How to remove grease from walls

and other things I need to know

I could use your help. I’m not hoping you’ll wipe down walls or paint (even if you were in the area) but some friendly advice from personal experience would be great.

We made it to Idaho.

Dear friends, Karen-Lee and Mark, helped with loading the truck, cleaning my apartment, and getting me frozen veggies when I took a fall on the crumbling concrete steps outside my apartment. They also assisted when we discovered the car dolly was broken. And when we forgot our extra set of car keys, they raced on the highway to catch up with us (which isn’t difficult when you’re driving a 15-foot UHaul with a car dragging behind). Huge shout-out and endless thanks to these friends!

As challenging as it was, the drive was a treat. If you haven’t driven across state lines (ever or in awhile), I highly recommend you do. Our home is far more than the house or town we in which we live. The United States is incredibly diverse, not just in people, faiths, customs, and dialects, but also in landscapes. This diversity makes us stronger. Like a large, woven tapestry, it’s a good thing to look closely at the fibers, knots, and inconsistencies, as well as the whole. (and that’s as far as I’ll go in my sermon tonight :)

After three long days of driving, we pulled into Bellevue, Idaho at 10pm Mountain time. The next morning I saw the house for the first time. Okay, not exactly the first time, but . . . When I had visited it before, I hadn’t really considered living there. Now I saw it with fresh eyes. Oh my.

There is a LOT of work to do!

So much, in fact, that renovating the house in Sicily no longer seems daunting. If I can renovate this house in Idaho, well, I may be able to do just about anything.

Meanwhile, does anyone know how to remove old contact paper from wooden shelves? This stuff could be 20 years or older and most of it sticks like dog poop on the sole of a running shoe. Sorry if that’s gross but it’s painstakingly difficult to remove. Any suggestions are welcome!

the glass pan was left in this cupboard. No, I’m not cleaning and keeping it!

I did, however, find this chemical for removing grease. Best part is that if you use a soft scouring pad with it, it will rough up the laquer on the cabinets enough to eliminate the need to sand before painting. Yay!

It also cleaned this awful mess on the floor, which Pine Sol (and even Dawn dish soap) couldn’t touch.

Let me know your thoughts. Below is a short wrap of the move (including drive time landscapes) and renovation so far. (it’s under 10 minutes) I’d love to know what you think! All helpful suggestions and kind thoughts are appreciated!

Stay tuned for more…

Wishing everyone a blessed Autumnal Equinox!

You can also find this on my YouTube channel but it won’t embed here….