sane. I'm growing weary of it all, but trying to remember it's temporary and is all for a reason. Good night, All!

Cove Cleaning Recap Day 5

Guest bath.

Soap scum is attacking the citadel! The people cry out for deliverance.

Who will save them?

As is evident throughout history, in time of great need, a hero arises. Ready for anything, championing the cause of the common man.
After some struggle, our hero triumphs!


Well, holy shining bathtub, Batman....

No, I'm not crazy. Just weird.
Seriously, though, how awesome is baking soda and vinegar?

There's some permanent discoloration that I'm hoping will be covered up with new caulk.
And the weird criss crossy pattern on the bottom of the tub? I have no idea how to get rid of it, short of painting the tub. I'm thinking it's whatever is underneath the tub or that the layers in the tub are wearing away revealing the core?
The main thing is, I don't know what to do to make it better besides a colorful non slip mat to distract renters when they come for a viewing.
Suggestions?

Where the tub meets the floor.

Much better.
So much re-caulking needs to be done in this house.

The rest of the floor alongside the tub. See the before photo of the corner? Imagine that all along here. Only now, it's clean :)
Is it sad that all I see in this photo is more work? As in new grout and caulk. *sigh*

Frugal tip:
Did you know you can wash plastic shower liners? I recently read about it and nope, I've never thought of washing them. I was going to toss this one but after reading that tip, the cheapskate in me protested. I checked the liner for rips and it was perfectly fine, just discolored, so I figured I'd give washing it a try. After all, it's one of those better quality mold resistant ones and if it can last a little longer, why not? Saving a few pennies is always a good thing in my book!

Before.
A strange pink film collects on the shower liners and in every corner of the bath areas in both bathrooms. As you can see, it's only on the bottom half of the plastic curtain.

Into the washing machine it went. Hot water, gentle cycle.
Some people online were saying their liners weren't coming out clean, so I added a few towels for friction and a cup of vinegar.
I've gotta say, it worked pretty well. Not totally back to it's original color, but definitely clean.
It would melt in the dryer, but since it's plastic, it doesn't matter. It can be rehung on the shower curtain rod wet and air dry just fine.

Thanks to my awesome bro for rehanging it! And for cleaning the rest of the bathroom. I was so not wanting to do it after scrubbing that tub all day. You're wunnerful, twevuh!

And back to the kitchen cabinets. Continuing clockwise. Now we've come around to the sink.
Yay! Finally! It's the halfway mark :)

Here they are dirty...

Close up of the left one. Cracked on the bottom and swimming in stains.

And now clean to match the left side of the kitchen.  Being clean really brings out the bad caulk job doesn't it? This workmanship is all over the house. Why didn't I realize this when we bought it?
All I can mark it down to is newbie home owner syndrome. I didn't know what I was looking for.

Things are coming along slowly but surely. Some days I think the tasks will never end! There's light at the end of the tunnel, though. I'm so tired of cleaning and thinking about cleaning and blogging about cleaning. Oh well. It keeps me focused, I guess. Good night, all :)

Cove Cleaning Recap Day 4

Moving clockwise around the kitchen. Another section of dirty cabinets and the smudged oven facade.

Before

After.

Squeaky clean. Even the tricky spots underneath the knobs and handle are gunk free.
Oh yeah! I was like a shoe shine, shimmying that dishrag soaked in my homemade degreaser (recipe in this post) into the tight spots and 'flossing' like there's no tomorrow!

Did you know my oven has no 'self clean' cycle? Good old scrubbing will have to do on the inside, but that can wait.

To the right of the oven. Before.

This is after spraying it down and scrubbing 3 times over AND using a Mr Clean eraser. 

Hmmm... I don't know why these particular stains are so stubborn. But it irks me.

Above and to the right of the cabinet I just showed you. 

Yes, I forgot to take a photo of them filthy. 

I was just so ready to get them shiny.

The microwave needed a rescue, even though I should be working on things that are attached to the house. Ah well. I just couldn't pass it up. It's such a quick fix too. 

A little bowl of vinegar will help. Any kind will do.

2 minutes on high. 

A wipe with a sponge and hot water leaves it sparkling. 

Well, as sparkling as this ancient thing can get. 

The brown spots you see are permanent. 

From that fateful fork in the microwave fiasco several years ago.

But we won't talk about that.

At least the food particles are gone. The vinegar really softens them so that they can be easily wiped up. 

And once you rinse well, no more stale food smell! Vinegar is my hero.

Aaahhh... let's savor the left side of the kitchen which is sparkling clean.

 Let's not think about the right side with a whole other wall of cabinets, shall we?

Yes, denial is so lovely right now.

I'm dreading clearing off the tops of the cabinets. The resulting dust flurries might dirty up my 'new' cabinets. 

Yeah, probably should've done that first. I'll know to clear off the remaining cabinets before cleaning

It's Thursday! Have you read the Spa Night post? Here you go: More Peaceful Space (mini)Transformations.

Good night, All.