February | 2014 | BulgingButtons

February 24, 2014
by BulgingButtons 5 Comments

My New Favorite Gadget

I’m not a big fan of housework. In a perfect world I would wave a magic wand and all those little chores that need to be done would somehow take care of themselves. I’m not a slob, mind you. I like things tidy and neat, and clean is always better than dirty, but the work involved to maintain a household can get overwhelming.

I know there are methods, solutions, organizational systems, and tools to help with this never ending process. I know that I’m not the first person in the history of the world to dislike housework, and I will certainly not be the last. I have some nifty tools, I have learned much from the wildly popular Flylady, and I keep a certain level of clean at all times. It’s just not the same level that is needed to make your house look anything like a model home.

Normally this wouldn’t bother me too much, but currently I’m striving for the model look. I want my house to look ready to move into at a moment’s notice. I have to tell you, it does look pretty darn good. The thing is, the better it looks, the more things I notice. This is sort of a double edged sword. I like the clean, but when I clean up area X, area Y suffers by comparison. It feels endless.

One of my all time least favorite chores is cleaning the floor. I vacuum. I swiffer, I use paper towels to wipe up spills. I do. But mopping? Ugh. I avoid it like the plague. The problem with this approach is that I have light colored tile floors and a family that includes a dog. Truth be told, the floor was looking a little dingy.

The last time that it got a good cleaning was right before I moved it, more than two years ago. Gulp. My sweetheart brought over his nifty steam cleaner and did the floor. Honestly I’m not sure how much impact it had, since the house was pretty darn clean when I bought it. Still, I was glad he did it, and very appreciative.

As we were preparing the house for sale he mentioned that he would do the floors. All of them. Hooray! No nasty mopping for me. I hate mopping. You swirl dirty water all over your floors and hope that when you’re done it looks better. I don’t get it. Long story short we got to the very last day before the listing went live, and finally he brought out the steam cleaner. At last!

He plugged it in, and lo and behold, it died. Seriously? He had been wanting a new one. He had one in mind. We looked for it but couldn’t find it in stores. We meant to order it online. It never happened. Phooey. Guess who ended up on her hands and knees washing the floor with rags? So gross.

It helped, but it wasn’t a great solution. I also gave up after the most critical area was done. My knees were killing me!

Fast forward a few days, and we looked at the floor in the daylight. An intervention was needed. Off to the store to pick up the not quite right version of the steam cleaner and give the floors the attention they deserved. He set it up, plugged it in, and went to work.

It looked pretty good. It even looked pretty fun. I wanted in on the action. He showed me how to set it up (it takes an IQ of about 12) and off I went. Wow. I liked it. I liked seeing the instant results and not swilling filthy water around the floor. I also like that it just used water and not a whole bunch of expensive chemicals. I’m a convert. I have a new favorite gadget, and it can even help me with my formerly least favorite chore. Now to find a gadget to remove poop from the yard.

February 21, 2014
by BulgingButtons 8 Comments

Hide the Panties

Tomorrow is Saturday, prime house hunting day, and I have a hot new listing. At least I hope it’s hot.

I wonder if anyone will come see my house tomorrow. If they do I don’t want to be here to bother them. That means that we have to be ready to bug out on a moment’s notice. It’s kind of exciting but really more irritating than anything. Still, it must be done, so we might as well prepare for it.

Not my actual panties, but I have lots like these.

I have gone over this place with a fine tooth comb trying to figure out how to make it both look good to a stranger, and still work for my family. One of the things I’ve realized is that having a shelf full of plus sized panties in the closet may not be a turn on for everyone. Off to the store I went and purchased cubes that fit on the shelves. There is a panty cube, a bra cube, and a pajama cube. The other clothes don’t seem as intimate, so they’re all folded neatly on the shelves. That should be ok, right?

I do have a fear of my son leaving his underwear on the floor of his bathroom and nobody but a potential buyer noticing. It could happen. Now no sane person would allow the purchase of a home to hinge upon a single pair of plaid boxer shorts, but still, the image gives me a chill.

I feel like a need a checklist to help me stay on top of this clean and neat house thing. I’m such a sucker for lists! I don’t know why, exactly. It seems that most of the time I end up ignoring them once I’ve created them. I wonder why that is. Maybe the creating is enough for me. I detect a lack of follow through.

1. ALL clothes put away (drawers, hamper, whatever)

2. ALL dishes put away (cupboards or dishwasher)

3. ALL beds made (there are only two, not difficult)

4. ALL window blinds open (it just looks better when it’s sunnier)

5. ALL flat surfaces cleared off (this one is going to be a challenge)

6. ALL dog hair cleaned up (OMG, this isn’t easy either)

7. ALL poop picked up (an overshare perhaps?)

Ok, I think we’ve got this. Hopefully we won’t have to keep this up for very long. I predict a week and a half at most. It’s the power of positive thinking, people. You know, the Law of Attraction? I’m a believer. Now to stash the laptop and wait for the crowds to arrive.

February 21, 2014
by BulgingButtons 4 Comments

Want to Buy My House?

This could be your next home.

We are live at last. The listing for my house, that is. All the little jobs have been done, all the clutter has been conquered, and all the cleaning has been finished. The paperwork has been completed, the photos taken, and the listing posted.

Late last night my ever patient realtor sent me the draft of the listing for my final approval, and this morning it is official. My home is available for sale.

I have mixed feelings about this. I want to move on and buy a house with my sweetheart that will truly be a home for us and my son (and the dog, of course). I want to have a little more space. I want to be a little closer to work (I think). All of these are good reasons to sell now, especially since the market conditions have improved since I bought. But there is a flip side.

I will miss this house. This house represented a victory for me. It proved that I would be all right even post divorce. It showed me that I could manage on my own, and have a safe and comfortable place for myself and my son (and the dog, of course). It was mine, all mine, to do with as I pleased. I made some quality improvements, and I made it a warm, comfortable home. I am proud of that fact.

Still, there is a time and place for everything, and now is the time to move to the next place. If you know someone looking for a great 4 bedroom, 2 bath home with a pool and easy freeway access, please send them my way.