Lately, life has been busy. Trying to organize life into manageable bites rather than huge chunks has been helping, but it is still a work in progress. One of the things that has been severely getting me down lately... my weight gain.
Yes, I know, I'm pregnant, so gaining weight is to be expected. That said, I only ever gained 25 lbs with each of my kids. I've already gained 24 lbs with this pregnancy, and I have at least 12 weeks to go. Yikes! Considering that I'm gaining at a rate of over 1.5 lb per week... well... I'm not happy with the 40+ lbs that I'll likely be putting on over this 9 month period.
Anyway, weight aside, I do feel pretty good. I tire much more quickly than before, and I'm finding I do not have the strength or energy to do half the stuff I want to, which is disappointing at best, but I'll live. I started trying to exercise on a rather regular basis using my Wii Fit Plus game once again. Started up in June, but not so regularly until September. I love looking at that graph and seeing all the colorful lines showing how much 'exercise' I've been doing. Halfway through September I pulled out my step counter from my Personal Trainer Walking DS game. It didn't take long for me to remember why I had put it away in the first place.
That thing makes me feel LAZY!
I know that I tend to not walk as 'hard' as some people, and it does say that it will not register as well if you are bare foot (which is usually the case as I spend most of my walking in the house) but when you pace the entire duration of a half hour conversation on the phone, and your usual walking pace is about 100 steps per minute, to only have the thing register about 100 steps is a huge disappointment. Even worse, since almost none of my maternity 'home' pants have any pockets, that means clipping the thing to my waistband... which is not level and contributes to the problem of not reading my steps. Even my workout steps where I jog for 10+ minutes were not registering correctly. I have a pedometer on the 3DS as well, which I hold in my hand while I jog, and it was registering twice the steps the clip-on was. Double. And when I would count my steps, they were right in line with the 3DS.
So what is the problem with that silly little piece of technology? Or... is it me?
I read reviews, tried to find troubleshooting recommendations, nothing helped. Most everyone loved the little device and found it to be accurate to their steps. My day would end, I'd feel exhausted and as though I walked plenty, only to see that the counter was still flashing red at me... set at 5000 steps. What? I hadn't reached 5000 steps? Checking it on the DS would make me see red in more ways than that little light provided... 3000 steps. That was it. I exercised for half an hour (I try to do 30 minutes each weekday on the Wii Fit), 10-15 minutes of that was jogging, walked my daughter to the bus and went to pick her up, paced while on the phone, cleaned and vacuumed in my 2 story house with basement... and still only 3000 steps?!?!
Needless to say, in my pregnant hormonal state I started to cry, and my poor husband could not figure out why a little piece of electronics would bother me so much. Yeah... I'm a bit of a 'goal' person. I wanted that thing to turn green every day. I work for it. It motivates me... but now it was making me feel like I was lazy.
After a good night sleep, I realized I needed to make a change. I'd been using this thing for well over a month now with poor results (unless I was walking outside, then it was fine) and I did not wish to wear shoes in the house. It was depressing. So, I changed where I clipped the thing. Hips? Nah... my hips apparently don't move up and down enough when I walk. So... what moves up and down enough?
Socks.
Yup... my solution was to put the thing on my sock.
I admit, I was a little worried I'd lose it, but it actually has been staying pretty well! It's been there for a week now, and I must say, I definitely feel better about the step counts I've been getting! I matched it pretty well to my 3DS on the workouts, and my mornings (which I feel like a crazy woman running about trying to get breakfast on the table and my daughter out the door for the bus) is registering closer to 1000 steps in under 2 hours vs the 200 it gave me before! I actually upped my step target to 6000 last night as I finally met the 'quota' the entire week! And I'm only about 100 steps from that point by noon today (and I have yet to vacuum the house)! Most of my days this week registered 6000-7000 steps in the day, and that is without me TRYING to get more steps into my day compared to what it was prior to changing where I clipped this thing.
So while I still hate that my weight is on such a steady incline, at least I feel like I'm doing something about it (and maybe, just maybe, some of that weight is increased muscle mass *wink*).
Now with that aside... WHY can't they have a pregnancy option on the Wii Fit Plus? I KNOW I'm not 'borderline overweight' as I'm expecting a baby, but really! (and I heard the Wii Fit U doesn't have that option either. Seriously, Nintendo... Moms want to use this thing, and we have other reasons to 'gain weight' than 'snacking all day').
