I was discouraged. Stores were locked down, we had a neighbor very disgruntled with our dog, and my mountainside gardening attempts were not working out as I had hoped. We had just been outbid on a thirty acre property (which really, was for the best), and as much as I loved our cabin we were living in full time, I dreamed of getting back the privacy we had while living in South Carolina. Now that home was private. We were nestled a glorious quarter mile into the woods. Pure perfection.

I was sitting in our living room when the listing popped up. A 2250 square foot house with a full basement on five acres. Asking $237,000. Wait a minute…this home was for sale when we looked at our cabin, but our realtor wasn’t able to take us to see it. I brought my phone outside to show my husband who was working on a quail enclosure. He stopped what he was doing to call the realtor. A showing was set up for the next day!

Long story short, we bought it. It has been one year since we found our current home, and it has come a long way. I loved the square footage and privacy of the home, but I didn’t love the work that came with it. One year later, we are still working on painting the exterior and replacing doors and windows. There are many other minor repairs that need to be done. In my mind, I thought that everything would be completed by December 2020, but nope. I became discouraged over the winter, to be honest. But once spring came, I was reminded why we chose this place. Besides being easy on our budget, it gave us the space we needed to try to homestead again.

Our 2000 square foot raised bed garden is almost compete, and our animals have plenty of room. This is a huge blessing!

I still dream of owning a large chunk of land to pass down to our children one day…I would love to have a rustic cabin type home on lots and lots of acreage with a water source…but that seems to be a far off dream right now.

The important thing is for me to stay focused on our successes over the past year. My hardworking husband and son have done so much to turn this place around.

We have:

• Pulled down tons of old fencing.
• Painted the entire interior of the house.
• Painted most of the exterior of the house.
• Repaired cracks in basement walls and water sealed it.
• Replaced the front double doors.
• Replaced two out of five broken windows.
• Painted kitchen cabinets, and replaced countertops, sink, and backsplash in the kitchen.
• Replaced all bathroom countertops, sinks, and faucets.
• Replaced all outlet and light switch receptacles.
• Closed in our boys room by adding a wall and a door.
• Replaced the flooring in the kitchen and my daughter’s room.
• Replaced the lighting inside of our home except for in the living room.

Windows being replaced.

We still need to:

• Replace the roof.
• Repair or replace the damaged stucco on our foundation.
• Replace all interior doors.
• Replace three windows.
• Repair the well. We are on county water right now and I hate it.
• Upgrade the electrical panel.
• Replace toilets.
• Replace the master bathroom tub.
• Repair the stairs leading to the basement.
• Replace the basement exterior door.
• Repair the upstairs laundry room so it’s useable.
• Replace the deck.

We are trying to make repairs while working on outdoor projects at the same time, so sometimes it’s slow going. It will be interesting to see how far we come in another years time.

This fixer-upper thing has been difficult, but it is so rewarding to see progress being made. Sweat equity isn’t bad, either.

Have you ever tackled a fixer-upper? If so, feel free to share your story in the comments below!