The Rental Property - During -

You might remember me talking about getting our old house ready for rent. Well it was an extremely long process, and I must admit, I think I went overboard with getting it in tip top shape. I mean it is a rental after all right? I really thought I'd go in and just do a few touch ups here and there, but with my obsessive personality it turned into a full blown house makeover. I had to fix everything and make it perfect, I just couldn't stop myself. You may have read my post where I talked about how hard this move was on me... Change is good, RIGHT?

After living in it for so many years, I just couldn't bare the thought of letting it go like that, so I put all my love into it one more time, only this time we are not the ones who will be enjoying it. Funny how that works isn't it? I'm very happy with the family that is moving in though. So that's comforting, I couldn't stand it if I had someone come in and trash the place.

This is the blue room. We used it as our TV movie room / library / just chill out and shut the door so mom doesn't hear you room.

The kitchen FINALLY got a tile backsplash put up. Please tell me why on earth I didn't do that sooner? I mean really, I could just kick myself sometimes :(

 The living room. Just so you know a tornado did come through here, if that makes it better.

 This is what you saw first thing walking though the door. Needless to say I didn't have many visitors, and I DID NOT show the house to anyone during this time.

I still can't believe I did this all, pretty much by myself. I spent COUNTLESS hours, days, weeks and actually I think more like two months on getting this house ready to rent. 
Granted I could only work on it for about 5 hours a day, which really isn't that much considering all the trips to the Hope Depot, lol. Anyway, I did it...... and I'm very happy it's over!!
Come back tomorrow to see the finished pictures, with everything all cleaned up. 
Do any of you have rental properties? Do you have any tips you'd like to share? I know I went overboard this time, hopefully next time around it will be easier.... (fingers crossed).
P.S. Don't forget to check out my NEW blog series. It's all about getting things done.Click on Make it Happen MONDAYS to see what I'm working on this week!

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How to line your drawers with contact paper.

I remodeled my kitchen a couple years ago. After finding all the pics, I can't wait to show you guys some pics of how it used to look. One of the main things I did was turn my regular cabinets into huge sliding drawers. I've loved it, BUT have not loved that they were just unfinished wood, and actually not even sanded down properly. I kinda redid my kitchen on a small budget, and the guys who did it, really didn't care about small details like that, I guess. 


Most of the drawers were redone, but i still had a few that were the white typical drawers, so they all didn't match. I thought, I would eventually get around to painting them all the same color, BUT, after almost 2 years that still hasn't happened. So on to plan B. 


The same liner I used to redo my desk HERE, and line under my sink HERE, is what I used to give these drawers a facelift. It ended up being 10 times easier, and WAY cheaper than had I just painted them. Even then, I still would not have the protection these liners provide. You guys know how easy they wipe clean, right. I guess there is a reason why they are meant for this very thing. I am in love. 


Here is how I did it, step by step. It was easy, but with some quick tips, I might save you from some grief, and make it even easier to do. 

One of the white standard drawers, originally there. Pretty beat up right?
First step for all of the drawers obviously is to clean them. Make sure they are clean and DRY.

After being lined it looks so much better. I was a little short in the back there, oops. 

One of the large drawers, wooden, and unfinished. There have been some spills, and everything just stains the wood.  

See what I mean, totally not sanded. Luckily I don't have any reason to go rubbing my hand along that, BUT still, how much better to have it look finished right?

Yikes, splinters up the ying yang. 

Now since the drawers were a little to wide, I had to add an extra strip, so I added it to the back. I measured once, and cut out four of them, since I have four of these big drawers. I cut it long enough to go all the way down the sides, as you can see here. However, contact paper doesn't exactly stick to well to splinters, so, plan B, below. 

Hot glue baby. It worked like a charm. I used just a line along the top edge, and at the very edge if needed. 

It may look a little bumpy, but thats ok with me, much better than it not sticking. 

Here is the large sheet, draped over the sides. Again, I measured it long enough to go over the sides, as before. I cut out 4 exact pieces for the other drawers too. 

I removed the top 1/4th and rolled the paper under. Then got ready to apply.

Starting at the very edge, and lining it up against the side I started pressing down in the middle. 

With my handy dandy hotel card, I pressed, and got out as many bubbles as possible. I worked my way from center to the outside edges. It was super easy, as long as you place it properly, and really use the card to smooth it out. 

I wanted all the edges to look finished, so I cut an extra piece for the back, (actually this is the front part of the drawer.)

Applied the same way, and added a few drops of hot glue to make sure it stayed put.

This is the back of the drawer, and I just need one more piece to finish the drawer. 

Pretty much finished. So much better, I seriously love it. 

Here it is, installed again. I have the heavy duty sliders, that come out all the way. This particular drawer is where I hold all my plastic containers. 

I hope you all learned a little something, and if anything, this makes you go out and line your drawers too. It makes such a difference, I can't even tell you. I don't know why it took me so long to do, but I am super happy it finally got done. I still have about half a roll left, and only a couple more drawers to complete. So with the desk, and  the kitchen, I used up 2 rolls. About a $10.00 investment. So worth it, wouldn't you say?


I will be posting some pics of the drawers before organizing them, and of course now that they are all clean, and pretty. I can't wait to show you guys, how I get by, with 4 huge kitchen cabinets gone, after the kitchen remodel. It's pretty amazing what these pull outs can do. 


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