How NOT To Clean Your Front Porch

The most awesome gift from the sweetest friend. Y’all go check out her Etsy shop like right now! Click here.

Hey, y’all! Welcome to Sweet Sorghum Living–a place to sit a spell with a good cup of coffee and enjoy good conversation about everything from gluten-free goodies to home renovation projects. Today on the blog, I am chatting about what I did for my birthday–which was not what I had planned…it just kinda happened + how not to clean your front porch.

Some of the items from my front porch are now taking up temporary residency in my parlor.

It was a sunny and warm Friday with a gentle breeze. The view of the mountains from my pollen-covered front porch was spectacular. It seemed like the perfect time to give the porch a good cleaning. The hubby and I determined it would take about three hours to get it all spiffy for Memorial Day weekend (and my birthday). It was going to be an easy project….

Shortly after we started pressure washing the porch, the paint began to peel up….

Not long into our quick and easy cleaning project, little flakes of paint began to peel away from the concrete floor. At first, we thought it would be okay. A few chips in the paint here and there would be no biggie because most likely the furniture and flower containers would cover up those places. No such luck.

No home project is easy and quick *wink*

Three hours later, the hubby and I decided to strip and scrape as much paint as we could from the porch and paint it. And that is what I did for my birthday + I learned how not to clean your front porch *wink*

It was a long and tedious process, but the hubby removed most of the old paint with the power washer. The rest of the paint we scraped away.

Our three-hour cleaning project is now on day five *wink* BUT there is light at the end of the porch!

No, it isn’t snowing in May in Northeast Tennessee. That is paint flakes!

This is the “back” side of our wrap-around porch. I am so glad that I did not get my flowers planted in this spot! **Just look at all those paint chips I have to clean up!**

My porch furniture and flower containers...they are still sitting there...hopefully, they can find there way back to the porch by this Friday!

Some of my porch furniture and flower containers…they are still sitting there…hopefully, they can find there way back to the porch in the next few days *fingers crossed*

The hubby had just put out fresh mulch a couple of days before…now, I get to pick out all the paint-covered pieces! **Happy Birthday to me! haha**

Paint flakes are everywhere! I am telling y’all the truth…it is a hot mess!

This is how every home improvement addict spends her birthday weekend.

More porch furniture in the yard *wink* BUT check out those freshly painted rocking chairs. Stay tuned for an upcoming post about my Annie Sloan paint confession!

When doing any kind of home project, plan for the worst and hope for the best! *wink* p.s. the hubby stayed in that corner for like two hours! He is the best *big smile*

I just had to show y’all my cute flower containers. This blog post was going to be all about spring cleaning your front porches + gussying them up for the summer months ahead. **Best-laid plans of mice and men….**

"Y'all gon' make me lose my mind up in here, up in here Y'all gon' make me go all out up in here, up in here Y'all gon' make me act a fool up in here, up in here Y'all gon' make me lose my cool up in here, up in here"--DMX "Up In Here"

I would like to dedicate this song to all the power washers out there who had planned on just cleaning, but ended up stripping. “Y’all gon’ make me lose my mind up in here, up in here
Y’all gon’ make me go all out up in here, up in here
Y’all gon’ make me act a fool up in here, up in here
Y’all gon’ make me lose my cool up in here, up in here” (DMX “Up In Here”)