Phase Two starts

We kicked off Phase Two of our remodel a couple weeks ago.  It started with us purging a tremendous amount of "stuff".  I first started with the storage area in the basement and went through old paint cans, filled about ten of them with kitty litter to absorb the paint and then disposed.  We had lots of odds and ends from other home repairs that we had kept "just in case" that went to the curb. We also recycled a few older appliances that I hadn't touched in several years and five tube TVs.  

This cleared up a lot of space in our storage area in the basement so we could tackle the next step which was removing a large cedar particle board closet built randomly in the basement by one of the previous homeowners.  Luggage, craft supplies, Christmas trees, and other odds and ends were moved to the storage area and the rest donated.  We tackled this on a Friday night and while a "few" interesting things fell from the top of the ceiling we got it disassembled in a few hours.    We took this apart because the closet was where I want to put the old kitchen cabinets and counters to create a craft area in the basement. 

Next weekend we started purging and packing the kitchen while Chris started removing items from the family room, dining room, and living room.  We moved the living room furniture up to the sitting room area of our bedroom and the family room furniture to the living room.  Another fun adventure moving the big leather sofa out the patio doors, around the house and in the front door!  It took more time to pack the kitchen than I thought as you never realize how much you have until you start looking in the back corners and upper shelves and cabinets and you have to pack it.  

So with everything packed up and moved out of the way and lots of things covered in plastic on all three floors in anticipation of the dust and mess we left for vacation on Sunday, Dec. 31st.  The contractors started on Tuesday, Jan. 2nd and from the pictures below that my friend shared they just removed the kitchen cabinets and appliances.  I am hoping they tackle removing the tile floor today as that was one of the messiest part of the job last time.  It is laid in metal mesh and it covered everything on every floor in dust and debris.