So I pumped a little extra air into my big blue exercise ball this morning and opted to give it a go.

So far I’ve noticed a few things:

• My lower back is having to work on keeping me stabilized, so the muscles are getting tired. This isn’t a huge deal, but will take some adjusting.
• My butt is cold. The ball doesn’t retain heat like a regular chair. I’m going to try draping it with a blanket and seeing if that helps.
• My cat has nowhere to sit. Charlie (spazcat) likes nothing better than to camp out on the back of my chair while I’m on the computer. He’s not sure what’s up.
• My posture is better. I CAN slouch, but it takes conscious effort.

Also? My inner child is pleased.

*boing boing boing*

Something I didn’t expect to be so significant about being in a house, versus an apartment, was the level of “ours-ness” that would come about as we both added our own style to the house and as we changed with it through the seasons. I can’t speak for SSH, but setting up the house for the holidays this year brought back memories of our last two holiday seasons here, and how things are so different for us now than they were three years ago, or two years ago, or even last year.

The more memories we have here, and the more time we spend, plus the work we’ve put into making this place ours – the house feels more and more like a reflection of us. The gardens, especially, make me feel plugged into this little chunk of land with our house on it.

Decorating for the holidays, I realized that there are some decorations that no longer fit anymore, and others that I may not have put out in the past that seem to fit better now.

The out of place things stick out more than they used to, since I feel so settled in.

I am, at my core, a homebody. I enjoy traveling to new places, but I don’t have the wanderlust, the sense of adventure that some of my other family members seem to have. I like my home, and being able to return to that home is one of the highlights of a long trip. The safety and security of my own place is something that I treasure, especially during the winter months.

Seeing the house decorated for the winter holidays only reinforces how much at home I feel here, and how thankful I am to have it.

Of course, I’m headed in to work today.

Let’s see if the faucet is going to be the same kind of dramatic experience that installing the dishwasher was…

Until very recently, we needed a lot of other things more pressingly than a new dishwasher, especially since TECHNICALLY the old one still did run, even if it was almond colored. You had to wash everything before you put it in the dishwasher, half of the top rack’s tines were broken, the sprayer didn’t wash the top rack so all the glasses had to go in the bottom, the dial on the front was finicky so you had to dump about 2 quarts of hot water in or the first cycle would grind because it didn’t fill properly, and usually stuff came out crusted with crud regardless.

So we put it off, knowing that functioning plumbing was more important, and good insulation was more important, etc.

That lasted until we both realized that having 10 people in this house for Thanksgiving with a barely functioning dishwasher was going to mean handwashing all of the dishes after every meal. I don’t mind handwashing pots, and I don’t mind handwashing the good china, but neither of us was OK with handwashing everything for 5 days.

The finances worked out alright, plus we got a really good sale, AND we got free delivery and haul away of the old beastly thing. SSH decided (after uninstalling the old one) that he was capable of installing the new one, so we’re both pretty excited.

Said dishwasher of shiny new awesomeness was supposed to be delivered between 11 and 1 today. They called last night to tell us, and at 6:45 am (!) to remind us… and then showed up at 9:30 anyway. Fortunately SSH was still home, both of us having overslept, so I didn’t have to answer the door in my PJs.

And now I have the whole day ahead of me, instead of having to wait for the repair guy!

I think I might take my laptop (with it’s shiny new battery) down to the seawall. It’s a little chilly, but I think the ocean would do me some good.

Neatifying* is a valuable skill, especially for a homeowner or apartment dweller with the occasional unexpected guest.

Neatifying is NOT cleaning. Cleaning is what you do on a regular basis (hopefully) with some kind of systematic process. When you’re cleaning the bathroom, you’ll scrub the sinks, commode, and tub, wipe down the mirrors, and sweep the floor. It might take you half an hour (or longer, if you have a ginormous shower/tub), and it’s something most people do once every week or so. Same with cleaning your kitchen or whatnot.

Neatifying is what you do when your mom/friend/mother in law/business associate calls unexpectedly, letting you know they’re in the area and might they stop by in half an hour or so?

At that point? Cleaning is out the window. It is time to NEATIFY.

