Update: cleaning things up

I’ve been sort of MIA in life lately, consumed with cleaning at my new house and getting everything prepped for living – and for the painters. It’s going well – we are almost done cleaning walls, we vacuumed and RugDoctored like mad and did my loveseats with the upholstery attachment while we were at it. The water that emerged looked like Coca-Cola. We’ve gone through 2 or 3 boxes of Magic Erasers at this point. And, thanks to my organizing class, I now have a cleaning closet where I can find just what I’m looking for. Here’s the before and after, plus a few more photos from the process.

(blurry) Before:

And after:

Went to wipe the dust off the light switch and discovered another wall color. I guess they had an oven fire at some point.

Stove was more than a little greasy,

but looks like a brand new appliance.

Here are some more “before” photos. Some things currently on the radar/in progress/getting dealt with include:

tub surround (getting regrouted this week)

blinds (soaked in tub overnight, then sprayed with hose outside and wiped down with 409-style cleaner):

(sticky) kitchen floor and cupboards:

The power of the Magic Eraser (before-right and after-left). The color isn’t quite this bad, but close:

side of fridge, before (has also been Magic Erasered into oblivion since this photo was taken):

this entire teapot used to be that dark brown color on the base (this one is thanks to steel wool pads):

My roommate has been powering through so much cleaning while I’m at work, and I’m trying to do what I can when I get home from work, which has led me to drill holes for closet rods after midnight, scrub walls until the wee hours, and generally flit from one project to the next like someone on speed. But I have also been doing some baking, so hey – progress all around.

More “afters” coming soon!