;)
At least I will get the satisfaction of that little balance board freaking out at my two day drop of 10+ lbs at once, hahaha.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
A Mudroom Switcharoo
This week I focused on the entryway again.
Remember what I was saying about storage? Yeah, we have lots of stuff that should be in a mudroom of sorts, but it was in the basement, making things a bit more difficult for me when we need to find winter items during spring/fall, or spring jackets after the weather has cooled. I loved the way our entry looked with the nice metal framed shelf, the flip lidded 'grass' box, the picture frames on the wall... but it wasn't functioning the way it needed to any more (and this is actually moved around a bit, too. The bench was on the wall under the frames before, with the shelf/box against the wall the bench is now at).
This is how our entry way was. The kick in the pants for me was when the kids hooks came out of the wall. Ripped the drywall right out, in fact. We had some nice solid metal anchors in there that were supposed to be able to support 20lbs each... and there were two of them. I guess the drywall just couldn't handle it anyway. So, there you see a pile of jackets on the infant car seat that is actually expired now (sniff... need to buy a new one for baby #4. But we got some good use out of this one!). The wire shelf has been housing my diaper bag, which is really quite heavy and makes the shelf sag when I set it down on there. Otherwise, it was mostly only holding trinkets and pretty things. The black hooks/shelf is something I built a number of years ago, when we finished the renovation that gave us an entryway of sorts.
Well, that was the before. Here is the after.
Ta-da! Welcome, storage! And lots of it! I'd have preferred it on the back wall, but that wall was just 3 inches shy of allowing these bookshelves to sit there, side by side (and I'd have to remove my hooks as they go too close to that wall to slide a bookshelf behind). I haven't yet rehung the picture frames, and the tops of the bookshelves need some decorated diaper boxes to house out of season jackets and whatnot (there's a whole two feet of emptiness up there). But I pulled up two boxes of outdoor gear from the basement, plus the stuff we already had, and put them all into their boxes. Each child has a box for their jackets/ski-pants. There are at least 5 or 6 empty boxes in those shelves, and I need to make the labels for each one yet. I still want to see if I can have proper shelves that fit at the back instead as it would look and fit nicer than having the bench way over there, but for now, this is a nice change. I may just make my own 'built ins' as I cannot seem to find anything to fit properly. Although, the Ikea Billy Bookcases might fit... I'll have to check their measurements again. They are also much deeper (15.5 inches deep vs. these ones at less than 12 inches deep).
And now there is a nice place to put my bag where my daughter cannot reach it (and play with keys, and remove items that need to stay there so when we need them I'm left searching for something that is back at home... on the floor... in the living room). The basket under the cowboy hat I plan to use to put extra diapers, wipes, bibs, things of that nature for when we need to replenish the diaper bag. I even have a bin for all our grocery bags. When we head out, we just put them back in the van!
All I spent was about $25 on baskets and bins (how I love Dollarama). We already had the bookcases in our bedroom which we emptied as we need to move stuff downstairs with the bedroom renos anyway. It is kinda fun to rearrange what you already have to see what you can do with it. This is not our final, permanent, solution, but it is much easier than it was to find what we need. I really want to find something that will look prettier (like it did before with that beautiful wire shelf we've now relocated into our bedroom as there aren't any other walls I can think to put it on), and I should put the picture frames back up on the other wall, too. I'll work out a 'built ins' solution eventually. But for now, this will work nicely.
I love having all the stuff we need for outside right here in our entryway!! :)
Remember what I was saying about storage? Yeah, we have lots of stuff that should be in a mudroom of sorts, but it was in the basement, making things a bit more difficult for me when we need to find winter items during spring/fall, or spring jackets after the weather has cooled. I loved the way our entry looked with the nice metal framed shelf, the flip lidded 'grass' box, the picture frames on the wall... but it wasn't functioning the way it needed to any more (and this is actually moved around a bit, too. The bench was on the wall under the frames before, with the shelf/box against the wall the bench is now at).
This is how our entry way was. The kick in the pants for me was when the kids hooks came out of the wall. Ripped the drywall right out, in fact. We had some nice solid metal anchors in there that were supposed to be able to support 20lbs each... and there were two of them. I guess the drywall just couldn't handle it anyway. So, there you see a pile of jackets on the infant car seat that is actually expired now (sniff... need to buy a new one for baby #4. But we got some good use out of this one!). The wire shelf has been housing my diaper bag, which is really quite heavy and makes the shelf sag when I set it down on there. Otherwise, it was mostly only holding trinkets and pretty things. The black hooks/shelf is something I built a number of years ago, when we finished the renovation that gave us an entryway of sorts.
