Fall cleaning, big time!

We’re having our sometimes annual Oktoberfest party this coming weekend. We used to have it every year, but then missed the past couple for various reasons. Anyway, M and I as usual are treating it as a reason to get the house cleaned and de-cluttered from top to bottom. We bought some new enclosed storage units from Ikea for the basement (I’ll add pics later) to house all of our ski, camping and hunting (M’s) gear. So much neater!

Then we went through all the cupboards, closets and under the stairs to sort through all of it. We took a bunch of things to charity and then 2 loads of junk to the dump (Sam’s old couch – ewwww, an old coffee table, a broken down dresser, some crappy shelves, and all kinds of paper/cardboard to be recycled).

The house is feeling so good, so open and organized from top to bottom! It’s one of the side effects of a big party that I love! Of course, I had to paint something in order for this project to really be complete.

I painted the two doors in the kitchen a dark brown (left over from our bedroom) as their paint jobs were looking a bit sad. Then M suggested that I paint the basement door that goes outside. I don’t think it had been painted since installation in 1951! I painted it the reddish color left over from the upstairs hallway. But instead of looking like a soft red (as upstairs) it looks decidedly salmon pink. So I will be repainting it tonight with a mix of the last of the brown and the “pink” to make some sort of brown color. Hmmm. Should be interesting.

Then I’ll paint the trim in the kitchen now that M has filled the gaps in the new molding and the nail holes. Another project 2 years in progress. But the party is a good excuse to get it done!

And for the first time, my folks are joining us for the festivities. They arrive from Minn. on Thursday about mid-day. They’re heading out to Bainbridge/Poulsbo for Thursday night and Friday, then coming to our place for dinner Friday night. It will be so nice to finally have them meet all of our friends. Plus we haven’t seen them since our big trip to Mexico in April. So it’s time for a visit.