As an aside, nobody really ever talks about neatification. They talk about how important it is to keep your house clean, that clutter in your workspace increases your stress levels and that your home should “rise up to meet you” and be all nice inside. While I think that’s all well and good, it’s not always realistic, especially if you’re living totally by yourself (who will see the mess?) or in a dual income household (who has time for all that?) or have kids (have you SEEN the mess?). Besides, even if you DO keep your house generally clean, if you do that cleaning on Saturdays and your unexpected guest phones you on Friday afternoon? You’ll have to do some picking up.

So don’t let anyone tell you that this kind of neatification doesn’t count. It’s a valuable skill!

ONWARD

The first step of neatification is to stop for about one minute and think – you might make a list, but don’t let it become Listfinity. Think about the areas in your dwelling that said visitor can be expected to see. In my house, that’s the entryway, kitchen/bar, living room, and guest bathroom. If you only have one bathroom and it passes through a bedroom, that bedroom might be on the list as well. Notice that “master bedroom closet” is not on the list – anyone snooping in your closet needs to get a life.

Think priorities here – if making a list is too likely to get you distracted, just move through your home and look around.

Step two is to break down those areas into chunks, grab a trash bag for any loose garbage you find, and, if you’re me, set a timer for five minutes in each area. (Setting a timer makes it a game of beat the clock.)

Five minutes in the entryway might look something like this:

• Put mail in the office (don’t sort, just move)
• Shake out the rug
• Move any stray shoes/backpacks into a neat arrangement (or into their proper rooms)
• Sweep the exterior and interior
• Turn on the porch and entry lights

You can easily do all of those things in five minutes, and now – presto! the entryway looks presentable.

Remember always that the goal here is a version of the ten foot rule. If it looks fine from ten feet, leave it alone.

Moving on to the (guest) bathroom, grab a rag and a bottle of spray cleaner (I like vinegar and water):

• Move major clutter into drawers or under the cabinet.
• Start at the top and move down: spot clean the mirror of any obvious toothpaste goo, wipe the counters, wipe out the sink
• Spray the inside of the toilet bowl and give it a quick brush, flush.
• Using the same rag, wipe down the toilet seat and close it.
• Close the shower curtain.

Presentable bathroom in five minutes flat. Nobody cares what’s behind your shower curtain. If they do, that’s THEIR problem.

In the kitchen, neatification means dishes go into the dishwasher if there’s room, neatly stacked into one side of the sink if not. You don’t have TIME to do the dishes all properly, you just want things to look presentable. Wiping down the counters is more important than not having any coffee mugs in the sink. Large pots can get shoved into the dishwasher too, so long as you remember to remove them before you run it later on! Stack things in neat piles if you have to – the goal is the ten foot rule: clear off the counters and the stovetop, but don’t worry too much about cleaning all the pots RIGHT NOW.

You might also take a paper towel and the spray cleaner and spot clean any large sticky spots on the floor or pick up stray bits of dry catfood.

Another trick – light a good smelling candle on your stove or counter. It looks pretty, smells good, and adds ambiance that will distract from any other issues around. It says “I lit a pretty candle so the room would be nice for my guest” – which is always pleasant, even if there’s a pot in the sink.

In my living room, my five minutes is devoted as follows:

• Tidy the coffee table – magazines in a stack, trash in the trash, TV remotes dug out of couch cushions.
• Plump the couch up nicely, fold the throw blanket, straighten chair cushions
• Run a clean rag over the TV to remove dust

If you’re cleaning a bedroom as well, make the bed and put the laundry in the hamper, but don’t change the sheets. Consider tidying the nightstands, or at least moving any empty glasses to the kitchen, but again – ten foot rule applies.

At this point I’ve spent 20 minutes (or less) and the house probably looks vaguely presentable. The clutter is still there (if you have no clutter, you can bite me.) but it’s straightened up and the general atmosphere is … well … neatified. The last 10 minutes are for me to make a cup of tea (or a pitcher of iced tea) and relax. This way not only has the house been neatified, but I don’t look like I’ve just spent 20 whirlwind minutes cleaning either.

I’m sneaky like that.

Obviously, the more warning you get the more you can get done, but even 10 minutes is a long time if you prioritize what will actually be seen versus what “needs” to be done. This isn’t for long term cleaning. It’s not how to keep your house neat and tidy, though there are many systems for doing such a thing. It’s OH GOD THEY’LL BE HERE IN FIVE MINUTES AND THIS PLACE IS A MESS.

