Sofa and Loveseat - cleaning

BEFORE

Tomorrow between 8am and 10 am, I am having my sofa and loveseat professionally cleaned. $178.

I checked around and this seemed to be the comparable price so I just went for it. Afterward, I will keep them covered because it is still raining here and our backyard looks like Lake Shasta.

It's hard to cover these - Anything fitted doesn't fit. So I use these throws I bought online. The problem with sofa throws is they get sloppy looking. I can't stand that look, but I don't want my freshly cleaned sofa and loveseat to get dirty. We always take them off when company comes. 

Or when I wash the throws which, having a dog and 2 cats is often. I like them to be clean and smelling nice.

I've been a bit lazy lately - actually I just haven't been doing any work around the house, worth mentioning. What I have been doing, is going to the gym to work out. Then I come home and collapse.

I love the rain so I am not tired of it yet - I just wish I would stay motivated. Maybe that just comes with age - my brain has all these big projects but my body has other ideas; nap, watching a movie...

Our House - is a very very fine house

you can hardly tell, it's contact paper

I wonder why, some of us, are so focused on our homes?  I watched my mom, decorate and paint and move furniture around, all the time. Then I started, moving my bedroom around, and placing posters on the wall. Mom let me, paint my furniture, and then after a few years, I covered it all in wood-grained contact paper.

I used to love to go through the Sears Catalog and decorate - and I would also draw plans of different types of houses. I did this all the time and actually wanted to be an Architect but was told, I could never do it because I was not good at Math.

 So instead of trying, I didn't try at all. I have to wonder, if I was a young person today who had been encouraged to at least TRY, would I have accomplished that dream? Who knows and who cares, at this point. 

There was a time in our life when we lived in our 34-foot motor home -

 downsizing. I loved it. But what started to get to me, was it was already decorated and there was only so much I could do. 

When we moved into this house - (our last home) it had belonged to my Mom and Dad. I bought out my sister. For quite a while, it had my parent's "style". 

I guess for a while, it comforted me. Then I got lazy (depressed) and my adult children moved back home and I was NOT about to redecorate, while they were here. I didn't want to make it THAT comfortable for them. Plus, let's face it - they didn't take care of the house like we wanted. So new sofas and carpets were just going to have to wait.

That is where we are now. They've all been out for a year and we are playing "catch up." It's like we have opened Pandora's Box - we keep wanting to do more and more. The good thing is we are both frugal- and I am downright CHEAP. I love to try and re-use something FIRST before I will go out and buy something new. Of course, you can't do that, with a new roof, windows, carpet, etc. 

Yeah, we've spent a lot of money this year - we took out an equity loan for things having to do with the IMPROVEMENT of the house. 

My husband retires in 6 years. Our adult children are now on their own. Sometimes, I want to get a fun part-time job. Haven't found one yet, because I am working on our home - to make it more organized and comfortable for us, in our old age.

I was in high school when I first heard, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young sing, OUR HOUSE.

Immediately I was drawn to the lyrics- they sang about the house I wanted one day- a cozy room, two cats in the yard (I had five), and windows that are illuminated - that would be My House, one day. 

New Carpet makes HUGE difference

before

We started the day before -moving things out of the master bedroom and living room. The day of, only the furniture was left and we knew the installers help with that.

Just look at the cruddy carpet. You wouldn't know it, by looking at it, that I shampooed my carpet every other month. I tried so hard.

Everything all piled up

The dining room and garage (not shown) were the waiting room, for the furniture.

 My cat loved it. So much adventure; places to climb and sniff around.

I love lines on my carpet

Finally, after three hours -they are done. 

I feel like I am walking on a cloud, it feels so plush.

everything moved back in

Boy, what a difference it makes - everything is clean - Like I said, it feels so good on our feet and that's with shoes on.

I will LOVE vacuuming once again. 

Now on to the NEXT project.