Project Nursery - Part 2

Having returned our original cot bedding set (see previous post) we were back to square one with the decorating theme for the nursery. Having decided we would just get plain fitted sheets we knew that we wanted to make more of a statement with the rest of the room. We decided that curtains were a good place to start - especially with them generally being one of the most expensive items.

After measuring the window (and getting stressed working out what size that mean't we needed, they never make it easy!) we decided to look in Dunelm Mill in the hope that we could just get some 'pre-made' ones. It must have been our lucky day as they were selling off some of their nursery range at 50% off. We managed to buy some black out curtains with a matching rug, 2 packs of bunting and door stop all for £45.00 - which was less than what we expected to pay for the curtains alone! 

 

Although job number one is to get the walls prepped by sanding and painting a white base coat we have chosen some samples of the final wall colour as Dulux and Crown paint are currently on offer in B&Q (2 for £24 and 2 for £22 respectively). 

Having been convinced we were having a boy I still can't quite believe I get to paint a pink room. I can't wait to get started. The plan is to have it finished by the end of June - fingers crossed. 

Project Nursery

The time has come for us to tackle project nursery. At 24+3 days, and knowing that it will probably take us 3-4 weeks to complete, I do not want to leave this much longer. This room was always going to be the biggest project. When we moved in there was only backing paper on the walls, no under-lay under the carpet, loose floorboards, a curtain pole that didn't fit and a fire place with broken tiles. The pictures below have been taken today after we had some help on Saturday from my partner's parents who started removing the wall paper (a job they love and I dislike). 

The jobs we need to complete are:

1) Fill holes and then paint the walls (expecting it will need a good few coats)

2) Paint the skirting boards

3) Fix and paint the tiles around the fireplace

4) Buy and insert a flume balloon to block the chimney. 

5) Clean the wardrobe and insert new poles

6) Buy curtains

7) Fix the floor boards and buy a new carpet (the current one pictured is just pieces of old carpet laid down). 

8) Move in the nursery furniture and baby's things (the fun part). 

Should keep me busy for a good few weeks! 

One Down

A while ago I posted about my decorating projects. The first room we needed to complete was the front sitting room/ my office. We actually finished this room a good few weeks back now but it took me a week to move into it properly and I have finally got round to taking photos of the finished project. 

Before 

After 

Ignoring the mess on my desk (still to be sorted) I am really pleased with the finished result. The only thing I need to do is find some nice art work to go up and maybe add a shelf and a notice board - there is no rush for these finishing touches though. 

Next it is project nursery! 

Bank Holiday Garden Work (on a budget)

I have not posted for a few days as we have been very busy getting some work done in our garden. We are very lucky to have a lovely garden, but since moving in we have not done much to it due to lack of funds. The only real work we have done is build our chickens a home as they obviously needed somewhere to live (we have 6 chickens). Currently all our gardening equipment and my partners 'man things' are stored in our garage which means we are unable to use the garage as it was originally intended - as a mini gym. The first stage in rectifying this was to get some sheds sorted out. 

Now sheds range in price depending on the quality and although we could afford cheap ones we wanted a 'better quality' one that would last. We were very lucky in that my grandparents were getting rid of theirs and offered it to us for free. So we ended up with a decent quality shed (in need of some repairs) for the cost of hiring a van and petrol - about £60. My Dad offered to come and help us put it up and to build a proper base for it to go on too. Thankfully we have had great weather the past few days and have managed to get the area cleared, a concrete base down and the shed up and re-felted. The shed will need re-painting and we did have to buy some new felt (£30) but the slabs were re-used from our old house and we got all the hardcore for the base for free from Freecycle (if you have not heard of this look it up here). 

Now I will not pretend that I was involved in the constructing of the shed (although I did help with clearing the tress and bushes). Whilst my Dad and partner worked on the shed, my mum and I carried on with some painting of the front room and then spent an afternoon in the garden getting all our pots planted up for the summer. I wanted to add some colour to the garden but as with the shed we were on a budget. When we moved into this house in June last year the previous owner had left lots and lots of old pots and containers in the garden. As nothing but weeds grew in them last year we emptied them out (re-claiming any decent soil) and then re-potted them. I managed to get a really good deal on potting compost from The Range - two 50 litre Miracle Gro bags for just £7 (RRP of £12). I also got a good deal on bulbs from our local Wyvale Garden Centre - two bags of bulbs (40 in each) for £7.99. Now I am not much of a gardener, but with 15 pots planted up in total I hope we will at least have some that survive come the summer. I will report back in 3 months! 

Happy Cleaning - Method Non-toxic Cleaners

After visiting friends on Thursday and over the weekend I have gotten behind with my blog. Whilst spending time with my friends definitely helps to improve my happiness it does have a negative impact on my diet, wallet and the house work. For that reason I shall dedicate the last week of the month to trying to ensure these other 3 aspects of my life receive an equal amount of attention. 

