We’re back! We are living out of boxes and in a little bit of chaos… but very slowly things are progressing towards routine. It’s a slower pace out here in the country so we’re allowed to take our time, right? I’m happy to be back at mittonmusings.com and wanted to share our first experience here at Itsnotta Farm.

We’d picked up the keys and had our first few walkabouts. I have big plans for a lot of spaces on the property, but I knew I wanted to get going on the unfinished basement first before anything got moved in. It’s a big space. It takes up the main part of the house, but is a little damp and dark and gets a bit wet in the spring… but I was determined to clean it up before all our junk got in. I thought it would take a couple of days work. I was wrong. It took much longer than I anticipated. It was also a good thing I don’t have an issue with spiders. I met a few along the way.

I started out doing my research. What would I need for such a reno? What was my prep? I was tempted to go full hog and paint the ceiling black for a cool “club vibe” like the videos I was seeing. I determined that was way more work than I wanted to take on. It did, however, convince me to buy a paint sprayer. A little splurge, but we are hoping we’ll use it for other projects coming up. (Read chicken coop and barn!). Then on to learning about paint and prep. I don’t think the basement had been taken on in 50-plus years… so I had my work cut out for me. Concrete walls. Crazy half-wall step thing. Chips, bumps, lumps and a whole lotta spiders. And then there was this:

Not exactly sure, but I suspect rusty residue from previous pipes, a fireplace or an old oil furnace. There are two “windows”. I really wish they were closed in with a glass block or something to let in a little natural light, but it really is the cellar. Heaven forbid anyone or any thing gets locked in there… there is no escape. Anyway, for those of you looking for reno tips: talk to the people that know. I was confused about all the products: concrete, epoxy, stain blockers etc. but the lovely lady at Home Depot convinced me: concrete masonry paint for the walls because it was a vertical space. I chose white. The part epoxy paint (epoxy = plastic) that sticks better on the horizontal floor. Slate grey to hide imperfections. Perfect. Load up the cart! I also bought a wire brush and a stain blocker for those porous stained spots.

And then the work. Scraping. Oh so much scraping and chipping away at 50-plus years of layers. Climbing under shelving and behind the laundry sink. And I am not a little lady. It was probably pretty humorous seeing me tucked under the shelving with a brush in my hand getting those hard-to-reach spots while trying to avoid leg cramps!

At this point, perhaps you, like others around me, are asking why on earth would I want to start with such a seemingly unnecessary project? After all… it is just an unfinished basement that floods a few times a year and no guest will likely ever see. Why spend the effort on the floor that will only ever see dirty laundry and cat litter? I suppose I wanted it “clean” and protected and to look a bit more finished than it was. Moving in time was the perfect opportunity to attempt it as the basement was empty of junk. A little like people. Many of us who are rough on the edges need someone to come alongside us and brave the cobwebs to help seal the stains and beautify us. The Bible tells us that we are to care for the basic needs of “the least of these”. Everything and everyone should be worthy of a little “pretty-ing up”. At least every 50 years or so!

And often, the perfect time to take on such a project is when it’s empty. We need the most encouragement and uplifting when we are drained of all our stuff and have reached the point when everything has been scraped away and we can start the climb back up from the basement. Guests may never see the dirty laundry, but the very least of these still deserve some effort! And the rewards are abundant! Trust me! The daddy long-leg spiders were worth the exposure — come back next week for the final before and after reveals of our century home cellar and a little more inspirational chat about how we can be the light in someone else’s dark world!