It’s neatification.

*Neatification is a word made up by my third grade teacher, Mrs. Fisher. It is, of course, the noun form of the verb “to neatify”. While we’d have monthly desk clean out sessions, she would give us about 5 minutes every Monday morning to neatify our desks for the week.

In Texas, it is HOT in the summer. Our air conditioner runs almost continuously during the heat of the day, and we keep it set at 80 degrees. Running an electric clothes dryer, even one next to the wall that vents outside, only adds to that burden and contributes to my being a sweaty mess, sitting half-naked under a ceiling fan eating frozen grapes.

Ahem.

So I decided to pester Spaceship Husband until he’d help me set up a clothesline. (I’m short, he’s tall. Much easier if he helps.)

After some hemming and hawing, we opted for a “trial run” of a clothesline looped between two trees in our yard. I’d suspect it cost about $10 to set up – two bags of clothespins and a length of poly clothesline. It’s not perfect (it tends to loosen itself), but it works for now and will be super easy to take down if we have guests/etc.

I’ve learned a few things though, since I installed it. Call it “trial by sunlight” if you will:

• If you have a yard full of mosquitoes, they will eat you alive while you hang clothes. Bugspray is your friend, and try not to be out at twilight.
• Clothing hung on a line can be a little stiff if it’s a “knit” and not a “woven” – a couple of good shakes and snaps can help, and that stiffness will wear out in a few minutes.
• If you hang your clothes in the sunshine, hang them inside out, otherwise the sun can fade them.
• A clothesline that is a little bit too tall is OK – it’ll sag some when you get clothes on it.
• You’ll want a good number of clothespins (50 is a good start, I have about 100 – they’re very inexpensive), and you’ll want an easy way to get to them. A canister in the laundry basket works. My favorite is in a simple pocket-apron. You may also be able to find patterns for cool clothespin hangers that actually hang on the clothesline.
• Put the laundry hamper in the middle of the line and work from there, otherwise you’ll have to keep moving the hamper.
• You can pair up your socks as you hang them – leave space after each one, and add in the second of the pair when you find it. Then you can just fold straight from the line.
• It takes about an hour for average clothes to dry on the line - longer for towels, less for sheets. Your mileage will, of course, vary by location, temperature, and wind.
• Some things (like jeans) you’ll probably still want to put through the dryer. That’s OK too. It’ll take a few loads of laundry to figure out what those items are. One run of the dryer is a LOT less hot than four.
• Some things, like sheets and cotton things, will actually be LESS wrinkly if you dry them on a line. Which means less ironing. Woo!
• If you don’t have a yard, you may be able to hang a retractable clothesline on a porch (if you have one of those). If you can’t hang a clothesline in the yard OR on a porch, consider some wooden folding drying racks that you can put up inside. I got mine at Target, I think. I use them for … unmentionables … but they can be used year round and in the rain too. Actually, I think having at least one is a good idea for anyone, clothesline or not.
• Don’t be afraid to leave things overnight if you need to – one night won’t kill the clothes, and the sun should burn off any dampness quickly. Rain, however, poses a possible soggy problem.
• Your clothes really will smell good. Kind of… breezy and outside-y. They won’t smell like overheated fiber, like clothes out of my dryer do (even on “low”). And it’s free, post rope purchase.

I’ve been pretty pleased with the results. For one, it encourages me to do laundry intermittently, and not try to cram it all into one hot day whereby I swear off even looking at the washer for another two weeks. It also gets me outside – which is HOT too, but for some reason it’s different being in the sun/wind than it is roasting away folding hot clothes in my living room. (Also, the clothes off the line are sun-warmed, but not nearly as burn-your-knuckles-on-a-button hot as clothes out of the dryer).

And honestly, with as much time as I spend in the garden, I’m out there anyway – I can usually hang a load of damp clothes from the washer, water the garden, weed, do any other garden chores, and then take things down.

Now for the eco-bullshit part.

I’ve debated about writing this post for a few weeks, because of what it could get construed into meaning.

