I am very grateful to own a lovely home. And I am very grateful to have a brain that is so good at so many things. However, handling home maintenance is not on the list of things my brain is good at. Therefore, I sometimes find myself overwhelmed with the tasks required to maintain my almost-forty-year-old home.
A recent article in the newspaper is what got me thinking about this. It was called “Maintenance 101: Proper care of your property pays off in the long run.” The title alone was enough to rattle me. I did not want to think of home maintenance over my morning coffee! Especially as I sat under a water spot on the kitchen ceiling reminding me of my roofing problems.
The subtitle of the newspaper story gave me pause: weekly maintenance tasks, monthly tasks, tasks to attend to every six months and annual tasks. Are there really so many tasks to juggle? I’m not quite that proactive, but instead, I tackle problems as they make themselves known.
Take gutter issues, for instance. My neighbor Margot used to call to tell me when my gutters were gushing. She just so happened to have sons in that business, which was handy. But that much-beloved neighbor has passed away, and my gutters have not been tended to since.
I do have a spreadsheet…of things that need to be managed regularly. I include the repair person’s company name and phone number on that sheet to make things easy, and there is a place to write in when that person last visited. Spring and fall checkups for the HVAC and lawn sprinkler system are on that list. I also have a guy come annually to change filters for my water softener/drinking water system. The pest control lady comes quarterly. Perhaps I should add Margot’s gutter guys as well?
Who ya gonna call?
When I have a leaking toilet, I know who to call — a plumber! But it is sometimes the case that I can’t pinpoint the problem and thus have no idea who to call. This summer, heavy rain caused a fountain of water to erupt from my down spout. Was that a gutter problem, or a downspout problem or a plumbing problem? Not knowing who to call, I was temporarily immobilized. Actually, my first reaction was to pray it was a one-time fluke and it would go away on its own.
When divine intervention did not occur and there was a second downpour and water fountain, I was very worried but still stalled-out. The third time around, however, I took a video of the dancing waters and showed it around to other homeowners. My ex-husband said it was a plumbing issue. He even gave me his plumber to call. I did. Thus, after weeks of worrying, the problem was solved. Yay me!
When I can label my problem…Reading “Home Maintenance for Dummies” comes in handy. The very first page helped me a lot. It said, “[This book] is a reference, meaning that it was written with the expectation that you would not read it from cover to cover over a couple of sittings. Instead, consider it one of the most important reference tools in your home-maintenance arsenal.”
I can relate to this. It’s like reading Dr. Spock when the kids were young. If they had a rash, I searched the index for rashes. Likewise, if the toilet doesn’t stop flushing, the index takes me to “Toilets,” and then to “Running” and then to page 168 where I am told what to do.
And if page 168 is more work than I am willing to do on my own, I can always call that plumber who fixed the problem with my front yard.
Indeed, for me, a list of handymen vs a box of tools is a realistic game plan.
And speaking of being realistic:
Writing this story has helped me see I am doing an ok job of managing this house! I have a spreadsheet! I have friends from whom I can get advice! I have a book to guide me and handymen at the ready!
Yes, that story in the morning paper rattled me. It wanted me to check my sinks, faucets, toilets, tubs and showers for water leaks weekly. But I don’t work that way. Instead, if I find a puddle somewhere a puddle should not be, I investigate and have it fixed.
Always. I always have things fixed. I stay on top of things.
Additionally, I always save receipts from major home repairs. This is coming in handy with that water spot on the kitchen ceiling. Twenty-five years ago, I put a roof on the house that was supposed to last forty years. I am in the process of making a claim against the shingle company.
The bottom line is that a home has lots of systems to maintain and often something is broken and needs to be fixed. It is definitely a challenge. But I am indeed capable of handling it.
Therefore, I take back what I said in the first paragraph and borrowing from my yoga teacher, I report that I am not overwhelmed; I am adequately whelmed instead.