Well, that was the before. Here is the after.
Ta-da! Welcome, storage! And lots of it! I'd have preferred it on the back wall, but that wall was just 3 inches shy of allowing these bookshelves to sit there, side by side (and I'd have to remove my hooks as they go too close to that wall to slide a bookshelf behind). I haven't yet rehung the picture frames, and the tops of the bookshelves need some decorated diaper boxes to house out of season jackets and whatnot (there's a whole two feet of emptiness up there). But I pulled up two boxes of outdoor gear from the basement, plus the stuff we already had, and put them all into their boxes. Each child has a box for their jackets/ski-pants. There are at least 5 or 6 empty boxes in those shelves, and I need to make the labels for each one yet. I still want to see if I can have proper shelves that fit at the back instead as it would look and fit nicer than having the bench way over there, but for now, this is a nice change. I may just make my own 'built ins' as I cannot seem to find anything to fit properly. Although, the Ikea Billy Bookcases might fit... I'll have to check their measurements again. They are also much deeper (15.5 inches deep vs. these ones at less than 12 inches deep).
And now there is a nice place to put my bag where my daughter cannot reach it (and play with keys, and remove items that need to stay there so when we need them I'm left searching for something that is back at home... on the floor... in the living room). The basket under the cowboy hat I plan to use to put extra diapers, wipes, bibs, things of that nature for when we need to replenish the diaper bag. I even have a bin for all our grocery bags. When we head out, we just put them back in the van!
All I spent was about $25 on baskets and bins (how I love Dollarama). We already had the bookcases in our bedroom which we emptied as we need to move stuff downstairs with the bedroom renos anyway. It is kinda fun to rearrange what you already have to see what you can do with it. This is not our final, permanent, solution, but it is much easier than it was to find what we need. I really want to find something that will look prettier (like it did before with that beautiful wire shelf we've now relocated into our bedroom as there aren't any other walls I can think to put it on), and I should put the picture frames back up on the other wall, too. I'll work out a 'built ins' solution eventually. But for now, this will work nicely.
I love having all the stuff we need for outside right here in our entryway!! :)
Monday, October 13, 2014
Happy Thanksgiving!
It's thanksgiving everyone! What are you thankful for?
I thank God daily for my husband and kids, but I wonder what else I could be thankful for? I find I have had the 'complainies' every so often, and the best way to beat them is to find things to be thankful for, and to thank God for them whenever I think of them!
Something I am very thankful for is how fantastic this pregnancy has been so far. I have very little in the way of symptoms. I don't even have major issues with heartburn like I have with all my others! It is fantastic! Lord, I thank you that this pregnancy is healthy, and that I feel so good through it!
There are many other things I am thankful for... family and friends, the fact that my kids are willing to forgive me when I get upset about things, and the love and understanding of my husband for my occasional outbursts. I thank God for giving us so much, for rest in Him, for His control over every situation, even when I'm afraid to admit that I have no control, and it is ultimately His. He is so patient with me, and I am so thankful for that.
Speaking of rest, I think I might just thank God for naps... and take one right now. :)
What are you thankful for?
I thank God daily for my husband and kids, but I wonder what else I could be thankful for? I find I have had the 'complainies' every so often, and the best way to beat them is to find things to be thankful for, and to thank God for them whenever I think of them!
Something I am very thankful for is how fantastic this pregnancy has been so far. I have very little in the way of symptoms. I don't even have major issues with heartburn like I have with all my others! It is fantastic! Lord, I thank you that this pregnancy is healthy, and that I feel so good through it!
There are many other things I am thankful for... family and friends, the fact that my kids are willing to forgive me when I get upset about things, and the love and understanding of my husband for my occasional outbursts. I thank God for giving us so much, for rest in Him, for His control over every situation, even when I'm afraid to admit that I have no control, and it is ultimately His. He is so patient with me, and I am so thankful for that.
Speaking of rest, I think I might just thank God for naps... and take one right now. :)
What are you thankful for?
Organizing Closets
Nesting has been kicking in (or just the urge to purge... and make things more workable in this house since I feel like I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached). I have been wanting to reorganize the entrance so badly, in addition to our basement renos, the bedroom renos I wish to yet do, living room changes I am so wanting to accomplish as well, I can go on.
