Day 11: Paint Woodwork in the Living Room

As I mentioned, yesterday's project is going to snowball into some other projects for this week. Today I re-painted all of the woodwork in the living room. I did this room first for a few reasons, it's the one room I can't work on when the kids are napping during the week (they sleep in the living room), it has the most woodwork to paint, and it's the one room I can easily keep the dogs out of.

This project somewhat snowballed into a few mini projects, all of which I also completed today...first I painted all of the woodwork around the windows and doors...then I had to repaint the molding on the floor...then I had to paint the inside of the front door...then I had to go buy all new mini-blinds (which I hate by the way) for the windows...

Here's the door, freshly painted!

Once I painted the first thing, everything else looked dingy...so, now the living room has all bright white accents with the woodwork, moldings, and the door! Project 11 - Done.

Can you tell the difference between the windows??? The one on the left looks so dingy!

** I should say, that I've had these projects done all week...but I haven't had time to post!!

Day 10: Caulking the Molding in Kitchen (and Painting...)

First of all...did you see that, day 10..as in double digits!! Ok, on to my project...

Today's project turned into a snowball effect...and I don't think it's over, I have a feeling there will be more daily projects of painting thanks to today's task.  It all started when I decided that I would FINALLY caulk the seams of the molding in the kitchen...then once I did the seams, I had to go back and fill in the finishing nail holes....then when the caulk dried, it was a brighter white then the molding itself, so I had to repaint the molding......do you see what I mean, a snowball effect.  Only it's not over, because as I sit here and type, I'm noticing how badly the rest of the molding needs to be repainted...and if I do it in one room, I'm going to have to do it in all of the rooms.  You all thought there were a lot of posts about spackle...just wait until I start painting!!! Project 10 - Done.

Before (maybe I should have dusted...)     

Before (notice the lack of touch-up ...that was two paint colors ago...)

Day 9: Repair Kitchen Drawer

Back when we remodeled the kitchen, we took the back off of the drawer which held the silverware because the utensil tray didn't fit....not the best way to fix a problem, but it worked.  

See how far back it slides?? So annoying...

Drawer without back

 It's been driving me crazy for a while now, because every time I open and/or close the drawer, the utensil tray slides back (yes I know, this is a silly thing to let bother me)...so today I decided it was time to fix the drawer.

I found a piece of wood in the garage (what will I do when we finish this garage...I've found so many handy things in it over the last week), painted it, and attached it onto the back of the drawer...instead of the inside where the previous back was attached. It's not a perfect match, but you can't tell when the drawer is in the cabinet...and the best part, the utensil tray doesn't slide back anymore!!!  Project 9 - Done.

Drawer with new back

Look at the utensil tray...right where it belongs!!

Day 8: St. Patrick's Day Craft

I have decided, to reward myself for making it one full week...that's 7 completed project...I would do a craft today. It is also giving me a day to evaluate what else needs to be done, and which of those projects I already have the supplies for....because the longer I wait to start spending money, the better.   I hung my St. Patrick's Day decor (what little I have) last weekend, and there has been one thing about it bugging me...

Corner Decor Before

Do you see what I mean, the top piece didn't look right...it needed to be a bit bigger. So, I took matters into my own hands...I painted an extra piece of floor molding and attached the shamrocks to it. I like the end result much better...

Project 8 - Done

Corner Decor After

Day 7: Repair Wall Behind Front Door

Ok, I'm not sure if the rest of you are sick of seeing my wall repairs, but I am sick and tired of spackling! I swear, we do actually have walls in the house that don't have holes in them!!  I think I'm almost done with all of the spackle, now that I've become an expert. 

We've had a dent/hole in the wall behind our front door for about a year now....it's from the door knob hitting the wall when the door is opened. Yes, we did buy & install a door stopper on the wall to prevent the door from hitting, but (here's the surprising part) we didn't fix the actual dent/hole that was made.  Another quick and painless project today...spackle & paint.  Project 7 - Done.

Wall Before: Dent/Hole

Wall After
 (sorry for the dark picture,
the paint still wasn't dry and the sun had almost set)

This project makes one full week of completed projects...most of them were quick and easy. I have to say, I wasn't sure if I could stick with the 30 days (I'm still not) but I have to say, posting my work and reading your comments, both funny & supportive, has really pushed me to stick with it.  These projects haven't been overly time consuming and they haven't given me too many problems....the best part is that I haven't spent any money, not a single cent. Now, It's a little sad that we have had all of the materials to finish these projects...it really just means we are lazy....but this challenge I gave myself is putting an end to all of that.

Day 6: Install Kick-Plate on Kitchen Cabinets

Today's project has been on our list since we remodeled the kitchen...back in 2009. We even purchased the kick-plates back then....and they have been in my garage ever since.

Smaller Counter - Before

Larger Counter - Before

This was another easy project...measure, cut, nail, touch-up nail holes. The entire project only took me all of 30 minutes...I don't know why I couldn't take the extra 30 minutes to finish this project back in 2009.  It's amazing how long I have let these things go....to what, save myself an hour per project??  Thank goodness I decided to give myself this crazy 30 day challenge.  Project 6 - Done. 

Smaller Counter - After

Larger Counter - After

Day 5: Repair Holes in Living Room Ceiling

At some point in 2008, we remodeled the then entry way & boys' bedroom, and created a larger living room. We decided to hang track lighting in the room, however while installing we missed the studs in the ceiling twice, leaving small holes next to the light fixture.  These have been driving us (and others) crazy for years...but again, it didn't effect our daily life, so it went on the back-burner.  Well, it is time for these holes to be repaired. Like the other day, this was a fast and painless project....because we have textured ceilings, I didn't need to sand...and the dried joint compound was the exact color of the painted ceiling, so I didn't need to do any touch-up painting. I really can't figure out why we haveen't done this repair yet!!  Project 5 - Done!

Before

After