Team Should-Finally-Fix-That

It has been so long since I posted! The end of the year is such a busy crazy time for a teacher, especially a first year! But now it is officially summer (6 weeks of paid vacation!) and I have finally the time and energy to get things done. So I have made a simple list of things that have to get done. Mostly things I've put off for about five years. No rush right?

First things first: I need paint this outdated light fixture and make the light actually work. It has worked since 2009, whoops.

2. I started this project last summer. I think I should probably go ahead and like... I dunno... finish painting the beam...

3. My bedroom needs to have all the trim updated and painted out. It looks so tacky being the outdated 80s faux wood.

4. On that same note... I should probably install the trim I bought for the door in March.

5. Oh and this other randomly not updated light fixture in the master bath. Should do that too.

6. I exploded a bottle of nail polish on my wall... my favorite new color. :( I need to repaint the wall and the trim. 

7. Within the next couple weeks I am going to replace these doors just like I did with the master bedroom, that is going to be fabulous! Fully updated trim and doors! Amazing! Fully updated and no more ugly wood!

8. I am also thinking about replacing this door to make it coordinate with the others in the house, though it is in the best shape of all, so it might be one I can postpone for a bit.

9. New backdoor! That is actually happening this week! Finally. It is going to be great to have a secondary entrance that is fully functional and safe. 

10. Though it is hard to see... I am also getting new gutters this week! Super expensive... but it will be nice to have a fully functional system on the house. Then I can actually repaint the porch and beams without losing all progress from rain the next day. 

Operation Get-er-Done has officially begun! Here's to an excellent summer. :)

Trailerhood Curb Appeal

****If you are seeing this content on http://manufacturedhomefacts.com/ please be advised it is there without permission! thismessybusiness.com is the OFFICIAL and only site I publish on!***

I'm still working hard on fixing up my trailer in order to get some serious "detrashing" done. We've really made some progress so far. If you're just joining our mission check out where we started by going here, here, and here. The overall mission is to embrace the trailer. Can I get some "whooosaaahhhs?" 

Anyways! One of the biggest things that makes a trailerhood a trailer park is the fact that traditionally the exterior care of a home is lacking. Like severely. So that's what we've been working on here.

Every year I set aside about $50.00 to spend on flowers (no more than that because annuals die.) But check out the difference some well placed potted plants make when you're walking up the front steps. I bought all of my plants at a local nursery called Bookcliff Gardens. Those are sweet potato vines and spreading petunias. I think. I am not a flower expert. They were pretty. 

Last time I talked about taking the time to repaint your porch and anything else. Check it out. No peeling paint. Makes a difference. Want to see the before again? Look in the bottom left hand corner...

And now:

Totally better!

Another way to help keep your trailer (or any home really) looking sparkly is to maintain flower beds. Don't let the weeds take over and make things all nasty. Also, ignore all the hoses, I don't have a sprinkler system, too much concrete separating each of the sections of grass. Not worth it. Another thing to do is to change out the mulch once it starts looking nasty. Too expensive you say? Well at Lowe's we tend to have it on sale 4 bags for $10. That's like $3.00 a bag. It's cheap.

Keep your outdoor furniture maintained. For me that means making sure the furniture on my front porch are spray painted thoroughly every couple of years (didn't have to this year, thank all things happy) and my bench outside. This year it needed a lot of work because most of the paint was peeling. But now it looks fresh and pretty!

Maintain your hedges and keep weeds from growing up along the chain link fences that are notorious in trailer parks. Don't have a weed eater or lawn mower? Believe me there is probably a nice elderly couple who is upset about how your yard looks that would let you use theirs, or heck even do it for you. Make friends.

If you have to store stuff outside put it in cute and clever storage containers. Don't pile your garbage outside, interior furniture should stay in the interior, no one wants to see that ugly couch outside.

Feel free to add any other tips or comments about lawn maintenance. What tricks have you learned during your home-ownership adventures that may help us out?

Summer Series: De-Trashing the Trailerhood

****If you are seeing this content on http://manufacturedhomefacts.com/ please be advised it is there without permission! thismessybusiness.com is the OFFICIAL and only site I publish on!***

One of the hardest parts about owning the home I do is the fact that it is a trailer. I try to make it pretty by calling it a manufactured home but the truth is... it is still a trailer and I live in a trailer park community for all intents and purposes (though technically it actually is a neighborhood because you have to purchase land where I'm at.) I hate that. I feel as though people judge me before they pull up to my house.

