Getting Rid Of Stuff has been a major theme for me these past two years. After a lifetime of being an accumulator, I now love throwing things away. Today I threw away a scratched Teflon skillet, thus liberating the pots-and-pans drawer (as well as my family ) from a potentially poisonous cooking utensil. I also gave away our cream-colored dining room rug, which I once loved but whose color I always regretted, especially after Milo used it as a poop mat when we were on vacation recently. I gave the rug to a man who came to haul away the bricks from the front yard. I gave it to him on one condition: That he must absolutely clean the rug before presenting it to his wife. I'll never know if he does this, but I tried.
Here's another thing I gave away today: a ton of bricks and bluestone shards. Well maybe not a ton. I'm not good at judging things like tons. It seemed like a ton to me. But the thing that really puts today on the anti-clutter radar is that at long last, I got rid of the ugly evergreens out front. Except for a few gnarly juniper stumps, the front yard is as naked as new construction.
Ahhhhh.......
For a progression of photos of the front of my house, click below
This is what the front looked like when we bought the house 2 years ago. The junipers were overgrown, the front steps were crumbling and the black trim made the house look goth (as observed by M, who is 13 and knows some goth-ish kids).
On a snowy day:
June '07:
November '07
July 08
mid july 08
We moved into a 1920's dutch colonial in bergen county, nj in September 2007. I was thrilled to come across your blog (actually, this is my first post!). Your house looks fantastic. We are replacing our brick front steps and I really like the stone you used on your steps. What type of stone is it? Thanks!
Posted by: shara | August 20, 2008 at 10:35 AM
Congrats on your Dutch Colonial! We love ours, especially the high ceilings and woodwork. For the front stoop, we used bluestone. It looks lovely. I wish the top step was a little longer to the left and right--the columns are flush with the edge of the steps, and this sort of bugs me. I think it will be ok when we do some landscaping. Just fyi!
Good luck!
Adrienne
Posted by: adrienne | August 20, 2008 at 11:08 AM
Congratulations...
I live in Pennsylvania & I usually rely on http://www.betteroutdoorliving.com. They are experts in Landscape Design and Garden Landscaping. I always consult them.
Posted by: Jessica | June 10, 2009 at 11:32 PM
What a very beautiful facade. That's the change of your hard working and perseverance. It look so fascinating.
Posted by: Facaderens | September 24, 2009 at 01:59 AM
this is all really going to look great when it is all done. It is already showing great improvement.
Posted by: digger derricks | September 30, 2009 at 03:50 PM