Not Gonna Lie...

Re-think Clean

For two months at my house we’ve tried a laissez-faire version of cleaning. Everyone is responsible for taking care of personal messes (dishes, projects, etc…) and we take it upon ourselves to do the general upkeep like vacuuming, moping, and scrubbing the tub. 

It didn’t work.

So, I asked the boys if we could try assigning some chores. No one (not even me) liked the idea, but the proof was in the pudding, none of us had picked up the vacuum cleaner on our own. None of us had cleaned the toilet, or the bath tub, or grabbed a mop.

We decided that everyone should take care of their own dishes still, but that we’d divide up the bigger chores and each person is responsible simply to get their chores done sometime that week.

Here’s how I broke up the rest of our chores:

Vacuum Upstairs (Includes living room, office, hallway and stairs going upstairs.)

Vacuum Downstairs (Includes basement living room, music den, and stairs going to basement.)

Sweep/Mop (Sweep and mop the kitchen, dining room, and entrance area.)

Clean Out Fridge (Empty any old leftovers and re-organize shelves/drawers.)

Trash (Gather trash from all rooms, replace all trash bags, and take the trash to the curb.)

Recycling (Gather all bottles from bins around the house, organize the recycling, make sure everything is clean, and take it to the curb.)

On top of this we rotate cleaning the bathroom by each taking a turn once a week.

I’m in charge of trash and sweeping and mopping.

We’ve got a calendar with each person’s chores, a list of what the jobs entail next to it, and a marker to check off when the job is done. Fingers crossed, the house should be clean on a regular basis now.   How do you keep things in order at your place?

The fridge is no longer community property

Sorry for the lapse in blogging! I was away on a business trip, got sick (or allergies, never did find out which it was) and am now back and ready to roll! In fact upon my arrival home I had a nice little bit of roommate etiquette happen.

 Drew has just gotten a job (YAY) so his schedule has changed and thus we needed to talk. What I loved though was the he was the one to bring it up. We chatted about morning schedules and who would need the shower when. And to my great relief he mentioned that he’d prefer it if we kept certain groceries separate, (now that he’d be packing a lunch) for example deli meats and sandwich stuff. Immediately I agreed.

 On my own I had realized that I wasn’t too psyched about the idea of splitting food. I’m a little territorial over it actually, if I have ginger ale in the fridge, I’d like it to stay there, or if I’m making sandwiches everyday I don’t want to have the surprise of opening the drawer in the fridge only to find two slices of meat left and a heal of bread. 

 Why hadn’t I brought it up yet?  I was worried it would seem selfish, or territorial or something and was trying to adjust to a different strategy. You know, try something new, build a little character, be accommodating. But phew, Drew isn’t for it either. So, both relieved, we decided that anything we purchase together at Costco will be up for grabs, but our weekly shoppings will be kept separate. And what if we both buy that honey ham at the deli? Well, we have a sharpie and a roll of masking tape by the fridge for any items that we’d like to ensure get preserved for our own noshing.

I'm Gonna Be A Landlord

Oh does the need to do the right thing ever stop?????? NEVER!!!!!!!

Etiquette is all about doing the right thing and what’s scary (and reassuring) about that is every single, I mean absolutely every single situation or interaction contains etiquette. For me, I’m about to start dealing with a whole new type of etiquette: the etiquette of being a landlord.

A friend of mine is slotted to move in, at the start of December. I’m already experiencing reasons for setting things in quazi-soft stone. What was December 1^st has now become just before Christmas. Now, we’re friends, so it’s a little easier to cut him some slack, but the truth is, he couldn’t do this if he wasn’t friends with his landlord. I mean, of course he can choose when he moves into a place, but he would still have to start paying rent at the agreed upon time. But then again, we haven’t exactly established that yet either. 

In fact, when it comes to establishing things, we haven’t even set rent yet or talked about any other factor like bills and guidelines and such. Things I’m thinking about now that I’m seeing potential issues: Defining rent, bills and expectations for both. Drew (my friend and hopefully still new roommate) and I have already discussed a couple of things, but I haven’t defined costs and payment options. I’ve realized that as the landlord, I need to set these things so it’s fair for both of us to know what to expect. I’m actually quite glad he’s changed his move-in date, because it gives me time to figure out what regular heating/electrical/tv/water/garbage costs will be, so that I can factor them in or out of his rent and he’ll know what to budget for each month. It will also give me time to spruce up a few things in the house (i.e. getting a dishwasher), and fix the pipes so that they don’t seep water when I run the washer; getting satellite tv/internet hooked up; refinishing the hardwood floors; and basically setting up the house so that when he moves in, it’s not home renovations 101. Which, let’s face it, no one wants to live through. 

