You know, I truly thought that you moved into a house, threw some paint on the walls, and BOOM! You’re done.
SO not the case.
We’ve been putting in a lot of work (we meaning Ryan doing quarter work and me doing penny work) over the past few weeks and it has kept us well occupied at home! We’re both really thankful for all the projects we have on our list, even if some aren’t the most fun.
I wanted to give a quick rundown of what we’ve been doing in our New Hampshire home so far. I won’t be going into too many details, so if you have any questions, shoot them below!
Lighting
You’ll never understand quite how important light is until you move into a dark house! We’re not really sure how the previous owners lived with the lack of light, but one of the first things we did was switch all the bulbs in the house with higher watt LEDs. Ryan also bought some cheap “boob light” fixtures (yes, that’s what they’re called) and wired a set of puck lights in the master bedroom. Boy, does he deserve a lot of credit for that one! Puck light are great and reasonable to install yourself- unless you have a tough attic space like ours and have to sit, scrunched up for hours while you work! No
Basement Updates
Again, our basement was something I didn’t really think about, but updating the space made a huge difference! The basement is staying unfinished so Ryan has a work space but he pulled down all the ceiling insulation, rewired all the electric, and installed all new lights! It was a huge amount of work and I tried my best to offer moral support (luckily Ryan’s dad was around to help!)
Cleaning
It’s amazing what kind of dirt, dust, and debris people leave behind. Ryan’s mom and I did some serious deep cleaning the week we moved in. It’s really crucial to wipe down, scrub, and degrease every surface- especially the doors, windowsills, and carpets! Not the most fun task, but definitely essential.
Furniture
Having your own furniture in a space makes it feel like yours! Ryan has totally lucked out, having family friends who are looking to get rid of beautiful furniture right when he needs it. Our home is full, including two guest rooms totally furnished for when we can finally have guests! Our suggestion- ask around! See what people are looking to get rid of! Facebook marketplace is also a great resource.
Landscaping
We have been doing so much outside work lately. First, I made it a goal to get the available garden spaces planted. Berries in the back with plants and flowers and shrubs to the side and front. Pulling weeds, digging stumps.. all back breaking work but totally worth it! We have even finished a retaining wall down by the driveway and are working to slope and grade the ground to eventually grow nice grass for the yard. Other than that, we’ve built up a side of the backyard with rock, cut and cleared a bunch of trees, and built garden beds for spring planting! Most days, we spend more time outdoors than inside the house.
What’s Next?
The list seems never ending, but to start, we’re adding a ceiling fan to the master bedroom. Eventually we’d like puck lights in the guest bedrooms, but we’re going to consider testing/scraping the popcorn ceilings first. I really want to sand and repaint our back deck, which will require fixing the railings and reattaching a gate. Finally, at some point, we’d like to get around to re-doing one of the rooms, probably the family room. New trim, new paint, new carpet/floors… the possibilities are endless!
The process has certainly been different than I expected it would be, but I guess that’s part of the fun! More to come, very soon.