Saturday marked the two-month anniversary of starting work on the house.  Half of me feels like it was just yesterday that we started…the other half feels like we’ve been doing this for years!!  Anyway, here’s the list of things we have checked off so far (keep in mind that these are broad items, and each number contains about a gazillion little things that we’ve done):

1. Stabilized back porches with jacks and brackets
2. Scraped entire exterior to remove remaining paint
3. Repaired sump pump in basement to prevent more flooding
4. Primed entire exterior, including all trim
5. Rescreened 3 exterior screen doors
6. Opened up 2 boarded fireplaces
7. Repaired all interior plaster
8. Installed motion lights outside (after this happened)
9. Updated and activated alarm system
10. Repaired and repainted existing shutters
11. Updated plumbing in the laundry room for washer and dryer
12. Removed shower from the upstairs hall bathroom
13. Removed interior wall in upstairs back bathroom
14. Closed in exterior door in upstairs back bathroom
15. Removed shower tile covering window in downstairs bathroom
16. Painted exterior of house (only the front is finished, so I’m counting it at about 20%)
17. Removed 3 trees, cut back all bushes near the house, and removed dead/unwanted foliage
18. Removed rotten eaves and soffits (this is only about 10% right now, but at least we’ve started!)

I’d say that’s a lot of progress, especially considering that it rained the entire month of June!!  But we still have a LOOOOOONNGG way to go.  Here’s a (very condensed) list of the major items we still hope to complete in “this round.”

1. Scrape and prep interior walls, trim, and ceilings (starting this week!)
2. Prime and paint interior walls, trim, and ceilings
3. Remove all interior carpet
4. Finish electrical, including adding several outlets and wiring each room for ceiling fans
5. Repair all porches
6. Patch and paint the metal roof
7. Rework hidden metal gutter system and repair/replace exterior woodwork
8. Install new heating and air system
9. Repair mortar in the basement, and repoint front-of-house mortar
10. Finish upstairs back bathroom (tile floor, plumbing for a shower, new sink)
11. Update downstairs bathroom (paint cabinets, new mirror, new light fixture)
12. Repair garage (it is currently sturdy, but leaning)
13. More landscaping

Who wants to start making bets on our move-in date?!