Have you ever worked your arse off, due to putting off a cleaning project for days, weeks, months, maybe years only to find that holy crap it was a lot of work?
My weekend cleaning extravaganza was such a big project, I didn’t want to do it. But I had to. I had to avoid the rabbit holes of fun, that always take me for a run. Around the garden, I prefer to go.
My secret weapon is an attitude of, “If dust collects, it deserves the space it has found.”
No matter how much I pray for the dust to stay away. It comes back. I tip-toe carefully around objects and hope for the best, and not to unsettle the rest.
Procrastination had set in, and this girl was one heck of a flight risk for finding something more fun to do instead of cleaning the house.
But, we invited a stranger to visit appraise the house, and we/I had to make it look presentable.
I inserted a CD of Bob Marley – sang along with 3 little birds, and got to work.
Mr. killed his first task, with 5 or 6 coats of Kilz later – this ceiling looked almost ‘normal’.
And then Mr. grilled us up nourishment. Enough for two days worth of meals.
Jamaican peas and rice with a side of barbecue ribs.
I sat down and rested on Sunday night. Mr. flew in on the side and we sat and chatted about how hard I worked. He was impressed, I could tell.
Mr.: “Cheers to you, you worked your arse off this weekend.”
Me: “Finally, I know. Thanks, honey, I sure did. I’m sore – holy crap I used muscles I didn’t remember I had.”
Mr.: “It wouldn’t be such a big job if you didn’t wait so long between cleanings.”
Me: “Sigh…Yeah, I know, but it’s so worth it, I love a clean house.”
Mr: “I doubt the appraiser is going to appreciate your efforts.”
Me: “Are you kidding me? He better.”
Mr: “Don’t count on it.”
Monday morning came…
I could barely crawl outta bed. I was feeling wiped out. And not so friendly.
I was green with envy of those who can move and balance so many cleaning tasks in one weekend.
I was in slow motion, stretching my way the whole day, and frankly, I am still moving slow. WTH?!
Then the appraiser showed up.
He asked us, “How long have you lived here?”
Mr: “We moved in the fall of 1990.”
Appraiser: “Have you made any improvements on the home since?”
WTH? Refraining from sticking my nose in the air, so he wouldn’t notice the ceiling in the entryway. I wanted to say, “Didn’t you fricken notice how clean the place is? Aren’t you going to praise me for my efforts?! It looks damn nice in here.”
But I didn’t.
I politely handed him a list of what we had done over the 29 years, minus all the hours of cleaning that I did all weekend, and I left the room.
Mr. had things under control, I wasn’t needed anymore.
Post Inspiration – Me, as one tired chick, and Cee’s Black & White Photography Challenge – Anything that Flies and Becky B’s #JulySquares and #Blue
PS – Did you miss me on Monday? I couldn’t even move my hands to type. I’m sending my love to all those clean freaks – you’re amazing to me. How do you do it? Please don’t tell me you clean every day?!
Don’t take it personally, I’m sure he noticed.
I love the photos today.
Thanks, Dan :-)! I appreciate your encouragement!
It seems appraisers never look for what I expect. But you do have a clean house (as I do after this type of adventure), and that’s something. And now you don’t have to clean for a year or so. LOL.
LOL – I was worried about ‘pictures’ he said he had to take and that the appraisal would go to the banker with photos and I might run into them and they’d sneer – ‘did you see that room?’ kinda sneer. Sigh…but, you’re right, I don’t have to clean for year(s) now!! Time to plan a girls day out, LOL!!!!
Cleaning is a few gym membership! If you are getting appraised for a future marketing of your home…buyers will notice the clean house before they notice any improvements!
https://littleblackdomicile.com/2018/02/16/when-is-a-house-not-a-home-2/
LOL – yes it is! I kept reminding myself of all those muscles getting a workout. We’re just refinancing, but I hope it does help – he said, “I’ll compare with a higher end home and a not so nice end home for the end appraisal.” Thanks for the link – my daughter is in the market for a home, so I’ll check your tips out!
I am shocked when an unanticipated ‘outsider’ sees my ‘messy house’ and they tell me how nice the house looks. “You would not believe the way some people live”. So, I am sure he noticed but maybe has seen so much worse…your house pre-cleaning probably looked great!
LOL – we all must have our own ‘level’ of what is acceptable or not. I’m hoping he noticed that it didn’t look terrible. I’m just noticing how outdated our kitchen is compared to newer ones. Vintage is nice, but vintage just back to the 90’s…um…I dunno, LOL ;-)!
I think you are right about that. And it seems what is ‘acceptable’ to us I. Our every day living, is not always what we want the world to see. Our kitchen is a mis-match of 80’s and an inexpensive renovation. I am nowhere near ready to tackle that!
You’re so right! And I imagine your grandkids love it just as much as your kids did. 🙂
Shabby Chic is in! Make it a selling point!
Even Buckingham Palace, as grand as it is, has a ‘shabbiness’ about it.
