A picture's worth a thousand words

In conversations with my mom, she often asks me if I'm almost done with my work on The House of Goodwill.  "Yes, almost," has been my reply for the last couple of months.

In conversations with my sister-in-law (who visited once), she often lets us know she would love to return.  And I feel bad, because I'm always trying to explain to everybody about the state of the house and why we're not quite guest-ready just yet.

I decided after trying to explain the current level of chaos with words in my last post, I'd use this one to let the photos do the explaining.

While we haven't felt settled since we began the house project, we've probably never been less settled than at this moment.  So here is our current state, in pictures:

Right now I'm painting behind the refrigerator; changing the color from green to lighter green.

The fridge has been in the middle of the kitchen for a couple of days.

I'm also painting behind the washer and dryer, which are sitting in the eating area.

(This was the other original house color I liked - it was a khaki color.  I might have left it alone, except the walls were filled with nail holes and scuff marks.)

A view from the laundry closet looking to the kitchen - all the laundry room stuff is pulled out.

There has been stuff stacked in the kitchen since we first got here - not sure yet where in the house it will end up, so it's stayed in the corner.

This corner of the living room has increasingly filled with stuff that is yet homeless.  My son needed somewhere to store bulky sweaters and coats (at home) so I bought him a white storage bench.  The guy I bought the bench from on craigslist (cheap, of course!) was selling two as a pair.  So we brought the other here.  It's probably going to end up in a closet, but the closet it's going in is full of stuff and I can't get it in just yet.  So it's sat in the living room.

Every corner seems to have homeless stuff and tools, paint, etc. filling it.

This is the entryway that is still waiting to have its walls refaced.  I still haven't been able to find anybody!  I just want to get. this. done!

Here's the corner of my son's bedroom; pillows and rugs we aren't ready to put out yet.

The desk where my son's been doing Zoom school is filled with books, lamp shades and wall art that hasn't been hung.

My son's closet is currently lamp storage.

My son's bedroom is also the repository for entryway closet doors.

A few weeks ago I sanded the hall bathroom vanity so I could paint it.  But the bathroom walls are waiting to be fixed first (there's a huge hole in the wall you can't see on the other side.)  I want to paint the vanity AFTER the walls, so this bathroom's still a mess.

My husband's office is currently storing some blankets and pillows we were given for free, but I haven't decided if I'll be using yet.

I bought a different table for my husband to use as his work area, but we haven't set it up yet, so he's still got a kitchen table in this bedroom.  (He works from home, so the office is vital.)

This bedroom closet's full of house accessories, cleaning supplies, etc.  It's the only closet I didn't paint the floor molding of when I did the room, so I still need to do it.

The lavender bedroom (I just love this color) became our cat's new space when we were here the week we got 7" of snow (and had below freeing temperatures).  He'd been staying outside in the "beach house" before, but since we moved him inside he's decided he likes it.  Storing stuff in there too.

Since the cat got upgraded to this room, we decided not to set the bed up just yet.  It's still sitting in the downstairs kitchen.

The master bathroom, awaiting the highly anticipated return of the plumber...

This bedside table's been waiting for my husband to add casters to it.  (So I can start using it and move my current table - an outdoor plant stand - outside.)  My husband brought casters on his last trip but they were the wrong size.

So that was a lot, but maybe it helps explain why I keep telling everyone "the house is almost done."  And it's definitely not ready for visitors yet, as much as we'd like it to be.

I spend most of my work time painting; I've got a million little projects to work on and organize when I'm done.

While we're closer to the finish line than we've ever been, the house is probably more disorganized than it's ever been as well.  

Little by little, it's getting there!