Work it

I’ve spent most of today working on a place we don’t even live in any more. But hey, if my efforts help speed up the selling process, I am more than happy to do these kinds of chores every month.

It’s shocking to me how much dirt has been tracked in over the last three or four weeks of showings. Fortunately we left a broom and dust pan here.

Mostly I’ve worked on the patio. It’s a brick patio so it has to be weeded—I know that sounds silly but if you don’t weed between the bricks, everything starts to look shabby and dilapidated. I also had to sweep the entire thing because all sorts of leaves, twigs and general yard crap get blown in and that also looks awful. There’s a large tree outside our patio which overhangs the patio just a bit, just enough to drip sap on the table and chairs. So I scrubbed them all with very soapy water and then rinsed thoroughly with the hose. I also watered everything because Boston is having a hot, dry summer too, just like the rest of the US. And I did laundry and cleaned inside.  

We have another open house scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. We’ve dropped the price already so between the large size, the gorgeous patio and the price, our place is a good deal. I hope someone else thinks so too.

Chores

I read an organizational tip on a blog I stumbled across and have since forgotten where—basically the post talked about sorting through the household chores you want to get done each week and figuring out when to do them so you don’t have one day full of nothing but chore misery.

That sounded good to me because I’d been feeling the pain of laundry day otherwise known as the day that never ends. Our washer and dryer are charitably called compact. That means we do six to seven loads each week. It’s mostly our washer. I can wash a set of sheets or our towels or a blanket but I can’t combine any of that unless you’re talking about adding say a wash cloth to the sheets. The washer just isn’t big enough.

So I came up with my own chore list. Much like my weekly menu lists*, this list isn’t set in stone. It’s mostly a reminder that hey! I need to get these things done each week so Friday or Saturday isn’t packed full of housework drudgery. That means I may well do two loads of laundry on any given day, but I won't wait to do all six or seven loads in one day.

Here’s my list:

*I plan out our menus each week. Those meals will get made; they just may not get made on the days they’re listed. 

Edited to add That Tuesday's chore (wash lights) refers to laundry, not light fixtures. I'm not so obsessed that I'd wash light fixtures every week.

To do and done

I thought about writing a long (probably boring) post about all we've done to get ready for our vacation. Instead, I'll leave you with my original to-do list in pristine condition, followed by how my to-do lists end up looking.

To do list

And it's done

Knocking off the chores

This weekend we started knocking off items from the home organizational audit I did earlier in the week. We had perfect weather for outdoor tasks and took full advantage of it to get a lot done.

We both agreed that painting the window well in our bedroom took top priority. So Saturday morning, Kent slithered through that 18 inch wide window so he could wash the concrete window well walls with a TSP substitute, a necessary step prior to actually painting the walls. The window is above waist height on me, but opens out onto the ground level of the well which is covered with gravel. Getting in and out isn’t easy and requires a second person spotting the one doing the slithering.

We foolishly though we could wash the walls and get the paint up all in one day—forgetting entirely that the window well doesn’t really get a lot of sunlight and we live in Boston, which is a little more humid than Kansas City. So the walls weren’t dry in time to paint yesterday. Kent painted them this morning, and he cleaned the outside of the windows. I cannot believe how much lighter our room looks. Something like that doesn’t really show up in a photo so you’ll just have to take my word for it, the change is startling.

We also tackled the patio. We have a huge patio, it’s almost 500 square feet and it’s one of the main reasons we bought this place. Yesterday Kent pulled down the lattice covering the support pole for the balconies above us. We had no idea how much mildew that lattice harbored, and it was also rotting in place. Makes sense, though, the balcony support structure doesn’t really get sun at all so the lattice stayed permanently damp. We were also surprised at how removing the lattice opened up the area visually.

While Kent took apart the lattice, I planted four flats of shade-loving ground cover (English ivy and Pachysandra) plus assorted bushes and flowers. I took pictures that show the patio in bigger swatches but then the plant colors aren’t obvious so I took a couple of pictures of some the plants. I also got a bit of sunburn on my back yesterday working out there.



PS It's 85 degrees F in Boston today! WooHOO!