There is so much crap, for lack of a better term, piled onto things like this. I’m not necessarily trying to “get off the grid” (I like me some internets), and I’m not trying to be political. But I do think it’s smart to take advantage of things – like my time (I’m still unemployed) and the sunshine and wind, and my love of gardening and being outside. And if that can be “eco-friendly”, save energy or water, or save myself a few bucks, I’m all for it. That doesn’t give me any moral superiority, it’s just what I can do with what I have.

I think taking care of the earth is smart and responsible. I also think that living like a “modern human” is pretty great too.

I’m not sure why it’s so politically charged to replace burned out light bulbs with fluorescents (which, admittedly, have their own issues) or use reusable things vs. disposable ones or have a garden or recycle or maybe put up a clothesline or a rain barrel (most of which are done as much in the name of saving a few dollars as being “eco-friendly”) without getting sucked into the judgmental, us vs. them, “green” bullshit.

I guess what I’m looking for is perspective – not making things into some great political decision, not demonizing someone who can’t afford to do “X”.

I like showers and my washing machine and being able to read a book in bed with the light on (or turn on a light so I don’t stub my toe into the bathroom door at 3am). And I like growing a garden and finding ways to keep it happy without using chemicals (when I can) and drying my clothes on a line and canning pickles.

That shouldn’t sound mutually exclusive, and I don’t think it has to be.

And I’m really not sure where I’m going with this, at this point. I’m obviously not saying that being environmentally conscious is bad. I just think that there HAS to be a middle ground somewhere, and that there’s a level of name-calling and finger pointing that gets lumped into these kinds of discussions that I don’t like. These kinds of “eco-conscious actions” get politicized so often, and they don’t need to be. Some of them are just fun for me to do (pickles), others make financial sense (clothesline, energy saving appliances), others are little, practical things that anyone can do (using a reusable vs. disposable thing). There’s a HUGE margin (and a happy medium) between Patrick Pollution and Ginny Granola*.

I think most of us fit in the middle somewhere, and that’s OK.

*How did granola get to be such a symbol of the radical environmental movement? It’s tasty…

Which means, in just over seven months, we’ve redone every single room in this house, with two exceptions – the little yellow bedroom (since it was little, and yellow, and you can’t really screw that up) and the great room (which has gorgeous hardwood judges paneling and therefore hasn’t been bothered with). In that time, I’ve learned a few things. Some of them seem obvious now, but we didn’t know much going in.

1. No matter how many tools you have, you will need more. Don’t forget to add “tools” into your project budget. This includes a lawnmower and a weed-eater/edger. You didn’t need those in an apartment, but if you don’t have both in about 2 weeks, your neighbors will HATE you. Also, it costs about $50 to pay a landscape company to do your yard each week. You’re not really saving any money in the long run.
2. You need a real mop, and you need a real broom, and you need a real dustpan. The people on TV lie. Swiffer ain’t gonna cut it when you have construction mess. I like my Libman mop, but any good, sturdy mop with a head that you can remove and wash will work. I’m also a huge fan of the GreenWorks Dilutable cleaner.
3. You really don’t need any fancy, expensive cleaners. I use the GreenWorks Dilutable stuff for floors/buckets of soapy water, a biodegradable toilet bowl cleaner, and vinegar+water.
4. Goo-Gone is wonderful. I could sing many praises to the wonder of Goo-Gone.
5. There is very little you can’t do yourself if you’re not willing to take the time to learn how. This is frequently the kicker between “we’ll do it ourselves” and “we’ll pay someone else”. Time.
6. Asking the internet is a really wonderful thing. All kinds of people want to teach you projects! Just remember to watch more than one youtube video. This is the internet, after all, and you might find the moron before you find the master.
7. Remember that anyone who gives you a time estimate on a project has done that project before. You haven’t, and so you will take longer, due to learning/trial and error/oh shit we forgot to… etc. By “take longer” I mean double, if not triple, your estimated time. Also double your budget. And did you remember the tools you’ll need?
8. Make friends with someone who’s done it before. It’s a lot easier to learn to fix a faucet if you have someone to show you how to do it the first time. My dad and father in law have been our resident teachers in that department. Also known as “I don’t know either, let’s call dad.”
9. Some things you can do by yourself (painting).  Some things you can’t (hanging drywall). Learning to tell the difference can take some time.
10. Schedule your projects wisely. We decided to tackle our rotted out, sinking back porch in June, because it was leaking water into the house when it rained. As such, we had the hottest two weeks on record, it was 100+ degrees and 80+% humidity all week. Granted, we didn’t have much choice (water in house = BAD!), but doing that project in November would’ve been a lot nicer.
11. Schedule your projects around your budget. You can repaint a room, including primer, for less than $100. You can’t redo your bathroom for that.
12. Water, water everywhere… Find a good plumber. Ask your neighbors, ask your mover guy, ask around. We asked our electrician and he told us the name of HIS plumber. When our bathroom ceiling fell in, and we had to have the entire plumbing system in the house replaced – not a job we were up to doing ourselves due to that “Time without working water” thing – that number was VERY handy.
13. Wallpaper can be removed with a mixture of a little fabric softener in a spray bottle of hot water. If you can peel off the vinyl layer before you spray, great. Otherwise, you’ll also need a wallpaper scratchy tool thing. You don’t, however, need really expensive wallpaper removal solutions except in extreme cases.  As an aside, however, if you’re going to remove wallpaper this way, make sure you like the smell of the fabric softener. ‘Cause it will be everywhere.
14. Don’t be afraid to mix paint, especially if you bought too much of something. The lovely green of our back bedroom and the soft beige of our hallway and piano room are self-mixes from leftover other paints.  And we have PLENTY left for touch ups. This is another great use for the “oops” paints you’ll find at the hardware store – which are usually at a really great discount.
15. Don’t underestimate the power of the little things. A new coat of paint, new cabinet pulls, maybe a new light fixture or a new ceiling fan, even different art on the walls can make a HUGE difference. If you’ve got a real fixer upper, sometimes those aren’t enough, but small changes can be very effective in the long run.

