The Joys of Home Ownership
My shoulders are killing me this morning – at first I couldn’t figure out why, then it dawned on me – oh, yeah. I spent my weekend steam cleaning the basement carpets. Yep, that’d do it, all right.
The Lovely Mrs. G. and I finally broke down and bought a steam cleaner – we’d talked about it for years, but we finally got off our butts and bought one. The way we figured it, the cost of buying one vs. renting was negligible, and after four uses we’d break even. Plus, owning one means we won’t have to deal with the dumb high school kids behind the customer service counter at Hy-Vee to rent one. Their little minds are already maxed out trying to return pop cans for the nickel deposit and selling Powerball tickets – why tax them any more than that?
So I spent my Saturday and Sunday afternoons shampooing the basement carpet, and this weekend I’ll get to do the upstairs living room. Fortunately the rest of the house is hardwood, so that’ll be that. I figured it was the least I could do to pitch in and help out around the house, since I tend to ignore the dust and clutter until Mrs. G. has a fit about it. And in the end, I’d much rather steam clean carpets instead of dust.
Owning a home means that you’re always doing *something* to maintain it. Whether it’s raking the yard, fixing a leaky faucet, pulling monster cobwebs down from the laundry room, or yes – cleaning carpets – there’s always something to do. And I suppose that the bigger your house is, the more there is to do. Maybe I should be thankful that Casa De Gressel is only 1400 square feet – it may be small, but that means much less to dust. Mrs. G. spent her weekend dismantling the last of her garden, tilling the soil again, planting spring bulbs, and putting her brand new leaf blower to good use (another weekend purchase – we’re apparently moneybags now!). Hopefully we’ll have the outside cleaned up and ready to go before the first snowflakes show up, which could be just about any day now, knowing Iowa’s goofy weather.
Still, despite all the work owning a home requires, I wouldn’t go back to apartment life for anything. My last apartment was on the second floor of a business – a huge warehouse-style place that was cool in theory, but was really a dump. The roof leaked, the air conditioner barely worked, the furnace never got very hot, and the neighbors – a bar with karaoke – drove me nuts. Trust me – as obnoxious as your neighbors may be, it’s nothing compared to having to listen to drunk rednecks sing “Sweet Home Alabama” every Friday and Saturday night until 2:00 AM.
So I’ll be happy with our little slice of residential heaven, for now. Until we can pack it up and move to Florida in a couple of years, it’ll work. I’ll trade in the large yard for a swimming pool, if it’s all the same to you, and then I’ll *really* learn the meaning of household chores.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I charge $55 an hour (plus materials) to clean carpets. Tommy G – at your service.
The Lovely Mrs. G. and I finally broke down and bought a steam cleaner – we’d talked about it for years, but we finally got off our butts and bought one. The way we figured it, the cost of buying one vs. renting was negligible, and after four uses we’d break even. Plus, owning one means we won’t have to deal with the dumb high school kids behind the customer service counter at Hy-Vee to rent one. Their little minds are already maxed out trying to return pop cans for the nickel deposit and selling Powerball tickets – why tax them any more than that?
So I spent my Saturday and Sunday afternoons shampooing the basement carpet, and this weekend I’ll get to do the upstairs living room. Fortunately the rest of the house is hardwood, so that’ll be that. I figured it was the least I could do to pitch in and help out around the house, since I tend to ignore the dust and clutter until Mrs. G. has a fit about it. And in the end, I’d much rather steam clean carpets instead of dust.
Owning a home means that you’re always doing *something* to maintain it. Whether it’s raking the yard, fixing a leaky faucet, pulling monster cobwebs down from the laundry room, or yes – cleaning carpets – there’s always something to do. And I suppose that the bigger your house is, the more there is to do. Maybe I should be thankful that Casa De Gressel is only 1400 square feet – it may be small, but that means much less to dust. Mrs. G. spent her weekend dismantling the last of her garden, tilling the soil again, planting spring bulbs, and putting her brand new leaf blower to good use (another weekend purchase – we’re apparently moneybags now!). Hopefully we’ll have the outside cleaned up and ready to go before the first snowflakes show up, which could be just about any day now, knowing Iowa’s goofy weather.
Still, despite all the work owning a home requires, I wouldn’t go back to apartment life for anything. My last apartment was on the second floor of a business – a huge warehouse-style place that was cool in theory, but was really a dump. The roof leaked, the air conditioner barely worked, the furnace never got very hot, and the neighbors – a bar with karaoke – drove me nuts. Trust me – as obnoxious as your neighbors may be, it’s nothing compared to having to listen to drunk rednecks sing “Sweet Home Alabama” every Friday and Saturday night until 2:00 AM.
So I’ll be happy with our little slice of residential heaven, for now. Until we can pack it up and move to Florida in a couple of years, it’ll work. I’ll trade in the large yard for a swimming pool, if it’s all the same to you, and then I’ll *really* learn the meaning of household chores.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I charge $55 an hour (plus materials) to clean carpets. Tommy G – at your service.
posted by Tommy G at
9:48 AM
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