The Clean-Up

During the walk-through of the unit Angel Baby and I will be moving back into, I had no doubt whatsoever that I am making the right decision. I am connected to that space. I even told my landlord I plan to stay for years, which he is perfectly fine with. I'm happy. He's happy.

The last few days, I've been working to bring the unit back to being happy, too.

My first job was to clean the basement to rid it of the dog crap smell. I went ahead and did the vinegar wash followed by the Pinesol wash, thinking that would at least disinfect the floor. I burned some sage afterward, to cleanse the air.

But I could still smell the dog crap.

I walked around the basement, which isn't big by any means, and saw a couple pieces of cardboard leaning against the back wall. When I moved them aside, I found the culprit: a pile of dog doo that had been swept into the corner then covered by the cardboard. Once I removed all of it, the smell diminished significantly. Today, it seemed as if the offensive smell is completely gone.

The second job I undertook was washing all the downstairs windows. When Lovely Beautiful Daughter and I walked through last week, I noticed an oily film on the windows. I pointed it out to LBD and she said, "He vaped. That's the oil from the vaping." Every window had the oily sheen. It took two rounds of washing each window to get all the oil off. Now, when I stand in the middle of the living room, I can see the entire back yard so clearly through the clean windows.

Mr. Handyman and Mr. Painter have both been in and working already. Mr. Landlord decided to take out the carpet in the room I'll be using as my bedroom, as the dogs had done their business all over it and chewed the carpet pretty good at the opening to the room. When he made the decision, he turned to me and asked, "Do you want carpet or hardwood?" I opted for hardwood. Today, Mr. Handyman brought in the boxes of flooring. When it's all finished, it's going to be beautiful. As are the walls after Mr. Painter is done. He filled all the holes today and will be back tomorrow to sand and prep a bit more before painting.

It won't be long before the unit is back to being very happy.

Not sure if white is a good option,
but it would definitely lighten the space.

Bright green and white: what's
not to like?

The one room I've been trying to figure out how to make more inviting is the bar off the kitchen. It's a very dark room. Though it does have two west-facing windows, the floor and the walls and the ceiling are dark wood. I'm not planning on using the room as a bar since I'm not much of a drinker and I don't keep much liquor in the house, so I've been researching houseplants that do well in low light, using mirrors to reflect light, and floor treatments that lighten up a room. Plants, mirrors, and a bright throw rug just might do the trick.

Like shown here, I have space on the wall
where a mirror could reflect the window, thus
giving the illusion of another window.