It isn't that I'm not thankful for the house that I have. It is serving us well, and I am glad to be living here. I do like to make changes to accommodate our growing family a bit better, though. ;)
This weekend my husband finally had some time off from the farm, so we did some shopping. I was disappointed when the store we went to in order to purchase two items I really wanted for our entry area (a space I aim to turn into a mudroom of sorts) were not in stock in that store (he checked online inventory and they said they had them, but whatever they had was gone by the time we got there I suppose). Disappointed, we went home, and I tried reformulating something that we could do to help.
Enter, the bookshelf.
Walmart had a deal on some bookshelves for under $30. The tall 5 shelf ones. We have 3 already and I like them. Since our 'entrance' closet houses so many boots, gardening supplies, etc without having a proper storage for them (think bins piled on top of each other and shoes stuffed into whatever cranny I could place them. I couldn't find what I needed in there and it really didn't house a whole lot), I came up with the idea of using a bookshelf as a 'bootshelf'.
It worked fantastically!
Here my husband is building the shelf, and our youngest is helping him. He gave her the screws/bolts to hold and when he needed them, he'd ask and she'd give. She also needed to hold the extra screwdriver, and periodically would attempt to put an invisible screw into the board. ;)
After it was built, I removed everything from the closet, vacummed it, cleared out and put into our mcc box a number of items, and pulled boxes from the basement storage that made more sense to have in here (namely, more shoes and car seat/stroller parts). I do not have a before pic (so wish I would have thought to take one), but here is the after...
I am loving those pink boxes. Picked up the set on sale for I think $2 at the LW about 2 years ago. They weren't being used for anything, and I'm so glad I have them now. Those are all the kids shoes that were grown out of by the older two, that the youngest will be growing into. Sandals, girly shoes, runners, boots. I have shoes the oldest two are growing into, sandals in one area, winter boots in one spot, and rubber boots, cowboy boots, etc. I am so thrilled that now we can actually see all the footwear (some of these things need to be purged eventually, but with how much we need rubber boots here, we tend to keep those). I actually need to take the 'gardening box' out to the shed, but I liked having those things in here for doing the flower bed right next to the house, so I'll keep them in the house entrance for now. It was always easier to just go out and do some work when what I needed was at my door rather than outside the back of my house. :)
Now to finish the 'mudroom' section of our entrance. I'm thinking of using 2 bookshelves that we already own and cleared out. They are just the right width to put along the one wall together. And I managed to buy a number of containers from the Dollar store that will make the job of organizing all our hats, scarves, mitts, winter and summer things, etc. I'm not sure how many containers I'll need, but I do think I'll probably need to get some shoeboxes eventually. I look forward to posting before and afters of that! And of the basement. Really wanting some afters of the basement.
Speaking of, my dear husband got the old copper pipes off and out now! I'm so happy! That much closer. Just that much closer! :)
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Morning Already?
Anybody here a morning person? Anyone? Anyone at all?
Is it just me, or are mornings tough?
I am most certainly NOT in the morning person category. Sure, once I get up and get going, mornings are the times I can accomplish the most in my day. However, I'd rather stay up really late instead of going to bed early enough to get things accomplished properly the next morning.
Since school started yet again, and now my daughter is in grade 1 (seriously... in school all day... sniff. Where did the time go?), I have to make lunch for her in addition to the regular morning breakfast (can't start the day without a healthy meal. Well, I suppose one can, but she has made it clear that breakfast cereal does not agree with her tummy. She is just like I was, no joke. I had the same tummy issues each morning I had breakfast cereal as a kid... and even still). That means breakfast takes a good 20-30 minutes just to make each morning. In addition to that, it is virtually impossible for me to make breakfast in a messy kitchen. Impossible. I see dirty dishes and immediately feel the need to clean them (doesn't help when the pot or pan I need is in the pile).
So, I've made myself a new night time and morning routine. :) I've been doing this successfully for a month now, and I am loving how much more productive I feel in the morning! Want to get a snippet of what it looks like? Sure you do!
First... this is an example of what my kitchen looks like before bed on a Sunday night... I didn't have time to unload the dishwasher in the morning, and it wasn't unloaded until now, so everything got piled on the counter (which is really no different from normal, except that during the day I usually put any stray items into the dishwasher whenever I'm in the kitchen).
