Squeaky Clean

Cleanin’ Out Our Closets

For some reason cleaning out our kitchen pantry is such a rare occurence around here that when it does occur it instantly becomes blog-worthy. Does this just means that our blog is really mundane and boring? That’s  a rhetorical question, by the way.

The last time we cleaned out the pantry was last summer. We were sure to document the entire process right here. Here’s an old pic of how it all looked freshly painted and organized. Lots of beer, cereal, Goldfish and chips.

We didn’t think to snap a before picture of our pantry this time around until after we saw how empty the finished project was.

Here is the progress made… in the floor. Lots of cereal boxes to be recycled. You’ll remember why right here.

And here is our 2nd Annual Clean Pantry Photo.

Which, looking at the comparison myself now, isn’t that empty after all and is in fact more full than our first round of cleaning.

What you can’t really tell is that all the items that are left in are pantry are now beer and baking supplies. Seriously. We could bake some cookies, microwave some oatmeal and pop some Boy Scout popcorn.  And drink beer of course. You might notice though that there were two cases of beer in the closet last year and now there are only two.

If you’re extra curious, the cases of beer aren’t necessary because we really drink that much. They are necessary because despite what the boxes say they are filled with Chad’s favorite beer from Texas like Fireman #4 and Saint Arnold’s. He can’t get it here so he requires that all family and friends who come visit bring him beer in order to gain admission into the house. It has worked out well for him.

So it looks like we’re off to the grocery store but in the meantime we can’t stop looking at those clean shelves and that full recycling bin. We know, it’s probably in the eye of the beholder…

And just for fun and to break the boredom you’re inevitably experiencing right now after reading 365 words about a clean closet (if you’re even still reading) we give you a music video.

Chosen by Chad Whited. Yes.

He doesn’t physically type many a blog post but he contributes to almost every one. This is his contribution after being asked, “What’s the best video ever? I want to add a video to the end of this post, otherwise it’s going to be pretty not interesting.”

Answer: “November Rain. Boom.”

So here you go. Boom.

 

My favorite part is of course Stephanie Seymour’s 8o’s-tastic and slightly inappropriate bridal gown.

P.S. After writing this post out, Chad decided that November Rain may in fact be too good to be used as a semi-joke on the blog . I forbid any changes. We fly by the seat of our pants around here. Feel free to watch it again. Nothing’s too good for you. It was a real argument on the couch last night. No lie.

What have you guys been doing lately? Any closets getting cleaned out? Or Boy Scout popcorn being consumed? Or really strong feelings about Guns N’ Roses videos?

Right About Now I Am…

1. Windexing doggie drool off the living room window.
2. Running the dishwasher.
3. Putting away laundry.
4. Taking out the trash and recycling.
5. Contemplating dog baths – and deciding against them.

All because I am also watching this.

On to the Next One, On to the Next One

You guys know that we love a good Jay-Z reference. But we’re not talking about the music industry or the shorties – or whatever that song’s about. We’re just a couple of DIY dorks talking about our second guest bedroom. Did you guys remember that we had another one hiding over here?

While we’ve been trying to stick to a minimal number of projects going at once, honestly we’re failing miserably.  Here’s a list of what’s going right now.

1. Those office shelves from BEFORE New Years.
2. Half bathroom renovations (sink, molding, faucet, etc.)
3. Master bedroom painting.

Okay, so we totally added #3 just so we could scratch it off. We’re weird about our lists that way.

But the universe has told us that we have to get the second guest bedroom in order soon. By universe we mean our friends who are coming to visit the first weekend in May, and Chad’s parents who will be here the second weekend in May. The Whited B&B will be in full swing and our junk room third bedroom is in no shape for guests. There we go, crossing things out again.

Warning: the photos you’re about to see may be offensive to younger viewers, or those neat freaks reading.

Every one has had one of these rooms at some point in their lives so please, don’t judge us. We never really unpacked this room since moving in, we never really needed to and it has since become the room where every unwanted item in our home goes to die.

Can you spot the pup lost in this photo?

Part of the problem is that we moved the desk from our other bedroom into this room with no space to put it. Let’s look at that room just to make us feel better for a second.

In true list-lovers’ form we’re sharing our to-do list for the second bedroom in preparation for our house guests next month:

1. New mattresses for our Craigslist beds.
2. Bedding.
3. Clean out all the clutter and sort into storage/donation/garage sale piles.
4. Rearrange furniture into a more useful configuration and donate  unwanted pieces.
5. Add lighting to bedside table.

We will also be adding a rug and some wall art, maybe even refinishing some furniture but those things are unlikely to be done before our first visitors in two weeks. This is for sure the, don’t-make-our-guests-sleep-in-a-war-zone list. Wish us luck!

So, I Cleaned Our Bathroom This Weekend

I know, I know. This should not be a blog-worthy task. However, I will admit right here in cyber-land that this is my absolute least favorite chore in the entire world, cleaning our bathroom.  The other bathrooms are no trouble at all because they are infrequently used and require very little attention. Our master bathroom, on the other hand, is a high traffic area in the casa. Even the pups get their baths in our shower.

It is because of my hatred for bathroom cleaning that I have made a conscious decision to only do it when absolutely necessary, meaning that the filth has grown legs and is threatening to walk away with my toothbrush.

