Since moving into our house about two years ago, I tried to be organized about the home projects I tackled by taking it one room at a time. But then I looked around and saw that, yeah, one room is exactly the way I wanted it but the rest of the house was either really outdated or in some instances kind of gross (we live in an old, well loved house where most of the rooms hadn’t been remodeled in 20+ years).
So, I’m trying something new and calling it “Project Presentable” (formerly known as “Project Unfunkafy!”). It goes like this: If I were to invite someone over, would this room be presentable? If the answer is “yes”, great, move on to the next room. If the answer is “no” then make a list of the things that need to be done just to make it presentable and tackle only those projects and no more. The rationale is that I want to use my time and budget to get my house looking decent first before I go nuts and make it perfect.
In my house, some of the rooms made the “presentable” cut, and some didn’t. Here are some of the rooms I would cringe if someone walked into them in the state they’re in:
This is the kids’ bathroom that also doubles as the guest bathroom and it’s dingy and dark and just plain nasty! Everything is beige except for the grout which is a beautiful shade of “gross.”
This beautiful bathroom is our powder room. It follows the same decor as the kids’ bathroom: beige and outdated.
Our kitchen. The cabinets are outdated and old and the floor is linoleum. At least the countertops are granite (small miracles…).
So, after the walk-through, my husband and I decided to tackle the yucky parts in each room to at least get them up to snuff. It would be nice to focus on one room and get it perfect (I’d love a brand new kitchen!), but then that leaves no time let alone money in the budget to handle even the little things that annoy me in the other parts of the house. So house projects from now on will focus on inexpensive fixes to make the house look nice, but not perfect.
For example, I really want to tackle the kids’ bathroom because my sister is coming at the end of the month and this is the bathroom she’ll use and I want it to be presentable. Normally I would go hog wild and rip out just about everything. Here’s my old list:
Rip out the floors and install new ones
Demolish the outdated vanity and replace it with something with much more storage and much prettier
Replace all fixtures to include the faucet and shower head
Paint the walls and ceiling
Replace the toilet with something more water efficient and without a hairline crack at the bottom of the commode
Replace the light bar above the mirror
Re-tile the shower surround
Replace the huge, outdated, frameless mirror
Get a new shower curtain and accessories
Replace all outlets and light switches
Estimated Cost: about $2,500
But, under Project Presentable, I’m not going nuts like that because it will take too long and will put too much of a crimp into my budget that I could use to make another room presentable. So here’s my new list:
Paint (such a cheap, dramatic fix)
Scrub the crap out of the grout on the floor and in the shower
Buy some inexpensive baskets for bathroom storage under the vanity
Paint the old vanity
New shower curtain and accessories
Replace the outlets and light switch
Estimated Cost: about $175
It’s so much cheaper to do it this way and then the bathroom is not perfect but it’s PRESENTABLE. That’s the goal! Make one room presentable then move on the next and do the same. If anyone tackles their house projects differently, I’d love to hear it.