They imagine this:

{source}

Well I can't change the fact that it's a trailer, and the way the market is right now, we're not moving. So we are going to de-trash the trailerhood for the rest of this summer!

The goal of this series is to change people's minds about trailers and change my attitude about it as well.

I've outlined five major steps to help out this process:

1. Manage It.

2. Clean it Up.

3. Wear it Well.

4. Give Me Attitude.

5. Keep it Up.

The goal? Have the nicest trailer in the hood, and maybe encourage my neighbors to do the same!

If you would help me out, please comment with a notion or thought that you have about trailers and people that live in them. It will help me a lot! (And don't worry I'm a high school teacher, tough skin yo.)

Baby Sister Room Re-Do Reveal-ish

Well I have finally gotten my sister all moved in to the house. She did the long drive from South Dakota to Colorado all in one day. Crazy kid. She got in at about 5am. I feel like I am way to old for all that sort of stuff but she was glad to be home I think. However all the things on her bedroom to do list didn't quite get done but I think it still ended up looking pretty good.

Here's the mood board that we first started a few weeks ago when I announced that Ally would be moving in:

Sister's Room by megmcd on Polyvore

The original to-do list consisted of and what managed to get marked off:

• paint over grey and carry over into closet
• paint desk from Habitat coral
• buy cheap dresser (also paint, coral drawers, white outer)
• move full sized bed from striped room to Ally's room
• make/find headboard
• move side tables from my room to Ally's room
• put IKEA rug in room
• hang floating shelves on funky wall for storage
• hang hook rack
• full length mirror behind door
• accessorize!

I definitely ran out of time to get that much painting done. Working 70 hours a week puts a damper on painting time. I do still plan on fixing the trim and the closet but it won't be until later this summer, you know. When I have an entire day off from work.

Here's a few pictures of what I managed to get done in her room before she got here though! The only thing I bought was the dresser:

 

 

Looks so awesome in the space! The rest is fairly neutral but this adds a fun shock of color, which is a direct reflection of my sister's vibrant personality.

 

 

 

 

So far it has been pretty destroyed with all of her boxes and bags and such being brought in. We're working on getting it organized and functional for her soon. I am very glad to have her back! My parents are also back from New Mexico this week to help with the swamp cooler set up (it's starting to hit in the 80s around here).

Happy Monday!

 

The Craziest, Wildest, Busiest December Ever.

This has been one of the craziest months of my life! That is part of the reason that I have totally fallen off the blogging bandwagon these last few weeks. The first thing that happened is that my family dog, Shotzi, passed away. He was 15 and a really great doggy. He was a schnauzer like Sebastian but a much larger one. My parents adopted him when he was five and has been a part of our family ever since. We definitely all feel his loss very strongly.

On a slightly happier note I FINALLY graduated from college! See ya later Colorado Mesa University! I can't say that I will miss it. I met a lot of great people. The hardest part of graduating was watching all of my friends move away. :(

We did decorate our hats in accordance with our degrees! Any guess what we are all gonna be when we grow up?

Yup! Teachers! What gave it away? heheh. 

The really awesome thing is that my best friend Christie, who I've been friends with since we were 11, came to visit and see my graduation! It was pretty exciting.

I am wearing 5" wedge heels. 

They were awesome.

I finished up my student teaching, I had a great group of kids that I got to work with so that was awesome. One student gave me this on my last day. I also got a lot of cookies. And a Little Mermaid barbie. My students rocked! I do get to start substituting this year now too so that is pretty exciting.

The craziest transition of all was my Dad accepting a new position in New Mexico after being in Colorado for 18 years and at the same job. My parents have lived in their house for fourteen years and I recognize it as being my childhood home. Packing up a four bedroom, three bathroom, large home was a lot of work. Plenty of memory lane trips for sure.

I did inherit a lot of it in my living room as well... everything from a sewing machine to 4 bottles of Windex. My Dad left me some great tools so I can start really building some cool stuff! It'll be hard being the only one in my town since my brother and sister have moved back to their respective colleges but I think it'll be a great opportunity. Besides I won't have my parents to hang out with so I will be blogging way more!

