Black and White Obsession: House Lists, Lists and More Lists

This series of home posts are events which occurred in the distant past, please bear with me until I catch up to the present.

Graphic by: Trisha D.

Somewhere between all the chaos and excitement we found the time to brainstorm some of the major things we wanted to tackle before we moved in. This may sound like we were jumping the gun, but we figured having a plan is better than none at all- plus its FREE!

Since the boyfriend was finishing up the apartment lease and had to give a 30 day notice, there was an overlap in residences for a little over a month. Although it may seem like two sets of bills, it really wasn't since the first full (and partial) month’s mortgage is calculated into the loan and the first payment is due the following full month. Here’s a calendar view:

The house overlap proved beneficial as we had a pretty hefty to do list before we moved in. These three were compiled before we moved in:

-replace the locks.

-install a mailbox and have postal service inspect.

-take before pictures and video throughout the house.

-clean and scrub the whole first floor.

-paint the walls and ceilings for the entire first floor.

-remove all carpeting and seal whatever material is underneath.

-convert the bath tub into a functional shower.

-monitor the status of the water heater (it's 20+ years old).

-monitor the attic and house for rodents and put preventative measures in place.

-convert the second bedroom into a walk-in closet including washer & dryer with floor reinforcing.

-replace the countertops in the kitchen.

-move old unusable appliances to an unused, easy-access portion of the house/garage.

-replace tack paper in the kitchen cabinets.

-prepare window treatments for privacy.

-remove closet walls in the second bedroom (best before painting, but for time constraints or if structurally necessary- it would then be addressed in a later phase).

We thought it would be nice to slowly take some things to the new place every visit, since it can be a bit of a drive forgetting something. So another yet another list was born: