A Home Project In the Works - Linoleum Be Gone!

Hey everyone!  I thought I'd start the week with one of the hardest things for me to show on our House Tour.  I figured I may as well get the most difficult thing out of the way first.


Anyhow, remember that I said we still have our ancient linoleum in the kitchen & dining room?  Thankfully, my husband is planning to work on that project this summer and we'll be getting new floors!  It's a bigger project because we actually have to replace the reinforcing beam in our basement (it's cracked!) and will need to reinforce the joists. (Our floors actually sag and dip in places)  This is one reason our project has been on hold so long.  


But that's not the only place we have linoleum.  Oh no.  The people who owned the place originally must have either 1) REALLY liked linoleum or 2) had extra linoleum and figured they couldn't let it go to waste.  


I'm guessing the answer is #2.  There used to be linoleum on the kitchen and dining room walls.  That was one of the first things to go!  But, we still have linoleum in and on our stairway.  May I show you?

The Landing - Notice the linoleum is on the walls too!

Sorry for the sideways shot - you get the idea

And, looking up the stairs.

So, I tried to convince my husband that since we were going to be doing the floors maybe I could start removing the linoleum from the stairs and work on re-doing those myself.  He told me that it would be more work than it was worth and he'd have to replace the entire set of stairs.


"Oh, c'mon"  I said, "People do home renovations all the time.  Are you telling me if they encounter something like this they have to replace the stairs?  Let me try."


"OK"  He reluctanctly agreed.  "But I'm telling you.  It's more work than you think."


"Can I take the linoleum off the walls too?"  I asked gleefully.


"NO!"  He answered emphatically.  "There will be holes in walls when you take the linoleum down and will need to be ripped out and dry-walled."


I figured I may as well let well enough alone and start with the stairs.  Initially, what I saw was promising.

Visions of beautifully sanded and stained hardwood stairs danced in my head.  But, alas that first step was a teaser.  The linoleum came up relatively easy.  I thought removing the rest would be a breeze.  Unfortunately the rest of the stairs are proving more resistant.  I discovered not just one, but TWO layers of linoleum and both are glued down so hard, I'm having trouble prying it back with various tools.

This project remains "In Process".  I will update when I have more to report.

Tomorrow, be sure to stop back as I share one project room in our house that is complete - the upstairs bathroom.

House Tour & Furniture Projects Preview

* This was my post from Thursday, May 12 that went missing in action when Blogger when a little haywire last week.  This morning they returned the post to my drafts so I am republishing it.  It puts some things a little out of order (i.e. - my side table re-do which I unveiled yesterday, Monday May 16) but it also tells you what I have planned for this week.




If you missed the 3 part series on Home Stewardship I posted this week you can go back and read them here (Part1 - The Dilemna), here (Part2 - The Practical Stuff), and here (Part 3 - The Heart of the Matter).  Writing those posts was very therapeutic for me, reminded me of some truths that I need to embrace, and re-energized me.  I'm on a roll and I can't stop now!





So next week I've decided to take you on a tour (of sorts) of my house.  This isn't going to be a braggy kind of tour.  I actually am going to have to put my pride aside to show you some of the things I want to show.  But, here's my thinking...Opening my home to others is a struggle for me.  So this is a first step.  I know you guys are so kind, so it's easy for me to open up to you and show you the reality of our house.  Also, it will be a source of motivation to keep moving forward in the decluttering process.  





I think our homes can also reflect so much of our personalities and what our daily lives really look like.  So, I also would like to open this up to you all.  I would love to get to know you better.  Would you consider doing a house tour too?  If I can figure out how to do a linky party I'll try that.  Even if I don't figure that out, maybe you'd still like to show us some bits and pieces of your house.  If you do, please let me know so I can come check it out!





Anyway, this is what next week's House Tour will probably look like....





 - A Current Project - Linoleum Be Gone

 -  A Finished Project - Upstairs Bathroom

 - The Bedrooms - Large Family, Small Spaces

 - Family Living Areas

 - The "Junk" Room - Taking Back Valuable Space





Also, I am super excited about some furniture finds I've recently had.





This cute little table was $2 at a yard sale....

This is the Before picture.  With any luck I should be ready to show you the after pictures tomorrow.  I've finished sanding it and now I just need to...   Well, how about this?  You stop back tomorrow to see what I decided to do.





Also, I found this beauty for FREE at the side of the road yesterday.

Isn't she pretty?  I couldn't believe my luck when I saw her sitting there.  She was begging to come home with me.  I'm still trying to decide what to do with her.  It's hard to tell in this picture but she does need some TLC.  Her cushion is old and dirty/stained.  And, some of the finish is worn off and she's a little rickety in places.  While I really like the drama & mystery of the dark wood I may just paint her....black?  white?   I'm not sure yet.  This project will take me a little longer to repost after pics, but I just had to share.





Have a great day!

Before/After Side Table Project

Hi everyone!  I'm still waiting for Blogger to replace my Thursday post.  In it I gave a preview for what I'm planning to do this week.  Instead of rewriting the whole post I'll just say this...This week is House Tour week here at Stairstep Boys.  I'm going to give you an inside look at our home.


To start off I wanted to share a project I just finished this weekend and I'm super excited about.  

Here's my yard sale find I bought a couple weeks ago for $2.

I sanded her down and initially thought I'd do a stain

 I decided to go with paint.  This is a pale mint color.  This is after 2 coats of paint with a light sanding in between and more sanding in places after the final coat to give a lightly distressed/weathered look.

I decided to use the table in our bedroom.  The final steps included a subtle stain wiped over the whole table to give an antiqued look and a coat of polyeurothane.

A closer look

Next up in furniture projects is this beauty I found for free!

Sowing and Reaping - Out of the Mouths of Babes

We finally got our garden planted over the last couple weeks.  It had been a very wet Spring.  And we finally had a dry stretch that was long enough for us to plow and get our seeds planted.

The day we put in the potatoes my husband was kinda grumpy about it.  He knows that every year I start out really motivated to keep a nice garden and every year he ends up having to take a lawn mower to the weeds that take over.  Plus our potato crop wasn't very fruitful last year.  So as he was planting the rows he was mumbling and grumbling that it really didn't seem worth it.

But the boys are always excited about having a garden too.  They love watching things grow.  And, they had each picked out their own seeds to plant this year.  Wyatt picked pumpkins.  Edison picked a large watermelon variety.  And, Charlie picked sugar baby watermelons.

They can't wait until their seeds start sprouting.

After church today Edison told me that his Bible verse was "A man reaps what he sows."

I asked if he knew what that meant and he said 'no'.

Here I knew I could use something practical and timely to help teach the spiritual lesson.

"What do you get if you plant zucchini seeds?" I asked.   He answered zucchini.

"What if you plant corn seeds?" Corn.

Then I said, "What do you think you get if you plant seeds of anger?"  Edison answered "You get anger".

" And, what do you get if you plant seeds of kindness?" He answered "Kindness".

Wyatt had been listening to all this and here he piped up, "So does that mean since Daddy was grumpy when he was planting our potatoes that we'll get angry potatoes?"

Hey Blogger!

Hey Blogger!  I'd really like to have my post from Thursday back...and my comments from Wednesday if you please.  I'd appreciate it so much.


Anyone else out there a wee frustrated?  I suppose they'll get it all worked out soon enough.  Anyway, since my Thursday post is missing right now you may not have heard that I have a very exciting week planned for next week.  It includes a home tour and before/after pics from a side table re-do.  


Hopefully we're back to normal and we'll see you all then!


Have a blessed weekend!

Being a Good Steward of Your Home...The Heart of the Matter

(Part 3 in the Home Stewardship series of posts)


Being a good steward of our homes certainly involves the physical aspect and the practical stuff. But, first and foremost it is a matter of our hearts.  


God desires for us to be filled with joy, contentment, and peace.  


He examines our hearts, our motivations, and longs for our obedience to Him.


What does that obedience look like?  


1. Compare Less
Exodus 20:17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house.  You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
When we compare our homes and our possessions with those of others we invite a spirit of discontent and covetousness.  We often miss how greatly we are blessed when we are focused on what we don't have.  And we allow our joy and peace to be stolen from us.


2.  A Thankful Heart
Look instead to how you have been blessed.  Cultivate a spirit of gratitude.   I remember a time in the beginning of our marriage when my husband was still fine-tuning the virtually non-existant plumbing system in our old house.  It was almost impossible to take a shower.  The water was cold and there was no water pressure.  We'd merely get drips and have to try our best to wash and rinse.  I remember the thrill I felt when we finally had a hot shower with full water pressure.  It felt so luxurious!  And, I was so thankful!  I need to try to remember that thankfulness even now as I go about my daily routine.  So many things that we take for granted are the things we'd be most thankful to have if we had to do without.


3. Stress Less 
Chances are other people really aren't overly concerned about the appearance of my home.  I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who loses sleep over it.  Relax!  I remember a conversation I had years ago with my friend, Marilyn.  We were discussing some of the insecurities each of us felt about our homes.  The thing she said that sticks in my mind is that she would actually rather visit in a home that was imperfect than a home that was perfect.  


4.  Hospitality
When we open our homes and our hearts to others we are honoring God.  This is a lesson I am trying so hard to learn and to take to heart.  I want my home to be warm and welcoming...and that starts with my willingness to bring others in.  It doesn't have to be Martha Stewart approved.  Just having someone over for a  cup of coffee is good enough.


Two final thoughts on our homes....
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."  Deuteronomy 6:4-7


"....He blesses the home of the righteous"  Proverbs 3:33


May you and your household be richly blessed!

Being a Good Steward of Your Home...The Practical Stuff

(Part 2 in the Home Stewardship series of posts)


So I shared yesterday that part of the dilemna contributing to my discontent was a good deal of frustration.  Time, money, and know-how (on my part) were all at a minimum.  And, so for 10 years many household projects have been on hold.


In addition I have been feeling very overwhelmed.  Caring for four boys under the age of 8, preparing meals, laundry, de-cluttering, cleaning, etc. all seem some days like more than I can handle.


I have been very tempted to just throw in the towel.  If the kids don't seem to mind the mess, then so be it.  And, if my house is in a perpetual state of renovation, then why even try to do anything to beautify it?  After all, this house is supposed to be temporary.  Someday we really would like to buy a house with a bit more land to it.  


The problem with this line of thinking is that it has left me depressed, even more discontent, and unsettled.  It was as though (in my mind) we've been living in temporary housing...for 10 years!  It was time to really focus on how to make my house a home....not perfect - imperfections would still abound...but a place of rest, comfort, and love.


A fellow MOPS mom shared with me that at one point when she was single she was renting a mobile home.  It was not her housing of choice and she said she even felt somewhat embarrassed.  But then she felt like God spoke very clearly to her that he wanted her to be a good steward of what he had given her.  And she said to me, "Karen, I'm not one of those people who often has a strong sense of 'God is saying' this or that to me.  But, this was very clear."  From that point on she made an effort to put extra care into her home - planting flowers, painting walls, decorating it simply yet beautifully.


And, that stuck with me.  God does call us to be good stewards of whatever he gives us....whether our homes are worth 50 thousand dollars or 500 thousand dollars.   


So here are some practical things I've been trying to keep in mind as I explore what it means to be a good steward of my home.  These may be things many of you have already mastered.   But, this list is a reflection of where I am right now.


1.  Acknowledge your time wasters  
Probably my biggest time waster right now is the computer.  I love to check facebook, my blog, and other blogs for posts and comments.  I also have become somewhat obsessed with Craigslist - specifically the furniture for sale listings.  I am checking my computer over and over and over throughout the day.  And, when I'm not checking it I'm wondering if there are any updates.  Being aware of the problem is half the battle.  Our time wasters usually aren't bad things in and of themselves.  We just need to find balance.


2.  Be Realistic
With an older house that seems to create it's own dirt and dust, four boys who love to play outside and bring in more dirt, and a husband who is a very hands-on kind of guy who brings in even more dirt, I am not going to have a pristine home.  My floors are going to get sticky. Walls are going to get scuffed up.  Things are going to get broken.  Realizing this and accepting this will help me be realistic about what 'clean' looks like for our house.


3.  Decide what is Good Enough
Growing up, if we owned a mop I don't remember it...because whenever we cleaned the kitchen and dining room floors it was on our hands and knees scrubbing.  For the longest time I thought that if I was going to clean something I had to go all out and 'do it right'.  But, the fact is, scrubbing on my hands and knees takes a long time.  And, what happened is the floors wouldn't get done at all.  When I accepted that the floors didn't have to be perfect...just good enough...they got done a lot more often.


4.  Do what you can
The same type of issue held true with the bathrooms (my least favorite thing to clean).  I felt like I had to be able to scrub the toilet, sink, and tub...as well as clean the floors all in one shot.  But, the task seemed overwhelming.  Breaking it down into smaller tasks...say scrubbing the toilet when I had 5-10 extra minutes made it seem far less overwhelming...and the bathroom stayed cleaner.  In the same way, I have one particular room that seems to accumulate all the stuff  that needs sorted or given a home.  This room (my computer room actually) has become an overwhelming mess!  I don't have an entire day to devote to cleaning and organizing it.  So instead I've been tackling it bit by bit - 15 minutes here, 30 minutes there.  It's still a mess.  But, I can see the floor now!


5.  Use simple systems
There are people out there who swear by household binders.  In it they keep organized all their bills, appointments, menu planning, household projects, shopping lists, budget, etc. etc.  I LOVE this idea.  But, it doesn't work for me.  I've tried it.  I get more caught up in trying to maintain the binder. Then,  something that is designed to be a tool in organizing tasks becomes just another task.  I am the same way about chore lists, reward charts, etc. for the kids.  It sounds like such a great idea and for some families it's an incredibly effective tool.  For me, it's one more thing to maintain and I'm rarely consistent.  For me, the simpler the better.


One example of a simple system I use is with mail/bills.  When the mail arrives, I immediately go through it.  I toss the junk mail.  Magazines go on the magazine rack.  Invitations or things involving an upcoming date to be scheduled I write on the calendar and tack on my mini-bulletin board.  Bills I open and then I write on the envelope it arrived in how much is due and when it's due.  I put those in my bill file and each Friday (payday) I pull them out and pay what needs to be payed.  Sometimes there are still things I set aside that I'm not sure what to do with.  Usually these are things I think my husband might want to look at.  So, sometimes that pile grows larger than it should.


6.  Slowly tackle the clutter
I have learned that I don't have to keep everything.  It's OK to give away and throw away.  This has been a slow learning process for me.  I tend to be very sentimental over items or I stash them away that someday in the future they might be useful.  I had to force myself in the beginning and bagging up stuff to take to Goodwill or ReUzit took me a long time.  I'd sit staring at something in my hand and literally take 10 minutes asking myself, "Should I keep this?  Would one of the boys want it some day?  Should I sell it instead of giving it away?"  Often I wouldn't be able to make up my mind and I'd set it aside to be dealty with later.  Now I take great pleasure in filling bags with stuff to get rid of.  It's still hard sometimes & I still get 'stuck' on certain items.  But, I've come a long way!


7.  Make lists of future projects
Thy Hand Hath Provided did a similar post last week titled "House Woes"  In it she talked about how so many times we see our house but we don't really see it.  And, then when we really look at it we realize 'Oh.  This needs done.  That needs done.'  She went on to say that those things don't really need to be done to ensure our happiness.  I agree wholeheartedly. Our happiness is not dependant on our houses.  I repeat.  Our happiness is not dependant on  our houses.  The one thing I would add to that is that when I do notice something that should be fixed or replaced...start a list.  So many times, if I am out where I could buy whatever I need in my house, I can't for the life of me remember what I need.  For instance, the ceiling light fixture in our kitchen fell and shattered months ago.  I've gotten so used to the bare bulb that I forget sometimes that it's like that.  But, this is an example of something I should put on my list - it's simple enough to fix...if I can just remember to buy that new fixture.


8.  Take the time to enjoy a sense of accomplishment
When you do finish a project, take a minute to stand back and enjoy it.  For me recently I finished weeding and mulching one of my flowerbeds.  Yes.  I still had more flowerbeds to weed and mulch, but I took some time to soak the the great feeling of accomplishment.




So there you have the areas I'm working on.   This is what works for me.  I'd love to hear some of the things that work for you.  And, next post I'm planning on writing a bit about the heart issues involved in good stewardship.