Now that most things are complete, I thought it would be neat to take a picture from the same position as the before pictures that were posted when the house was for sale! And yes, I did *almost* everything myself. I took a few weeks off from work and had my lists. There were really long days and nights during the demo and installing the flooring, but I am super thrilled about how it turned out!
Front Exterior Before
Front Exterior After
- paint front door
- paint garage door
- replace blinds to all match from the outside of the house
- replace light fixtures
- spray paint house numbers from gold to black
- pull trees and bushes
- plant new bushes
- pull weeds
- fix rocks
- fertilize
- spray for weeds
- spray for bugs
Note: I did need a lawn care person to come pull the trees and bushes with a Bobcat. I was too nervous about gas lines and it would have taken me ages to cut a tree down with the tools that I have.
The day that I had reserved to plant bushes turned out to be a rain day, and my birthday! If I had to plan it all over again, I would always choose to plant bushes on a rain day. It’s definitely muddy, but it’s cool and refreshing to not be sweating your ass off while you’re digging the holes.
I bought 5 bushes. I don’t know what they are, but I’m excited for them to grow a bit. Again, everything needs to be done for as little cash as possible, so the bushes that I bought aren’t quite as big as I would have liked.
I was just about done. As I was swiping my razor blade through the roots before plopping it into the ground, I had a little slip. My thumb got in the way and I sliced a nice chunk. That stings, but honestly, I was on such a mission to be done with planting the bushes that I just cried a little bit in my head and kept going. I also made a mental note to go get some gardening gloves. 😀