My 'good morning' starts before bed. I make my daughter her lunch and put it in the fridge, wash the dishes and clean the kitchen. I prime my sourdough starter (which still hasn't quite gotten to the 'breadmaking stage', but I'm using the stuff you would otherwise have to dump in other recipes anyway, so at least I don't feel wasteful), and make sure I have the utensils and stuff out for breakfast the next morning. Any meat needed for the next day gets pulled out and into the fridge. The dishwasher is loaded and I set it to run (it is on the checklist because you have NO idea how many times I load the dishwasher and forget to turn the dial. Seriously. It is such a frustrating thing). I vacuum the dining room and kitchen (kids plus rice plus floors don't mix) and pick up in the house for about 10 minutes (or less... the kids job before bed is cleaning up their toys). I make sure I've checked M's agenda for school, put it and the things she needs in her bag, and if I need to bring things for church, I put it all by the door. The kids and I have our clothes picked out for the next day (I had no idea how long it takes a 6 year old to choose her clothes until I had one. Really. It is insane. After all, the socks must color coordinate with the shirt...). And then I can relax.
I SHOULD get to bed early... but I don't. Yeah, the early to bed thing just doesn't seem to be working for me. Anyone have any ideas? I tend to stay up until I just can't stay up anymore and THEN head off to bed. Not helping in the sleep department, that is for sure.
Anyway, here is what I will wake up to tomorrow morning.
Anyway, the next morning is much easier! I start my day with oil swishing while I read the Bible and journal (it is a nice slower start to the morning where I can sit in bed for a little longer instead of 'jumping' out of bed). I pop the already prepped breakfast on the stove (well... you can't really prep scrambled eggs. But oatmeal you do. I soak mine 24 hours with some lemon juice and flour to remove as much phytic acid as possible, so I have my sieve, pot, measuring, and my soaked oatmeal waiting for me). While it is cooking, I clear the dishwasher and drying rack, get the kids (who are awake and dressed) to set the table (and put their lunch into their bag if it is a weekday), put a load of laundry in the washer, and of course take care of A. After we eat (and M is on the bus), I prep for lunch or supper if needed, I try to exercise and attempt my daily cleaning task. After exercising I am usually so exhausted that I sit down for awhile, and then my morning plans go out the window. :) Darn that facebook/pinterest. At least I have started laundry and my kitchen is all clean!
I actually made myself an organizer that sits next to my phone. I use it to check off how much water I've had (because otherwise I won't drink enough), put in my daily and weekly tasks, and it is so satisfying to tick each one off. Then I have a monthly dry erase calendar above it where I can see all my appointments and anything that may need more of my attention. You have NO idea how much this has helped me lately! I have become so scatterbrained that the constant going back to this schedule to see what I have done and have yet to do is invaluable to organizing my household! And I actually feel like I've accomplished something, even if it IS only the normal weekly tasks, because believe me, there is a lot that needs doing each week to keep a house running (I'm sure you understand). Laundry and food are two really big ones. And I think they take up most of my time, too. Oh, and yeah... pic of that as well. ;)
I still need to work on this whole 'sleep' thing. You know, going to bed at a reasonable hour so that one can get the number of hours sleep that one would need to properly function the next day? Yeah, that. If I can somehow get that to work for me, perhaps I wouldn't need mid-morning naps so often. You know, because putting a load of laundry into the washer is so taxing. ;)
For now, I think I want to go play some Farm Heros or Candy Crush. Just 5 minutes...
um...
yeah...
(where DID that hour get to?)
Is it just me, or are mornings tough?
I am most certainly NOT in the morning person category. Sure, once I get up and get going, mornings are the times I can accomplish the most in my day. However, I'd rather stay up really late instead of going to bed early enough to get things accomplished properly the next morning.
Since school started yet again, and now my daughter is in grade 1 (seriously... in school all day... sniff. Where did the time go?), I have to make lunch for her in addition to the regular morning breakfast (can't start the day without a healthy meal. Well, I suppose one can, but she has made it clear that breakfast cereal does not agree with her tummy. She is just like I was, no joke. I had the same tummy issues each morning I had breakfast cereal as a kid... and even still). That means breakfast takes a good 20-30 minutes just to make each morning. In addition to that, it is virtually impossible for me to make breakfast in a messy kitchen. Impossible. I see dirty dishes and immediately feel the need to clean them (doesn't help when the pot or pan I need is in the pile).
So, I've made myself a new night time and morning routine. :) I've been doing this successfully for a month now, and I am loving how much more productive I feel in the morning! Want to get a snippet of what it looks like? Sure you do!
