My Hubby is a wonderful guy. He has tons of skills - he's a great Dad, a great Grampa, and a loving husband. He can fix almost anything, put together a functioning computer from a pile of junk, and cook an amazing dinner. He can do plumbing, drywall, electrical wiring and supervise a team of inexperienced teens while they put up a roof. He has Skills.
But everybody has an Achilles Heel. His? Finishing stuff. And I confess, I have the same fault.
This building has 18 rooms and four baths. We've been working on improvements for, oh, about 10 years give or take a couple. It goes in fits and starts, and definitely progresses better under the pressure of a deadline.
But of those 18 rooms, seven are 'done'. And by 'done' I mean painted, with clean floors, all outlets and switches covered and electrically up to code, closets sanded and painted. Most of them could still use professional floor refinishing. Of the four bathrooms, two are done. They have been remodeled, tiled, plumbed, wired, and they have toilet paper and towel racks installed.
As far as the other rooms go? To finish two of them I need to screw on switch plate and outlet covers. Four need the floors 'unpainted' and cleaned. One bath only needs a toilet paper holder and towel ring. The other hasn't even been started. Mom's kitchen needs a new floor (paint? linoleum?) and a hand crafted cupboard. Mine needs a stove hood/microwave and a sink light. Two rooms need plaster repair/finishing and paint. I need to finish painting the stairs on our side.
Most of this is ridiculously do-able.
In the two weeks before Mom moved in we pushed ourselves HARD and did SO much. But it cost us. We were exhausted, and general housework fell by the wayside. And since I've trained myself to actually notice the dust, I'm noticing the damned dust.
It's incredibly frustrating. I look around and see that things are so MUCH better, but I'm a bit tired of 'almost' done. And I've truly been too tired to do much about it this week.
A friend once told me that he never finishes projects either. He's a perfectionist, and if you finish, you have to accept the flaws. He called it ADD - Attention to Detail Disorder. I laughed, but it resonated with me.
I took a radical step this week. I advertised for someone to help me clean. I figure that if someone comes in on Saturday morning for four hours and we work together, we can kick this stuff. It will help keep me motivated and on track, and it might actually help with the things that fall into the 'my job' category. I positively stink at plaster, but I rock at painting and I'm certainly capable of hanging a towel rack! If the weight of cleaning all 18 rooms to transplant standards lifts a bit, I'll have more time to accomplish the 'honey-do' list.
So, what do you think? I want to be DONE by the end of summer with all the leftover detail crap. DONE, I tell you.
DeeDee
Go for it! We hired a cleaning lady to come in, and it has simplified everything (although I had TONS of guilt about it when she first started because I felt like I was admitting failure). At first, it was just once a month. Then, we increased to every other week. Soon after Banner was born, though, we decided to have her every Friday. I still do all of the laundry and sheets, but she helps with the vacuuming, dust, toilets, and general tidying up. It is amazing how much time is has given me back - especially with Banner. Working full time and taking care of others is hard work and very time consuming, and I only have one little one! Paying someone a little bit every week to get some time back is totally worth every single penny. You take care of so many every single day, and EIGHTEEN ROOMS?! You totally deserve this.
ReplyDelete