It also gives me a chance to figure out what my routine is around the house. When he can expect me to be around, get up, go to bed, cook dinner, all of the day-to-day things that you’d normally have to figure out when a roommate is moving in. 

There’s a lot to consider, and I’m sure after the first couple of months we’ll have to tweak things to make sure that we can live comfortably and sanely together. But for now, it’s my job to figure out the money, and how I’d like the house to operate so that he can fairly know what to expect from signing on to rent from me.   

My Roommate Is WHO?

7 weeks of messages. 7 weeks of confusion. 7 weeks of wondering what the heck was going on! Why, oh why, God did I just receive a letter from the residential department at UVM saying that my roommate’s name was Christina Francis Hughes, and she’s from Pennsylvania, and a freshman? WHAT??? Are you kidding me???  My roommate was supposed to be Lauren, who’s a sophomore, and is from Mass. 

    WHAT IS GOING ON? I had been calling Lauren for seven weeks trying to get in touch to tell her what dorm we finally ended up in, and figure out what we each had for “stuff” to bring to the room. A month before school started, I received my letter of notification that my roommate bailed on me, and I had a new roommate. Still totally confused as to what the heck happened to Lauren, I called Christina to find out what she was like. Her dad picked up and told me she was at the Jersey shore for the summer, and she’d be back in a week. A week later, I called a couple more times and finally got a hold of her.

After spewing about six things, ranging from getting fired/quitting work to finding out about my new living situation, we were both a little shell shocked. But I reassured her that I had most of the major stuff, microwave, toaster, TV/VCR-yeah back in the day-, stereo, etc.... We said our goodbyes and I felt 100x better, Christina seemed cool. Don’t know why, but I envisioned a skinny blonde with glasses.

When I arrived, Christina had just gotten back from camping, and she hadn’t really moved in yet. She was shorter than me with long brown hair-no glasses. Very, very cool, she had this happy tone to her voice. I dunno, there was something about her I just trusted right away. Like, I could hear the same voice that I put on when I meet new people, knowing they would never suspect how blunt and spunky I can really be. It’s my pleasant voice. Christina totally did it too. And I smiled, cause I knew this would be a good match up.

We spent the next few days getting rugs, ditching our metal framed beds and putting together futons for maximum sleeping and sitting space, the usual room fixings. And over the next month, we learned each other’s routines and quirks. Christina discovered that I’m not so keen on having seven people in my room after getting out of a long day of classes. I learned that she’s a party animal who gets all her work done. She learned that I’m not very clean. I learned that she wasn’t clean when it came to clothes, but she was when it came to dishes. These were all things that we learned while simply living together for a month, we didn’t have to say it we just experienced it and figured out the rules by considering the other person. One of the only times we talked about rules was when we learned that neither of us liked the sound of the other one making out on a couch three feet away. And that was the night that we definitively set the rule that smooching and more would take place on nights we had the room alone, or upon request, which would most often be granted willingly. (Seeing as I spent little time in the dorms anyway, it was pretty easy.) We both totally agreed. And still to this day, we laugh about that night.

Spending those first few weeks considering one another and getting to know each other before setting rules really helped Christina and I to gage what each other’s reactions to requests and ideas might be. It allowed us to communicate on a much easier level. We were strangers on day one. But when I moved off campus half way through the year, she was like my little sister and best friend rolled into one. We even chose to live together again a year later.   

When The Cat’s Away the mice are downright bad!

 

I’ve been house sitting for my for former boss for the past three days. I’ve been coming home to chill with my kitty or just be downtown though, it’s not like I’ve been gone for three days. So today for my lunch break I head home to pick up some notes I had forgotten, and grab some lunch.

The mice were bad while I was away. I came home to cigarette butts on the coffee table (we’re a cigarette free home). When I walked into my room, it appeared that my roommate had turned my window AC up to “high” and “extra cold” in hopes of cooling the rest of the apartment. My AC is the only one in the house so far, and it’s only strong enough to handle my bedroom. So not only was my room hot, but so was the rest of the house, and our electric bill will have a nice added chunk of change to it.

I love my roommate but he drives me nuts when I’m not at home. (Oddly that makes sense.)

Progress!.....Maybe….Hopefully….

So last night, I came home to face the dishes. I rolled up my sleeves at 8pm, and by 8:15pm, the kitchen was clean! I couldn’t believe it only took me 15 minutes, even with the rice from a week ago. The living room just needed a little love and care too- garbage thrown out, glasses to the dishwasher- that sort of thing.

