Yesterday when I bought the floor lamp I also bought 2 orchids. Home Depot sells them so cheaply I couldn’t resist. This morning I brought them to the apartment and they are enjoying the wonderful north light. I went with a carful of stuff: framed pictures, the new floor lamp, a few other things. I drove into the garage and introduced myself to the attendant, who brought a cart and helped put the stuff into it. I plan to do this with all the stuff I’d rather not pack for the movers. I have an awful lot of framed pictures. That will be the story for most of these 40 days.
I put the lamp together and put it in bedroom 2. I haven’t decided where to store all the framed pics. Some will go on the walls, some will be stored. I have not decided which closet won’t get painted. Each time I return I find more things I want to do.
Back to the before pictures. The hallway leads to the two bedrooms and the bathroom. The large bedroom is at the far end. It’s been painted a dark green. The carpet is relatively new and I will probably just clean it and leave it in place. The dark green walls suck up all the light, so they will go.
There is a wonderful, large fitted closet. This is just a peek at it. I’m sure all my clothes and shoes will fit nicely.
The second bedroom needs lots of work. A large desk takes up most of one wall (left) and is supposedly built in. It has to be removed. There is no carpet under it, so the carpet will have to be changed (needed anyway), and the entire room, including the closet, needs painting.
This is the other view of the room. I don’t know where the pink came from on the wall, which had a bed up against it. Maybe it’s the white paint wearing off. There are four bookcases against the left wall. I will probably move two of them into the other bedroom; maybe get rid of two of them. At least I know I’ll be able to house all of my books.
This is where I will work. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but I want it to be pleasant.
I never photographed the bathroom. Next time.
The kitchen needs a new oven, possibly a new dishwasher. The cabinets are metal; I think one of the old St. Charles kitchens. it was originally aqua, or I think they called it avocado.
My cabinets were sprayed white outside, but nothing was done inside, as you can see. The outside needs to be redone and I’d like to have the inside done. The built in oven looks like it had a fire inside. I’m thinking about removing it and replacing it and the cooktop with an ordinary range. Some of the cabinets will be sacrificed; not a problem for me.
The other wall has a newer cabinet that may have been used as a place to sit and eat. I have a nice butcher block table that may replace it. The door at the center of the picture is a large pantry. Since I do very little cooking this will become another storage room.
100 Books Before I Die 
That closet is a gift. I have only one big one, and it isn’t mine. Yes, your kitchen is about the same size as mine….and not enough cupboard space for me. Yes, that will make a good workroom and fit you well in another color.
After moving from a new house in Las Vegas with large walk-in closets to a 60-year-old house with tiny closets (presumably people from that era didn’t buy that many clothes), I learned first hand how premium good sized and well laid out closets are! Yep, looks like lots of stuff to do but hopefully most of that can be accomplished in the time left. You have a lot to do though. Think of it as your NEW exercise program! 😉
This apartment looks better and better. The bedrooms look large and perfect for your needs; the office will be really comfortable for you to work in once you do your updates. Love the closets. You can probably get a good package deal for all the kitchen appliances at once. Don’t forget to look at American Blinds.com online for the window treatments; I’m sure you can find a handyman to install them cheaply.
You probably know all this already. But if you have any questions we may be able to answer, please ask. Remember, we’ve done this more than a dozen times.