Yes, that would be an appropriate title for this post.You see I'm a natural neat freak. I've had people email me and say "Are those pictures you post of your home for real? It's always clean!" To which I shrug sheepishly and say "Yea, it's a thing with me--call it a character flaw--I have to have everything in its place or anxiety starts to creep in." Andrew and I are both weird that way.
Well no more. I've officially reached my limit. We're three weeks into this remodel and all of our worldly goods are piled in our kitchen/living room so you can hardly move through the space. The kids are sleeping on the few empty spaces on the floor while the bedrooms are under construction, we have no family room while they're working down there and no heat upstairs. I've been feeling so messy and disorganized and dirty that I've caught myself throwing dirty washrags on the floor and leaving them. I've been leaving dishes in the sink. I've been ignoring the empty rolls of toilet paper and just leaving new ones out on the counter.
Then, to top it all off, we planned to go to the cabin for the long weekend to get away from it all and as I walked into the garage to get the cooler for the trip I heard this funny sound coming from the hot water heater. Funny as in "Wow, that's a sound I don't normally associate with my garage or hot water heater tank!"
I looked over to see water pouring out of the bottom of the hot water heater, streaming in pretty little rivulets of water and gently cascading over the feet of the tank onto the garage floor. It would have sounded a lot like one of those desktop fountains that are supposed to calm and relax you in a zennish sort of way except that wasn't quite the feeling I was experiencing.
You know how your mind works in those circumstances, I did this "That's funny, I don't think I've seen that before--should water be coming out from that spot?--wow that's making a mess" train of genius-like thought before my brain engaged and I realized towels were in order.
So now besides the dust and grime and lack of space we now can add "no hot water" to the list of complaints.
Though on a rather irritatingly positive note I can't help but think it's amazingly lucky that it chose that exact moment when I went into the garage to burst, half an hour later and we would have been gone for the weekend with water flowing freely. As it is we're only looking at a bit of water damage. So I am counting the blessings but I'm without any hot water and I'm starting to smell and getting rather grumpy.
If you're looking for me today I'll be out buying a new hot water heater.
***
OOPS! Forgot to announce the giveaway winner! So sorry--congratulations to Michelle at Michelle's Family Life for winning this week's Get Ready for Kindergarten giveaway. I'm really letting things go apparently.
Sponsored by Pak Naks--Decorate your stuff with these adorable rubber charms.
Technorati tags: house remodels
31 comments:
Hope you get all the remodeling done soon and get back to normal.
I hate that feeling of anxiety build up and there is NOTHING I can do to change it.
Wonderful timing on the burst of water. hmm maybe we shouldn't be in a rush to find "the" house to buy.
I used to have things relatively orderly, but with renos on at our place, and my husband NOT being a neat freak the entire house is in chaos. At this point it's so easy to let everything slide into a disgusting, stressful "hive"... *sigh* Can't wait until the storage shed is done.
Oh goodness, when it rains it pours. My hot water heater did that recently too and I had to get it replaced, but that meant I got to upgrade to one that doesn't require flushing out once a year. Hope the trip is very relaxing!
Pssst...I tagged you for a meme over on my site, btw.
Ugh. I think that about sums it up.
I'm laughing! The year we moved in to this house, my husband, brother-in-law, and father-in-law were staring at a tank in the basement, wondering what it was. We knew it was part of the well system but weren't sure of its' role in our water service. While they were standing there staring, a small hole burst through some rust on the side and water began shooting out of it to the wall. My brother-in-law calmly stuck a finger over the hole and said, "Well, whatever it is, I think we should replace it." Timing is everything.
Oh honey, you poor thing. Can I send tea? And chocolate? Lots of chocolate?
If it's some teeny tiny not at all as bad as your own situation consolation the air conditioner in my bedroom (upstairs so not connected to the central air downstairs) has sprung a massive leak and poured orange oil all my freshly painted wall. Oh, and the first time we tried to have it serviced the guy broke a piece off, and then when they refilled the gas it promptly leaked straight out again. Someone from the company is coming out Sunday morning to see if it can be fixed at all. In the meantime I'm sleeping on an air mattress in the computer room because it's too hot to stay upstairs. Is it Sunday yet?
You were reading my mind!! I've been hoping for a remodel update...only I wasn't really expecting you to have so many adventures with your project...:-~
I prescribe an additional three weeks with Loralee and me to help cure you of your cleanliness ills. :-)
Ah character building.....what a joy it is.
Have fun shopping. Neat freak. :) I am so not jealous. Though I'd prefer shopping for a hot water heater to the Hunny's knee surgery.
Well, this is funny. I have your blog on RSS feed and so all I saw was your Post title. I immediately thought you must be talking politics!
