Thank you, Grandma!

So, to review, I got a “free” trailer from my boyfriend.  I’ve spent money on new walls and sealed seams, upholstery, and new tire and wheels. 

At this point I’m telling myself…”I really, really, need a budget.”

So I created a spreadsheet with all the various projects and listed approximate amount of money, for each, that would need to be spent.  I also checked online to determine what the trailer’s approximate value would be when I was done.  (there is NOTHING worse than spending oodles of money on a project that ain’t worth nothin’ when you’re done.)

A doable Budget?  Check.

The kitchen drawers, after they were sanded.

Something worth noting, at this point, is that I am NOT made of money.  I work hard to put food on the table for my two kids and struggle from one payday to the next.   (Oh, and I don’t have credit cards.  They’re super evil.) So, how could I justify spending so much on a side project? 

Early in the project my grandmother died and, quite unexpectedly, left me a small bit of money.  What she left me was just enough to pay a few bills, take the kids clothes shopping, and set aside some for trailer completion.  The money, however, didn’t change my overall idea about saving as much money as I could by doing most of the work myself, it just made the project actually doable.  Frankly, if I didn’t have that money, the trailer project would have sat for much longer than the year it took me to get her done.

So, with the big projects behind me

it was time to get started on the actual work of the renovation.

The kitchen, before demolition.

It all started with paint, or more accurately, primer.  I had some left over from another project so I started by sanding every surface inside and then proceeded to prime them all.  Ceiling, walls, cupboard doors, every…flat…surface.  I think it took me a couple of weeks’ worth of free time and over a gallon of primer.  Between coats (there were two coats of primer applied) I sanded.  Yeah.  It was a dusty mess but I knew that if I didn’t prime first the paint would peel, or not stick, or just look nasty against the 1950’s pinkish (painted on) gross mess that was already there. 

Sand.  Prime. Sand. Prime. Sand.

Now....it's ready for paint. 

First coat of primer, in the dining area.

At this point everyone thought I was nuts and they almost convinced me too.  It was ugly inside and out.  Windows, a door, and walls with primer.  The rest of the parts and pieces sat, scattered, all over my house and garage.

This was gonna’ take some time, tenacity, creativity (there’s that word again) and patience…lots and lots of patience.