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Thursday, August 25, 2011

Talking to the Vacuum Cleaner

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, aka OCD.  Yeah, I've been accused from time to time of having leanings towards that way.  But I really don't.  Really, you can ask Marti.  On second thought, don't ask Marti, just take my word for it.

It has been an interesting experience living in a house while keeping it showroom ready in case a realtor should call wanting to bring a client to see it.  I've come up with a routine of tasks I must complete before Marti and I leave the house each morning.

It starts with our leaping out of bed each morning, well maybe it's more like crawling.  Showers and then Marti dresses, grabs some breakfast and heads to work.  Since I'm not working anymore, I remain behind to get the house "Ship-Shape".

After I complete my morning personal tasks, I start with the bed, making it up.  It takes me a while, getting the comforter and the pillows to look just right.  A little to the left, no, more to the right, wait, that makes it wrinkle.  Pull it tight, get the wrinkle out, Nuts!  Now it's uneven.  Too much hanging off to one side and so on. 

About twenty minutes later, I step back to admire my handywork.  The bed looks perfect, so perfect a blind man would be glad to see it.

Then onward, going through the bathroom, wiping down the shower, the sinks, occasionally wiping a spot off the mirror, then downstairs to the kitchen.  Empty the dishwasher, reload with the breakfast dishes.  Wipe down the sink, the stove, and the counter until it shines.


Today's major task is to replace the dryer.  Yep, with a lousy sense of timing, it gave up the ghost.  Just as we're ready to estate sale our stuff as soon as the house sells, I'm having to replace things. 

 How did I find out the dryer died, you ask?  Well, after I got up and before I made the bed I came downstairs and unloaded the dryer, taking a laundry basket full of clothes back to our bedroom.  They felt a little cool, not unusual because I had put them through last night after dinner and the clothes had all night to cool off.  Grabbing a clean pair of skivvies and pulling them up, I felt that not only were they cool, they were wet!  I let out a yelp, in an octave higher than my normal voice.  I yanked them off and had to root around to find another pair in the dresser that were not wet.

Off to Lowe's, arrived to a resounding cheer from the employees who missed me because I hadn't been there in so long.  I picked out the cheapest dryer I could find.  Loaded it up in my pickup and took it home.  Of course none of my neighbors were around to give me a helping hand.  So I muscled the old dryer out and the new one in to place to prove both my manhood and that my higher sounding voice was only a temporary condition.


The dryer looks good, works good and I only have to repaint door trim in two places.  Fortunately, I still have plenty of paint and paint brushes to touch up the trim (go figure).  Good thing because my wallet is quite a bit lighter now, there is no such thing as a "cheap" appliance.

The last thing I do before I leave is to vacuum all the carpets to remove footprints and give the house that fresh look.




  Plus it gives us an idea of how interested potential buyers are by following the footprints.  If they are not too interested, the footprints stop at the door to certain rooms, if they are more interested, the footprints go all around the rooms, stop at the closets, or extend into the walk in closets.
That is a way we find to encourage ourselves that some people really are interested.


After the ding the new dryer put on my wallet, I'm hoping that we'll sell the house before anything else breaks.  I'm finding myself talking to the vacuum cleaner, it's now making noises, sounding like a cross tween a jet airplane and a coffee grinder.  I'm urging it on to keep on working, keep doing its job, please, just a little bit longer.  Good thing I'm home alone or people really would start to talk.

After all these preparations, it's really nice to get away in the Journey each weekend.  I don't make the bed, I leave dishes in the sink and I don't mind tracking in a little dirt, just because I can. :c)

Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.


17 comments:

  1. I really think you and Bill need a little time away from the house!! Bill is talking to the appliances also;o))

    Sorry to hear Mr. Paintbrush is being recalled to active duty ;o(( It's a bear trying to keep everything in showroom condition.

    But most important, please make sure you two are safe, sound and out of harms way. Looks like you have done something to annoy Mother Nature. First the earthquake and now a hurricane?!?!