Ha!
(As I sit here typing, I'm listening to the radio about our soon-to-be-fired/resigning mayor....)
We're neat "freaks" in our home also. Bad timing on the water heater though.
If it helps any to know your circumstances made someone laugh, then know that I laughed! Sorry for your wretched state of residency . . .
Happy shopping. We had to purchase a hot water heater for the house we currently live in before we ever bought it. As a foreclosed piece of property someone had come and stolen the old one and broke the back window to let the birds nest in the house for about a year. Yes, it required quite a bit of TLC and still does.
I'm with you, at least you were there when it happened. If you don't have one I'd recommend getting a blanket for it too. Helps cut down on your electric or propane whichever you use costs as the blanket works as an insulator. Saves us on propane costs. :)
Oh, we had no hot water for about three days last year....not fun, but I cannot even imagine going without hot water at the exact same time that we were all living in our living room while redoing our floors...that's a whole new level of entertainment.
Oh, my! I had to giggle at your post title and I think I might steal it and make a label for my front door to warn all who enter.
Is it wrong of me to find a tiny bit of satisfaction in the fact that your house is a little bit more like mine right now? :) Forgive me, please! And I'm terribly sorry about your water heater- that's got to be stressful.
This too shall pass. I was immediately transported to the moment I looked up, while watching TV in the family room in the basement, and saw a sopping wet ceiling at the corner of where the refrigerator usually was on the floor above. We were remodeling the kitchen and having hardwood flooring installed on the whole second floor. The floor installer had kicked open the valve on the floor for the refrigerator's (which had been moved) ice and water dispenser, just a trickle. We caught it and had it fixed easily. But, like you, if we hadn't still been home it would have been so much worse. The garage stuffed to the ceiling looks familiar too! It will be worth it.
Bad news: Living in your house during a remodel is really hard for neat freaks. The only way to manage is to do what you're doing -- ignore, deny and leave the house. I know. I've been there, too.
Good news: Harrison Ford could be lurking just around the corner.
Yikes! I can sympathise with you totally as I'm a neat-freak as well. In fact, that's my only grouse about holidays, the fact that I've got to come back to a dust-laden house.
Sometimes, you just have to let go. After my surgeries, I just have to look the other way. Good luck on the remodel.
I'm feeling your pain. This is like having a new baby and you keep asking the expectant mother, how much longer.
From one clean freak to another: I FEEL YA! I hope the clutter is de-cluttered soon.
Oh I am sorry that the remodel is going so badly,and organization reigns soon in your home..I can't stand Chaos..Thanks for picking me/McKenna for the giveaway.We look forward to receiving the books..
Hey! Being a neat freak beats the alternative... Good luck with the water heater!
Ahhh! Just keep your eye on the prize! Your new house will be SO worth it, right?
I know that feeling of "everything must be in its place" anxiety. People call me well-organized...I say it's just for my own mental health. Whenever we would paint a room (or several), I would be a total bear until we were all done and everything back to where they belonged. A major house remodel would be the end of me. I couldn't do a kitchen and stay married...or sane. Hang in there...just remember how wonderful it'll be when it's done!
Now...I have things to go put away...LOL
The same thing happened to me but our decided to go on Christmas eve at 4:00 p.m.We had to hurry to find one in only 1 hour because the store was closing at 5:00p.m.It took 30 minutes to get to the store so we had 30 minutes to figure out which one we needed.It was a mess so I know how you feel. I hope everything else gets better for you.
Hope you got your hot water heater back up and running. How lucky for you to discover it when you did!!
Once I walked into the garage and found water all over the ground and sort of did the same thing. "That's weird. There is so much water....Oh, it seems to be coming from the hot water heater." Luckily I didn't have to replace mine. My plumber is awesome!
Michelle, as someone who is at the 23 month mark of a forced remodel after the home we purchased had undisclosed mold and someone who literally spent all day today trying to find the family room through the staging area of floor boards, ceiling tiles and paint cans, I have sooooooooooooooooooooo much empathy for you. I'm the same way, everything has a place and everything in it's place until October 2006. I sure hope yours takes less time than ours did! My thoughts and prayers are with you and the family that it goes smoothly and quickly!
AH, you have your hand full, don't you?! We redid the flooring two year ago and put marble all over the downstairs. There was sooo much dust and noise that I was starting to really loose it. The funny thing about all this is that by then end the crew was done I could have sworn I learned enough Spanish to sing several songs. That radio was on the Spanish station ALL THE TIME!!!
But there is hope and it will be all worth while - just hang in there and take long trips to the mall. It's much quieter and organized there.
So, does this mean I should hang on to the painting a while longer?!
Post a Comment