Whilst I am currently unemployed I am taking on all responsibility for running the house, basically trying to be a proper old fashioned house wife. Cleaning is not one of my favourite things to do, but on the whole I do not mind doing it. When agreeing to take on this job I did however have one major concern - the chemicals. After spending an hour or two immersed in a selection of bleaches, sprays and creams I have always ended up with a slight lightheaded feeling, along with the feeling I have may have taken several layers of skin off my hands. Now that I am pregnant I guess the obvious choice would be to use gloves and a mask, however I decided to follow on from my quest to find natural toiletries by looking into natural cleaners too. 

I must have some kind of psychic connection to Sainsbury's as it just happened that the week I went to look all of their natural ranges were on offer. I purchased a few products from the Ecover and Method ranges. For now I shall just talk about the kitchen ones.

 

The products above are from the 'Method' range. Method is an American brand that was taken over by Ecover in 2012. There products are environmentally friendly, non-toxic and designed to be safe for both the family and all furry friends. 

Click to enlarge - method FAQs taken from http://methodproducts.co.uk/

I have been using the Daily Kitchen Cleaner and Multi-surface cleaners for about 4 weeks now. I am really impressed. The scents are lovely and the products do not have the usual 'fake' chemical fresh smell you get with cleaning products. As far as cleaning performance I have had no issues at all. I have been using the daily cleaner for my quick daily surface wipes and the multi-surface cleaner for deeper cleans every few days. They cut through all dirt and have even got rid of some seriously welded on dirt on my stove top (when sprayed and left to soak for a minute). I do have concerns that the products do not have any antibacterial properties. Method do make products that kill 99.9% of bacteria but these seem to be only available in the USA. Until they become available here I willl just rope my partner in to do a deep clean once every few weeks. 

Rating: 4/5 - This would have been higher if the range included antibacterial products. When I purchased the products they cost £2 each for an 828ml bottle. The current price is £3 per bottle. Although this is higher than the products we would usually I do think the extra £1 is worth the peace of mind. I am sure my partner would agree as it means he gets out of all the cleaning too! 

T Minus 25 Weeks

It is just over 25 weeks until my due date. In some ways this seems like forever but when I look at the list of things we need to get done in that time it suddenly feels like 5 minutes. Now we have lots of things that we want to do to the house, but we have to focus on the bits we absolutely need to get done before baby comes along. The list so far:

1. Decorate my office
2. New curtains for my office
3. Move boxes and furniture out of room intended for nursery and back into my office
4. Decorate the nursery
5. New carpet for nursery
6. New curtains for nursery
7. Furniture for nursery
8. Wardrobes for master bedroom (so we can move our clothes out of the nursery one)
9. Put up 2 x sheds in the garden
10. Move all the junk out of the garage into said sheds
11. Set up the garage as a gym (as originally intended 10 months ago). 

While I am still out of work/looking for work I can at least be making a start on these jobs (as well as all the regular house keeping jobs). The first task is to get my office sorted out - see pictures below. It currently has a dark brown carpet and dark brown curtains and no wallpaper (we removed the dark brown wallpaper!). 

Annoyingly after a trip to Dunelm Mill we soon found out our curtains are of 'non-standard' size which means we need to have them custom made instead of buying off the shelf, i.e. add £200 on to the price (joy). Anyway we decided to have Hilary's out to measure and quote us and after recovering from the shock we have decided we are going to swallow the cost and go ahead (at least they will fit them and they are guaranteed). 

I have also been out this week and collected some test pots and I will hopefully have chosen a paint colour by the end of the week. 

My plan was to start painting straight away but I have read conflicting advice on the safety of painting when pregnant. The vast majority say that as long as the paint is not oil based and you make sure you keep the room well ventilated then it is OK after the 1st trimester. Other sources (still credible ones) suggest it is best to avoid it as with most things they do not yet know the risks (grrrr). I have my midwife appointment next week so I decided it will not harm to wait a week and see what she says. I shall also invest in a decent, and probably very stylish face mask, just to be on the safe side. 

The new curtains and colour scheme. I am actually really hoping I prefer the Crown one over the B&Q own brand as it is currently on offer at 3 for £32. The B&Q one works out at 3 for £35 - and every little helps! 

Home Explained

The category of 'Home' will be used to cover all aspects of our home life including housework, decorating, gardening and preparing for the arrival of baby. I have given 'Home' a current rating of 5 out of 10. In many ways I am very lucky as we moved in June of last year and have a lovely home that is perfect for a family. There are many areas I need to work on though and lots of tasks to complete in the next 6 months. I also want to become more organised with the housework as I am definitely no model housewife at the moment!