After all there is some really old stuff there. LOL!
Ah, yes, that’s right – that is a fun look. I’m pretty sure I’ve got some of that stuff around to pull of an eclectic version of Shabby Chic. Thanks for the idea!
House cleaning is fun Shelley! Your muscles will get even stronger the more you clean. 😎
Oh, yeah, my muscles are still feeling it! LOL
I hate it when I have to have a repairman come over because of my cleaning tactics. There is too much else to do…I will clean good when it snows…oh yea, that’s what I said last year…hmmm.
LOL – I know what you’re talking about. But you had valid excuses beyond just selective neglect like me ;-)!
Well done! I hope you got the appraisal you were hoping for. And yes I did miss you yesterday 🙂 But everybody deserves blogging days off. Those photos are outstanding – I’d much rather be outside taking pictures than inside cleaning any day.
I know NOBODY who cleans every day. No need for that!!
Thank you, I appreciate you cheering me on and for missing me when I’m gone. I should possibly entertain cleaning more frequently, but now that I’m caught up, I think a break is in order! 😉
Definitely!!
What delightful photos. So glad you decided to play along this week.
Thank you, Cee!
While I appreciate why you’re doing it, there’s something cruel about seeing half an orange nailed to a post. It’s kind of like something out of the middle ages, slightly macabre. Just saying. Nice photos of it, though.
I know how you feel. We did that for an appraisal a couple of years ago. When he asked what improvements we had done we told him that we had just had new siding, a new roof and remodeled the front bathroom. In his report he said “Nothing new in the past 10 years.” We changed our mind about the refinance or I would have made an issue of it. A clean house does feel nice though, doesn’t it?
I’m sure they appraise a lot of different houses, they become numb to the amount of work current owners have to go through. We’re saving 4% points on the interest rate with this refinance, so efforts are worth it to us. I agree with you, a clean home just feels so great! Wish it didn’t require so much work to maintain – that is boring work to me compared to playing outside with my camera. 🙂
The lovely bird photos and stories are mixed so well. 🙂
Thank you, Amy, I appreciate your feedback!!
Well done! Loved your photos!❤
Thank you!!! xx
Ah, I love your attitude to cleaning. A gal after my heart. 😁.
Wonderful photos as usual, the bunny is my favorite of course!!
Thank you! Of course, I remember you love bunnies! Glad you enjoyed the post.
My secret weapon is an attitude of, “If dust collects, it deserves the space it has found.” Greatest. Line. Ever. And then you show the bunny hanging his head in shame and the next shot he looks like he is asking for forgiveness. I also love the bird shots, but the grasshopper green with envy … all very nice how you worked it with the narrative Shelley. My house is in some serious disarray, but given the last few months and my work schedule, I walked merrily out the door without a care in the world – I came home and I thought “I’m living like a gypsy” but powerless to change my mind. I used to work so hard in the house and yard on weekends back in the day, that I was actually happy to get to work and not have to expend any energy, maybe a little brainpower and that was it. I must tell you about a job with white gravel years ago. I thought white gravel around the house would help the issue of water dripping into the dirt and splashing back. (Well the marble covered the dirt in the garden, but it still caused the bricks to be dirty.) Anyway, I said “I can do this job, it’s only about 25 feet long and I’ll go to the nursery, and just bring home so many bags at a time. Well the bags were heavier than I thought, and I had to grasp them at the top, on each side, at the corner. I had a small four-wheeler dolly and I moved the bags from the trunk to this small garden on the side of the house. Then I had to scoop out the marble as the bag was too heavy to turn over and dump it. I was fine when I went into the house, though I was thired from the backbreaking work. Th next morning when I stepped out of bed, I felt like death warmed over – I not only felt like I was permanently hunched over, but my hands were in a claw-like position. Never again and when we had to replace the marble a few years later as it begin to look dingy, we had a landscaping company bring in river rock and spread it in that garden and the other side garden. I could not type either.
Aw, thank you for your feedback, I appreciate that you enjoyed the post. Wow – that’s quite the ambitious accomplishment – and painful too. Mr. does things like that, and I try to help, but like you, end up way too sore afterward. Good thinking to go the gypsy route and hire the rest of the work to be done. xx
Well I indulged myself to the max and now must be more diligent in the future Shelley. I was just saying to Laurie that before the weather was so erratic and unpredictable, the weekends were to be enjoyed, but you fit other task/chores and down time in throughout the weekend. Now you get a couple of sunny days and you are giddy to enjoy them because who knows what the next weekend will be – 105 in the shade or torrential rain. Our forecast was to be a beautiful weekend and rain/storms in the northern and western suburbs only, not here. We had a rainstorm around 5:00 p.m. with torrential rain and lots of thunder – it lasted well over two hours. You can’t count on predictable weather nor forecasts any more. I let the dust bunnies alone a little longer. 🙂
Wow ! Nice Article. Everything is described very well manner. Thanks for sharing such a great article with us Shelley@@
Thank you!!