Serious downsizing!

I posted earlier in the week that I had a plan for the final downsize push. Basically moving into the Bungalow and letting go of what is leftover.

Wednesday - clothes

I took every piece of clothing I own and put them all on my bed. I'm not a clothes horse so it isn't that much. Then I took each piece and decided if I loved it and it made me happy. Yes...and it went in the keep pile, no...and it went in the donate pile, and maybe also went in the donate pile. As you can see if I didn't love it, it went in the donate pile. Just need to say I'm now in need of new socks. Now to find some I LOVE!  Confession: I have a couple of fancy dresses that I'm torn about.  I love them and they make me very happy, but I haven't worn either one in MANY years.  They need a consignment shop I think.  Any advice on this point?

Two views of ALL my clothes.

I am happy to report that everything fits in the spaces I had designed for my clothes.  Socks and undies go in the drawers under the bathtub, and everything else goes in the trunk.  Anybody out there have a 3D printer that needs a project?  I need some additional hangers for the trunk but the design is not a common one.  Can't just run over to the dollar store and pick some up.  I have a few ideas I need to try out, but a 3D printer would be ideal...and fun.

Wed/Thurs  Also got through all the books in the house.  Two boxes to the library, two boxes to charity and the keepers all went in a tote.  The keepers are mainly books that I use when I teach, so they are for work.

Thurs/Fri  Then I started scanning letters.  My mom didn't keep a journal (at least one that she didn't burn). So the letters she wrote are all the personal history we've got.  When my Grams passed away, Mom got back all the letters she had written to Grams.  Grams had saved them all.  It is fun to read about the time when my younger brother and sister were born and very small.  My mom and dad were so excited to have them come to our family.   

I'm still selling furniture and it seems to be going quite well.  The big house is starting to feel more empty, which is probably a good thing.  This week I'm going to focus on finishing the teardrop so I can then clean out the Bungalow and begin the big (or tiny) move-in.  :)

Closet drawers

Still focusing on in-the-big-house projects so I'm finishing up the closet as well. I wanted to embroider some sealife into the drawer covers to add a little fun.  The pictures don't quite allow you to see all the fun little details, but we'll give it a go anyway.

This is the bottom drawer, not quite finished...still need to attach the cover to the drawer.

The crab that lives in the bottom right of the bottom drawer.

And the seahorse that lives just above the crab.

Bottom drawer completed.

Second drawer up...

All four drawers...top one not finished.

All four drawers...top one finished

Drawers back in the trunk.  The light is a little funny on this pic and the bottom two drawers look fluorescent blue, but they really aren't.

There is a little bit left to do with the trunk, like put felt on the bottom so it slides on the floor without scratching, and the drawer slides need a little help too.  I only have six hangers to go in the left side, so I've been contemplating whether to make more hangers using the existing ones as a pattern or to design my own.  I was inspired this morning while watching Indiana Jones.  In Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Nazi weasle-y guy gets out what looks at first like nunchucks, but turns out to be a fold-up hanger which he then hangs his leather coat on (in the desert no less).  Ideas and ideas are springing into my head!

Inside projects galore

Very interesting how situations change from day to day.  Went out to clean up the trim stuff and put away tools for the night last week after turning on a movie for Mom.  Came in the house an hour later to find Mom sitting on the floor instead of in the chair where I left her.  This week she has also proven that it isn't a good idea for her to be left alone, even if she's engaged in a movie.  So I've taken up inside projects that I can bring in the (big) house.  First on this list is finishing up the drawer covers.  I have some oil paints that I have previously used on fabric, so here's where we are so far.

Lining up the drawer fronts so I know where the fabric will meet up once it is attached to the drawer.

Attached to a table for painting, and the seaweed drawn...

The beginnings of seaweed...

Seaweed finished. One more thing to paint, but you'll have to wait for the next update. :P

I'm excited to see how this will look once it is on the drawers and the drawers are back in the trunk!!

More painting

The weather has been so nice that I figured I needed to get some painting finished before it turns cold. So not only the closet is getting a bit of paint/sealant, a few other painting projects are happening too.  Read on...

The inside of the future closet got a nice coat of Kilz...now the debate...paint or fabric to re-cover the inside?

The drawers are looking good too, and of course I ran out of Kilz just when I only need to finish the inside of two drawers. Of course.  Think I'll paint the drawers, but cover the fronts with fabric.  That way if I want to change the look, I can just re-cover the drawer fronts.

Next on the painting list is the storage loft.  The person who remodeled our current house left quite a bit of paint for touch ups, etc...like a 5 gallon bucket. So instead of buying more paint, I decided to use it for the storage loft.  Below, all ready for painting.

First coat, and a debate about painting the door...I was originally going to put a clear coat on the door, but I've almost decided to paint it.

Also on the painting list...a few panels on the gable ends outside are still tan and need to be blue.

The list for October includes painting, quotes for propane plumbing, and starting the utility box that will live on the trailer tongue and hold the electrical stuff.

The Closet

We now return to our regular programming...

So back to the bungalow.  With the changes I made to the interior layout, I essentially eliminated much of my storage space including clothes closets.  In an effort to keep some of the fantastic furnishings around my current larger house I've decided to use a few things for which they were originally intended. This trunk for example, which was being used as a TV stand.

My mother claims it is the trunk my grandfather used when he returned to Denmark as a missionary.  Although we have a picture of my grandfather with a trunk that looks like this one, I'm not positive that this is the actual trunk.  Nevertheless, I like it and I'm going to use it as my clothes closet.  It will sit in the corner behind the front door and most likely stay open most of the time unless I have guests or want to spread out something else.  It has the original fabric covering throughout which is very worn and musty. So the plan is to remove the old fabric, spray the interior and drawers with kilz (I was happy to find it in spray form), and add new fabric.  For new fabric, I plan on using a solid color, as opposed to finding a flowery print like the old.  If I feel like getting fancy, I might do a little embroidery work on the  drawer fronts.

Here I've got the drawers stripped of fabric and patched.  Only one drawer was actually not in bad shape.  The others have needed a bit of patching and repair. 

Got the fabric out of the inside as well.