    Take care and be safe!!

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  2. I really think you and Bill need a little time away from the house!! Bill is talking to the appliances also;o))

    Sorry to hear Mr. Paintbrush is being recalled to active duty ;o(( It's a bear trying to keep everything in showroom condition.

    But most important, please make sure you two are safe, sound and out of harms way. Looks like you have done something to annoy Mother Nature. First the earthquake and now a hurricane?!?!

    Take care and be safe!!

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  3. Geesh! You give us so much to look forward to! At least we have upgraded our appliances, took all carpeting out of front room, family room, kitchen and dining room....as well as removing walls between front room, dining room and kitchen to make all open and much larger! LOL....now we are looking to replace counter tops.

    Who is nuttier? I think it's a toss up between y'all and usins...what we are willing to do to sell a house.

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  4. I used to talk to the TV before Emma came along. Now, she just ignores me. It's much like talking to the TV! :) It's Okay as long as they don't talk back!

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  5. We were away from our house for two and a half weeks and had 6-7 showings while we were gone. Since we have mostly hardwood floors and berber carpets, we didn't see any footprints. We have suede bar stools which do however show buttprints. The ceiling fan and light was left on outside in the screened in porch. I think someone spent some time hear so that's a good thing.
    Syl

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  6. oh my..we are kindred spirits..first the 'dislike of coffee' or swill as we call it!.and the love of diet coke....now your OCD..your morning routine sounds just like mine!..almost down to the darn vacumming!..except here I am sucking up 'hair bunnies'!!..from my two 'boys'!!
    I have been known to call myself the 'fastest trigger' in the west!!..just me and my windex...multi purpose cleaner..does a great job when you are in a hurry!!!
    hope that 'Irene' doesn't hit your neighbourhood!!

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  7. OCD is a minor ailment, Brenda has CDO because no way would the letters be out of order.

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  8. what you are doing is all too familiar to me... hope it sells soon for you two!

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  9. I used to rake the carpet to make sure it was nice and fluffy. Also, we left bottles of water out for people. We felt it encouraged them to stay longer. Don't know if it helped but we sold a house in 2009 and one in 2011 and both buyers were "water drinkers".

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  10. Of course, you could start baking cookies in your spare time. That way you'll have treats for the visitors and can follow the cookie crumbs to see what rooms they visited!! What do you think? I think you need to sell that house! But, then, the problem is going to be keeping yourself busy. There won't be as many chores to supervise or floors to vacuum. You'll still have a vacuum to talk to though.

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  11. Hilarious descriptions. Keep up the good work ... it will pay off. (We certainly didn't do nearly as much as you did to keep the house viewing ready.)

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  12. Admit it, you love the footprints thing. Makes you feel like you are sleuthing!

    Thanks for my laughs this morning. I need them as David replaces the solenoid and we cross our fingers that makes the back jack go down once again. It's only been 4 months. SIGH........

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  13. I am beginning to suspect some poet retirement stress syndrome:))

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  14. You're a good man, Charlie Brown. Keep up the good work. Hopefully it won't be much longer.

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  15. We can relate! I was the one with OCD sweeping up the tiniest pieces of lint, and Mike was the one talking to the lawn mower begging it not to give up the ghost. It's a pain, but it'll pay off in the end.

    Hope Irene gives you a break.

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  16. Between what you guys are paying in utilities living in the house and your weekend getaways, you maybe able to get a monthly rate at an RV park for just a little more??? or less even. You wouldn't have to worry about your morning rutine so much then, just a thought.

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  17. wow you are a busy man..and how nice that you take care of the house while Marti is working. Another thought for you after the water and the cookies lol is to do up a computer sheet with the of the house..sort of a welcome letter with house particulars on it..improvements you made etc. That worked wonders for our daughter-sometimes a personal touch stays in their folders/pockets long after the realtor listing is gone...:) good luck..keep those appliances humming...your almost there...
    Elaine

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