Ready for the renters

I have cleaned and prepared the house. We are now ready for the renters. All that are left are some potted plants on the porch. I will get them next and last time visit for a while.

Last night I hung the rods in tom's closet. I started on Riley's but I kept missing the stud so I went and looked for and amazingly found the stud finder in the basement in a box with tools. It was the third box I looked in. By the time I got back upstairs it was after 10:00pm. I decided to wait until today. Now I am off to hang the rods in Riley's closet so we can start putting away clothes finally.

We made spaghetti last night. The process only emphasized to me the dysfunctional design of the kitchen. There is no counter space around the stove. No where for pots to land. I cook with 14 inch pots and there just isn't space to the side. I look forward to the remodel. The funky high cabinets in the island chop the island up so it doesn't function for prep work.

The other problem is the laundry closet right off the kitchen. The piles have no where to hide. The clean laundry lands on the kitchen table so the boys have been eating in the formal dining area, leaving messes in that lovely space. I have been folding and laying the clean laundry on the stairs to go up, which means the unattractive piles sit there until I take them and put them all away, when I eventually head upstairs. Meanwhile everything sits in messy visible piles. We have got to move the laundry upstairs. It will improve the value of the house. Trust me.

Tom told me last night since we are not moving again, I should not even be worried about value. Tax wise we are to say the house is worthless. So much is wrong with it that the tax appraisal should be lowered. He says that as we sip our cocktails admiring the territorial view without a neighbor's house to obstruct it. We listen to the wind in our trees. He points out a spot where we think a deer has been resting.

I spent over $300 at home depot buying the closet rods and weed be gone, and blackberry killer, and deck cleaner. The deck cleaner is a combination of Bleach and TSP and water. Next time I will just mix it up myself. I have all those ingredients.

I am loving the thought that one more trip to the rental and it will be done. I will need to pick up gas for the mower so the lawn looks sharp. I will have the boys mow while I load the plants. Tory has invited us to a pot luck. We will tie in the last house trip with the pot luck and be able to write off the mileage.

70 miles one way. We definitely want to keep track of each time we go check on the house. I am so excited about how everything is falling into place, other than the nightmare of my unpacking still to do. I will continue tackling that mess for some time to come.

Sold the washer today on craigs list for $100. The woman wouldn't take the broken drier. I will load the drier into the car and deliver it to a repair shop as a donation.