Day 21: Cleaning

I started at the house right away.  Today was deep-cleaning day!  I needed to make sure that all of the work was done by the contractor first, so I had been waiting on this day for quite some time.

I decided to start outside first.  The air was cool, and I would have to clean out here sometime today anyway.  So I watered the beautifully-growing grass, then chopped up all of the volunteer plants/trees that had already sprung up in the last month!  They grow so fast when left unattended.  I then took a magnet through the entire yard, picking up soooooooo many nails and screws.  I wasn't too thrilled about how many had been left behind (I see it as unprofessional when a contractor does not clean up his mess), but I also told myself that the project was complete, and the price was right.  So I didn't complain...I was basically doing some of the work in order to keep the price down.  It's a fair trade-off.

The GREAT news is that the contractor is 100% done.  After debating how to deal with the filthy wall mess, I just said I would take care of it myself.  I didn't want the guys back in the house trying to match paint colors, and I had been able to scrub most of it down, although it is certainly NOT pre-construction shape as promised.  But I recognized the benefit of just moving on and dealing with it myself.  So I officially paid the contractor the remaining balance today.  The remodel is officially complete!!!

But oh, the nails and screws I found!!!

Quite a bit of mess was left behind...

I then headed inside to clean.  I also added yet another project to my to-do list.  Agh!  But it kind of involved cleaning.  I had researched how to remove the grippy bathtub stickers last week, and now I was ready to tackle them.  I was pleased to see that the sticker tops actually peeled up quickly and easily.  I then had the sticky residue left to which I sprayed on plenty of Goo-Gone.  I waited a bit, then took a putty knife to the mess.

The bathtub before...

The stickers peeled up easily...I just had the glue residue left.

And what a mess it was!  But one by one, those horrendously ugly and old and dirty stickers came right up.  Woo hoo!  That tub looks soooooooooo much better without them.  I'm glad I did this.

Goo-Gone working wonders!

All that remained of the glue!

The bathtub looks so much cleaner without 'em!

I then tackled the tops of my kitchen cabinets.  Unbeknownst to probably everyone that has walked through there (but me), the tops of the cabinets were DISGUSTING.  I had simply planned on vaccuming up the thick dust and wiping them clean.  I had NO idea what I had coming.  Basically, it wasn't really dust.  It was a caked-on compilation of dust and grease.  THICK dust and grease.  And it took me forever to clean.  I had to scrape up the mess inch-by-inch with a putty knife, and as I described it to Dad, it was basically like taking a spatula and scraping off cool grease from a pan after cooking burgers.  It was just thick and nasty...and sticky.

The tops of my kitchen cabinets.

Gross dust and grease!

So dirty.

It was so time-consuming!  Scrape, scrape, scrape.  Wipe off sticky matter.  Scrape, scrape, scrape.  Wipe off.  Scrub with the hottest water I could find.  And I STILL had a mess.  Sigh.  I was getting nowhere fast.

After scraping the top with a putty knife.

This is the gunk that came up!  And notice the cabinet that is not done yet!  So gross!

One of the cleaner cabinets.  I took my hand and tried rolling the dust.  It still left a dark residue.

I picked Dad up at noon for a Wal-Mart run and a Subway stop.  He asked me what I had left to do...

Um...

Finish cleaning the cabinets.
Sweep the entire house.
Mop the floors.
Install the dryer vent hose again (had been taken off with new siding).
Paint a one-inch strip below the front picture window (trim didn't line up).
Scrub down the walls one last time.
Replace the stickers on the mailbox.
Install a door stop on yet another door I found without one.
Kill hornet nest (found in dirt this morning...such impressive and scary creatures).
Spray the very eager ivy that is growing up again in the white rock.
Clean up the numerous tools and items from the past month.
Mow the yard.

Agh, so much to do in just 3 1/2 hours!!!

So after the Wal-Mart run, I painted below the window.  I finished cleaning up the cabinets.  Note to others:  A cleaner with bleach works WONDERS for removing this stuff!  After scrubbing off the thick gobs, it removed the rest!  I swept.  I mopped.  I installed the dryer vent.  I replaced the mailbox stickers.  And I headed over at 4:30 to pick up Dad!

The clean cabinets!  So much work!

I can rest assured knowing the job was done right.  It was out of sight, but NOT out of mind.

Before...

And After!

We swung by the house for the last remaining items. I sprayed the hornets.  I sprayed the ivy.  We cleaned up the tools.  And then we headed home to babysit the girls!!!  We played outside, then had a fun night watching the Wizard of Oz.

Another productive day.  Tomorrow all I plan to do is mow the yard and give the home a once-over to see if anything else needs done!  But that's it!

Agh, it's nearing tenant time!!!