20 More Days

I was having a nice day until Jordan mentioned that we have 20 DAYS to finish the house. 

20 DAYS!

Here is the problem with that:

When you enter the house, you do not get the feeling that it is almost finished. You get the feeling that you'd better keep your shoes on so you don't step on a nail. Your shoes track drywall dust from the living room into the kitchen, that is still missing a few cabinet fronts (thanks to IKEA backorders). You go into the Chipotle bathroom, which looks done, aside from the window that needs painting, but then you realize there is no door. So you pick your way through the guest bedroom, past a couch, a stove, various tools, lamps and a pile of bricks to get to the subway tile bathroom that has become the center for washing paint brushes. You head upstairs, hoping for signs of progress, but the dust and tools littering the staircase and landing don't look promising. Nothing has been painted, 1970s carpet covers the floors, and popcorns ceilings still watch over you while you sleep. There is a bit of hope in the form of herringbone subway tile in the master bathroom, but it needs painting and light fixtures. Oh, and the entire second floor needs new windows. Also, the outside of the house needs painting. And a new front porch. 

I used to scoff at the way HGTV shows create drama toward the end of each episode. "Will they finish?!" "There's too much work and not enough time!" But the struggle is real. There is always more that can be done, and not enough time to do it all. People keep asking us, "Do you think you'll finish?" And the answer is that we honestly don't know. We may not know until day 19. 

The reason we need to finish in 20 days is because on July 14th we are leaving for three weeks for family and friend reunions. We don't want the house to sit empty for three weeks without being on the market. It's easier to sell a house no one is living in. And the sooner we can get the house under contract, the sooner we get paid. As this is our main source of income, it would be a shame to run out of money right before we sell it. 

We had a little helper tonight! 

So I'm going to be painting like a crazy person for the next three weeks. And during my breaks, I'm going to keep the blog and Instagram up to date on our progress. It feels very much like we are on a remodeling reality show--not just the unknowns of when we'll finish, but also the emotional drama (coming mostly from me). The other day I told Jordan I might literally be going crazy from all this dust. And this week, we are sanding the wood floors. So pray for us please. And follow along! 

A sign that we'll finish on time?!