This weekend one of those rare moments came, and I woke up with one goal in mind: a clean bathroom. After finishing I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed that a marching band did not come through the house to celebrate or that our neighbors did not break out in choreographed, Glee-like song in my honor.

Chad did the husbandly thing and acted very impressed when he came home and I gave him a little cleaning tour, “look here’s the toilet, the blue water means it’s really clean” and “here look, you could eat off our bathtub now” and, “did you know that my sink is white, not weird pinky makeup colors?”

In a sick twisted way, I actually love cleaning the house. It’s a form of therapy that I inherited from my mother.  However when I spend a day cleaning, the master bedroom and bathroom are usually last on the list and by the time I get to them I am distracted beyond salvation by Food Network or worst case scenario – Bravo.

Today, the bathroom was first.  Please, hold your applause.

So I pulled out my trusty Kaboom!, a pretty useless product that I bought in memorium the weekend that Billy Mays died that I continue to use only because it smells like grapes – and scrubbed away at the bath tub which I have decided is really just the place that all the dog hair in our house goes to die. We don’t take many baths around here.

Then I moved on to the shower with my X-14, which I am pretty sure is actually eating our tile – but hey, the mildew is gone so, why ask? A green bath towel was even sacrificed in the process – consider it X-14′d. There’s a nice yellow bleach stain to prove it. This is why I only clean once a year – to save the green bath towels.

All in all, it was a productive morning even though I had to keep fighting the urge to snack on old lady tropical fruit Tums all morning. Can cleaning the bathroom really give you an ulcer?

In the end we can truly dine off the bottom of our bath tub, which still smells like grapes thanks to Billy. But don’t worry we won’t actually eat in our tub – or if we do we definitely won’t blog about it.

We’ll leave you with one final image of our happy (and clean) Rubber Ducky, MD.

Thanks for reading this pat-on-my-own-back just for cleaning the bathroom. Sorry I can’t give you the last five minutes of your life back, but I do hope that someone out there shares my self-indulgent frustration with this chore.

The Curious Case of Barton Button

and Lucy too.

The beasts get a spa day every now and then. Barton about twice a year, and Lucy usually just in the Spring.  As part of our spring cleaning efforts, which so far have just included an expensive air conditioner tune up, we decided that the pups were next. And boy did they need it. Thankfully their spa day costs less than a dual capacitator – especially when we got $10 off each of them using a coupon downloaded from this website.

This before shot isn’t too much different than last time B-man headed to Petsmart, you can check out that October post here. The after shot is as equally adorable as the last time – only we didn’t have to black out any naughty parts this time around.

Our little guy is almost five and we’d swear he’s at most three in this picture, hence the title of this post. Barton and Brad do have a lot in common – eat your heart out ladies.

And although I usually am the first to argue against haircuts for Lucy Lou, she was definitely migrating into hairy territory this morning. It was a cold winter, and she put on some serious shag.

She’s giving me her best, “go ahead and take the picture so I can have my stuffed animal back,” look. I was sitting on Mr. Dog at the time.

A couple hours at Petsmart though and she’s now giving me her, “don’t hate me because I’m beautiful” look. No dog sitting required.

They can’t wait for dad to get home from the golf course and see how Rico Suave they both look. Haircuts usually bring lots of petting around here.

That’s two big items checked off our Spring cleaning list. Looks like closets are next – maybe even a garage sale if we get to feeling crazy.

Goodbye Countertops…

It’s been an embarrassingly long time since we made the big countertop switcheroo, and weeks later we are finally putting the remains of our former laminate monster out to the curb.

We demolished the old plywood counters ourselves, so haul-away is our responsibility, but with lots of nails poking out from all corners we’ve been reluctant to just toss the pieces to the curb. Would h-a-t-e for the solid waste guy to need stitches, a tetanus shot, or worse – a lawyer on our account.

But on Monday night we snapped.  Do you ever have those moments? You walk past a mess or project you’ve been meaning to tackle for weeks and for some reason at that minute you decide it is the last time. Don’t worry - Chad hammered down all the protruding nails.

That’s what happened to us, starting as innocently as moving the trash can to the curb. Then we both ran through the carport, AKA dumpster, and just started hauling large items to the curb or storage shed.

It feels great, but in such a motivated state we failed to snap a before shot. There are still some things dwindling like leftover plywood from our headboard project, butcher block from our new countertops that we intend to create a cutting board with, bulbs to plant, soil to plant them in, and a couple of handy pieces of firewood.

On the other side of the carport is the real reason our kitchen isn’t camera ready yet, we’ve got about 5 strips of crown molding waiting to hang – someday soon.

So here’s what’s on our curb as we speak type.

You’ll remember our Craigslist seed spreader died on us earlier in the year, and unless someone saves him from the curb he’s headed for the big lawn in the sky (Update: someone did save the spreader, it disappeared after a couple hours outside, hope they can fix it.).

You may also notice the box of a not-so-little something we’ve scored for the corner of our guest bedroom – more on that to come.

Any similar spring fall cleaning going on out there? Anyone else afraid that your garbage men are going to start judging you by the amount of crap you toss out to the street?

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