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My life as a Domestic God
Mar. 22nd, 2012 02:15 pmIt's been a mostly-productive weekend for me. Last week was the annual "Big Clean Up" for our part of Santa Clara; there was almost no limit on what you could put out. We got rid of some broken furniture, a busted floor lamp, and a few other things. We were restrained compared to some of our neighbors. For a few days the neighborhood looked like we were recovering from some natural disaster.
This sort of thing brings out the salvager teams in droves, of course. I have no problem with them picking over stuff that is just going to the dump anyway, but I do have a major issue with dangerously overloaded trucks careening down our residential streets making sudden stops and people racing into traffic. Luckily that's all finished in our area. The one really big thing we got rid of was the chest of drawers that had been living in our front room. Honestly, it was just a junk magnet. The drawers quickly filled up with the kind of "I'll sort it later" crap every household accumulates, and the top was quickly covered with stuff. So cleaning it out and hauling it out was a relief. (Having it collapse halfway down the driveway just added to the fun.)
That left a hole that will eventually be filled by an actuall storage units with bins. Part of my long-term plan to make our home, the front room at least, a place that actually has a look, not just a random set of furniture. That's a design style I like to call "Early College Student" and I'm sick of it. Given what we have already, I'm looking at doing things in black with orange, red, and purple accents. I have a shopping list at Ikea, and I can make the big changes under $400. Accent it with a Faux Bamboo Tree
Before that comes a new microwave (the base of the old one is rusted out badly) and - be still my heart - a new vacuum cleaner! Yes, I'm actually excited about getting a new vacuum. I blame 1SG Dollar for doing this to me. I like cleaning. I like organizing and decluttering. I'm never going to win any awards from Better Homes and Gardens, but I can at least not be embarrassed to have people walk into our home.
But I digress. Yesterday I moved the futon back a few feet to open up the living space, and then spent a good hour cleaning up and getting things on shelves or at least out of the way. Ran our ancient carpet sweeper over things, and got the worst of the mess up. Took out a couple of bags of trash. Did the dishes, cleaned the stovetop and counters. Dusted everything I could reach. Today, I took in the recycling from home and Earthbaby. Now doing several loads of laundry and researching new microwaves. I also cleaned the Foreman grill, but I'm going to use it in a few minutes, so that doesn't really count. Which reminds me, we need a rubber mat to put under the grill.
As strange as it seems, this kind of stuff really satisfies me.
Eventually, a new TV set is on the list. At that point I'll want a TV storage unit to replace the horrific bench we got when Bill and Charles moved out of the old San Francisco place.
This sort of thing brings out the salvager teams in droves, of course. I have no problem with them picking over stuff that is just going to the dump anyway, but I do have a major issue with dangerously overloaded trucks careening down our residential streets making sudden stops and people racing into traffic. Luckily that's all finished in our area. The one really big thing we got rid of was the chest of drawers that had been living in our front room. Honestly, it was just a junk magnet. The drawers quickly filled up with the kind of "I'll sort it later" crap every household accumulates, and the top was quickly covered with stuff. So cleaning it out and hauling it out was a relief. (Having it collapse halfway down the driveway just added to the fun.)
That left a hole that will eventually be filled by an actuall storage units with bins. Part of my long-term plan to make our home, the front room at least, a place that actually has a look, not just a random set of furniture. That's a design style I like to call "Early College Student" and I'm sick of it. Given what we have already, I'm looking at doing things in black with orange, red, and purple accents. I have a shopping list at Ikea, and I can make the big changes under $400. Accent it with a Faux Bamboo Tree
Before that comes a new microwave (the base of the old one is rusted out badly) and - be still my heart - a new vacuum cleaner! Yes, I'm actually excited about getting a new vacuum. I blame 1SG Dollar for doing this to me. I like cleaning. I like organizing and decluttering. I'm never going to win any awards from Better Homes and Gardens, but I can at least not be embarrassed to have people walk into our home.
But I digress. Yesterday I moved the futon back a few feet to open up the living space, and then spent a good hour cleaning up and getting things on shelves or at least out of the way. Ran our ancient carpet sweeper over things, and got the worst of the mess up. Took out a couple of bags of trash. Did the dishes, cleaned the stovetop and counters. Dusted everything I could reach. Today, I took in the recycling from home and Earthbaby. Now doing several loads of laundry and researching new microwaves. I also cleaned the Foreman grill, but I'm going to use it in a few minutes, so that doesn't really count. Which reminds me, we need a rubber mat to put under the grill.
As strange as it seems, this kind of stuff really satisfies me.
Eventually, a new TV set is on the list. At that point I'll want a TV storage unit to replace the horrific bench we got when Bill and Charles moved out of the old San Francisco place.