All in all, I think we’ve learned a lot. In that time, I’ve stripped walls, learned how to drywall (including tape and float), learned three different kinds of wall texture, primed, painted, ripped out a porch and put it back, taken down a tree, cleaned out flower beds, cut sod, made curtains, hung blinds, changed cabinet fixtures, watched as my husband changed out faucets (<3 him for that) and learned how to do electrical repairs, replaced showerheads, resealed a tub, and cleaned more goo off of more random crap than I’ve ever done before in my life.

It was definitely worth it, though.

Because this isn’t just the house we bought, or our first place, or a house in Houston. This is OUR house.  We have the bruises to prove it.

And so it is with great rejoicing that I report that as of today, there are no boxes in the living room, no boxes in the kitchen, no boxes in the master bedroom or closet, no boxes in the entry way or dining room or bar, and only one box in the office.  There ARE still boxes in the little yellow bedroom (it’s our still-packed box room) and the “piano room” (it’s our unpacked box graveyard).

I’m pretty proud of that.

Next step?  No holes in the guest bathroom ceiling.  /sigh

The Garage is cleaned out, and now has two cars parked inside.

The dining room is finished, including the trim, and has furniture now – which includes having unpacked all of my china and put it in the hutch. I need a new shelf for the upper part, but it all fits OK as is.

The back bedroom has been retextured and repainted, and furniture moved in.  This furniture was mine growing up as a kid, and I’m the third generation to use it.  This is now our “guest room”.  The built-ins still need to be repainted.

Front entryway is furnished and finished.  Not much more to be done here, other than maybe adding some pictures!

I am waiting on new glasses (finally, after four years without a trip to the optometrist) and have hopefully figured out the cause of my headaches.

Of course, one of the headache inducing issues is the bathroom – which is likely to remain a construction zone until I can find a reputable plumber to come out and look at our attic plumbing and we can find the money to REPLACE said attic plumbing.  There’s no reason to go through the trouble of fixing up the bathroom and replacing all the drywall if we’re only going to watch it get torn out again when the plumber starts construction.

It’s a huge hassle, and is making focus difficult on other things.  We’re not sure how much it will cost, or how we’re going to pay for it (waiting on that tax rebate check).  Just one more thing that the home inspector didn’t find – and one more delay to getting gutters on the back of the house and fixing the drainage problems in the yard that are causing our shower to leak when it rains.

A mixed bag, for sure.  But a frustrating one, nonetheless.

http://picasaweb.google.com/LaurMM/UpdateApril8#

Picture updates of the house as it is so far!