First... this is an example of what my kitchen looks like before bed on a Sunday night... I didn't have time to unload the dishwasher in the morning, and it wasn't unloaded until now, so everything got piled on the counter (which is really no different from normal, except that during the day I usually put any stray items into the dishwasher whenever I'm in the kitchen).
Yeah... imagine waking up to this...
*shudder*
So, rather than dread having to enter my kitchen in the morning, my night-time routine involves a checklist that I look at each night.
I SHOULD get to bed early... but I don't. Yeah, the early to bed thing just doesn't seem to be working for me. Anyone have any ideas? I tend to stay up until I just can't stay up anymore and THEN head off to bed. Not helping in the sleep department, that is for sure.
Anyway, here is what I will wake up to tomorrow morning.
MUCH nicer than that disaster of a kitchen from earlier (which would make me stress and likely start my pregnant self crying first thing after getting up seeing as both my 'oatmeal pots' were made dirty during supper). Oh, and the crock pot on the stove has lunch in it, cooking on low already (starting soup stock for tomorrow since we had chicken for supper and I had the bones out already).
I actually made myself an organizer that sits next to my phone. I use it to check off how much water I've had (because otherwise I won't drink enough), put in my daily and weekly tasks, and it is so satisfying to tick each one off. Then I have a monthly dry erase calendar above it where I can see all my appointments and anything that may need more of my attention. You have NO idea how much this has helped me lately! I have become so scatterbrained that the constant going back to this schedule to see what I have done and have yet to do is invaluable to organizing my household! And I actually feel like I've accomplished something, even if it IS only the normal weekly tasks, because believe me, there is a lot that needs doing each week to keep a house running (I'm sure you understand). Laundry and food are two really big ones. And I think they take up most of my time, too. Oh, and yeah... pic of that as well. ;)
I still need to work on this whole 'sleep' thing. You know, going to bed at a reasonable hour so that one can get the number of hours sleep that one would need to properly function the next day? Yeah, that. If I can somehow get that to work for me, perhaps I wouldn't need mid-morning naps so often. You know, because putting a load of laundry into the washer is so taxing. ;)
For now, I think I want to go play some Farm Heros or Candy Crush. Just 5 minutes...
um...
yeah...
(where DID that hour get to?)
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Bustin' the Basement
I know I mentioned renos last month (can you believe it is already October? When did that happen!?!), and I decided to show some pics of the progress (or lack thereof). I was wanting the wall to be all down already, and the concrete scrubbed, and maybe even primer finished before October. Sigh. Ah well, at least SOME things have happened.
Excuse the mess, I still need to make use of the laundry area. ;) But no more carpet! Ripped that out while my husband was moving the electrical panel over 4 inches (to make wall removal easier).
You'd think that ripping stuff out would be fun, but my goodness it is a lot of work! The wood is so very old, it almost feels like it's turning to stone! And the nails are brittle. The heads keep breaking off when I attempt to pull off plywood. The panelling is easy enough to remove, thank goodness.
You can see through the one section of wall now! I also managed to pull off the door frames that were down here in a way that they can be reused!
That bit of wall that is removed was moulding and rotting. I have been thinking of just removing that wall completely and put in a proper wall with insulation (they actually had no insulation against the wall that is outside... but they did for the interior wall. I'm guessing it was more for the sake of sound?). The entire thing is just... ridiculous. A lot of what was done here makes no sense, and everything was built so tight that it is really difficult to remove anything. My parents have come down to help me out (thank goodness, I need it). We will reuse what we can, but it doesn't look like much right now.
The plan is to cover that utility area with a curtain, but since I have these closet bi fold doors and the frame, I'm thinking of using them for part of the wall as well. I may still need curtains for part of the 'wall' anyway, as we still need access to the electrical panel. Or I'll just use the door... ha ha... a door and a closet door for the utility room. Wouldn't that be silly?
Well, I'm really hoping we can get things going now. I've done some price checking and figure it will cost about $700 to get the blue R7 foam insulation for the outside walls that need it, the pink insulation, the 2x4s, and the drywall. Considering what I already thought the price for paint, primer, grout, and the likely cost for vapor barrier plastic and nails/screws, we could probably insulate the basement and have it painted for about $1000. Hopefully.
Now to buy the stuff we need, finish ripping out the wall, and try to wash the concrete, build walls, etc etc. Funny how the 'simple' project escalated so much. :)
I am just really wanting to make my basement a usable space already. Really badly. Wish me luck! :)
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