2012 ended with one of my best friends that was visiting from her grad school program in California. Kendall and I rang in the new year with a lot friends, fun, and champagne. Not to worry. We didn't drink the entire bottle.

Here's to 2013 being a great year!

March Madness: Guest Bath II

For my March Before and After project I've been working on the guest bathroom. This bathroom is shared by both of my roommates so it requires some smart choices and a bit of neutrality. The first thing that had to go was the awful blue paint color. Truly terrible choice on my part.

I decided to use the left over grey from my bathroom because I am a poor college student and a $30 dollar gallon of paint has to be justifiable. 

Here's the painting in progress...

I won't lie to any of you.... painting over baby blue was hard.



and terrible.

And not advised.

I feel like every roll of the brush made the room brighter and bigger. Plus it became far more updated and lovely.

It's interesting that the grey took on a slightly blue hue. Perhaps that's just my eyes seeing blue through all the paint. Hoofta. I spent roughly 3 hours trying to cover that.

The next thing that I did was paint the beat up looking corner round that surrounds the shower and is along the floor. Of course I went white.

It made a huge difference! Plus if you look in the mirror you can see the cabinet that I hung up on ONE TRY! Yeah. I am that awesome! It's been working out really well. Yay me!

Here's a closer shot of the new cabinet...

My roommates love it already which I think is a positive sign of a job well done! I'm pretty excited by it myself. What do you think? Does it look more grown up with the gray?

Cleaning Out The Closet

A few months ago I made the decision to close down the office in my house and rent the room back out for some extra cash flow. Being single and obsessed with DIY and decorating doesn't always jive with a limited pocket book, so it was a smart move for sure. My new roommate Karly, who I totally love because she's 1-  totally adorable 2- has been following my blog forever and 3- loves to decorate too! Anyways Karly moved into the room that was the office because she loved the way that the stripes look.

Pretty awesome if I do say so myself. Which I do. 

But! Back on subject. We wanted to figure out a way to maximize the space for Karly so that it would work the best for her. There will soon be two girls sharing the small space that is the guest bathroom so it's important to make sure that everything has it's own space. 

First things first.... we took out the gigantor doors in the bedroom. They are huge and covered in 80s western fake veneer. (Hard to believe all those things could happen at once ey?)

Which now makes it look gigantic!! I have tried to convince Karly that she needs more clothes. I think it's starting to work!

Since the left side of the closet is so large I've previously had roommates fit things like dressers, 40" TVs, and all sorts of other big items in that area to really take advantage of the real estate in there.

At Goodwill we found this great little desk....

For $27.99! It's in a little rough shape because it was obviously well used but it fits perfectly in that area of the closet. We  figure she can use it both as a desk and as a vanity area so that way she's not fighting the other roommate for the bathroom or that kind of thing.

I shall keep you posted as we get it all cleaned up and put into the closet. We have big plans for Karly's room! It's exciting to have a roommate that appreciates all the hard work that goes into this DIY stuff. I think we're going to have a fabulous time.

Welcome 2012 Good Bye 2011

It's still hard to believe that 2011 is over! I felt like that year was never going to end. It was a crazy year in my little life, but I definitely have no regrets from last year. One of the greatest things that happened? I started my blog! So let's see what happened in The Messy Business house during the last year...


I redecorated the guest bathroom, updating the light fixtures, decor, vanity, and paint.

Tore out the ugly and weird vanity and replaced it with an IKEA shelf for more storage.

 One of the biggest, and still probably my favorite remodel, Renovating the laundry room to make it actually a useful space!

Finally got a new rug for the living room from Target!

Another favorite project... the master bathroom!! Remember how awful it was before??

And now the beautiful after!

My friend Stephanie moved out of her old house and gave me all of her patio furniture. It just needed a little elbow grease and paint!

Turned out great don't you think?

 The most recent project has been the master bedroom! It has also gotten a totally new face lift with the bathroom. It's such a great fun space now! I am totally in love with it!

We also figured out a way to dress up a cheap bookshelf. I will say that it looks great in my bedroom where my home office is also located.