Van Horn came home and thanked me for cleaning. We then talked about what we thought were daily, weekly and monthly things to clean. For instance, we said that clearing clutter (i.e. shoes, newspapers, computer, hoodies) and getting dishes to the dishwasher were daily cleaning, but cleaning the fridge needs to happen like twice a month, and the bathroom should be cleaned once a week.

Our old system had each of us cleaning the house thoroughly, and then watching it get messed up within a few days of the great cleaning. With Van Horn not having enough time to be able to do that anymore, and both of us wanting a more consistently clean apartment, we took a weekly calendar and literally signed up for cleaning chores (eww, I shudder at the word chores). Wednesday is always VH’s day off so he took vacuuming, straightening the living room, and garbage for Wednesday. We usually have people over Friday and Saturday nights, so I made sure to take cleaning the bathroom on Friday, so that we’d be ready for guests (especially since VH works nights, and Friday is especially busy). And so we went on, planning out when we’d have time, and when it seemed logical to clean what.

Van Horn was psyched when he saw me tuck away my shoes and clear the coffee table before heading to bed. We’ll see if it works…. I really hope it does.

Danger Zone

Worn down man! I’m definitely getting sick of the constant state of our apartment lately. I don’t know what the heck is going on, but dammit man, the place just can’t stay clean! I’ll admit we’ve certainly been having people over in the late hours, and that doesn’t usually result in sparkling clean counter tops, unless you count the sheen coming off the Budweiser cans. Whether it’s the rice Van Horn made last Wednesday night, or the pasta sauce I allowed to adhere to the pan rather than rinse right away, our kitchen, and consequently our living room, are a disaster.

Time to apply my own advice, you say? I have, we just haven’t put any of our compromises into effect yet. And it doesn’t help that the weather is finally warming up (despite the rain) and neither of us wants to spend our time cleaning. Which goes to show, even when you and your roommates want the same end goal, it can be difficult to get started on getting there. The first part is always hard. I’m hoping with a little effort we can be there in a month or so. Wish me luck.

My Couch Crasher

I have a couch crasher this month. I told you about her, Jaime. She’s back from a semester abroad and her apartment lease doesn’t start till June, so she’s got a key to my place and knows the futon is her bed any night she wishes. One thing about Jaime that I thought made her the kind of friend who could crash for a month and it would be ok is that she is always offering to help out, but she’s not annoying about it. She doesn’t just offer to help with fun stuff, like baking or something, she offers to help clear and do the dishes, or to pay for some of the groceries. It really makes me feel like she appreciates staying with me.

What I like, too, is that if Jaime offers to help with dinner and I tell her not to worry about it, she doesn’t worry about it.  Sometimes houseguests can get annoying when they over offer, and you find yourself in the “Oh no, no, no, no’s.” “Oh no, no, no, don’t worry about it, it’s a small kitchen, really.”

The other thing that’s been great is Jaime’s been very communicative about her comings and goings. She lets me know when she plans to come back to the apartment, or if she’s out and just gonna drop in for a bit. Sometimes she stays with her fella, and she’ll let me know if she’s not coming home. She’s also been awesome about making sure she’s showering at a time when it won’t interrupt my roommate’s schedule. I mean it couldn’t be easier. THANK GOODNESS, because I have heard some serious houseguest horror stories—ruined furniture, pet stains, roommate’s food eaten, and I’ve even experienced some of them myself. It’s reassuring to know that your close friends take the time to care about your space and their time in it.

 

Lazy Bones

Oh this is not good. Van Horn and I are both stuck in “I don’t want to do it” modes. I was thinking of cleaning on Sunday—didn’t happen. He was planning on cleaning on Monday—didn’t happen. Our apartment—though cleaner than many—is a complete disaster right now.

Garbage needs to be taken down to the alley
Litter box must be cleaned
Dishwasher needs unloading
Dishes need to be done
Vacuuming is imperative
Mopping would be a good idea
Dusting   
Clean the microwave and toaster
Get all personal belonging to their designated areas
Wipe down all surfaces in the bathroom as well as the shower curtain

 It’s not like it would take either of us that long to do it all. We just don’t want to. All I can really say is that I’m kinda glad our laziness is coinciding. While it doesn’t help get the apartment clean, at least we’re both on the same side of the issue.

Sleep With One Eye Open

Dude! My roommate freaked the living daylights outta me this morning! He woke up really early to go to an appointment and he peeked in my room because my TV was on. I slit my sleepy eyes open and see two hands, a ski hat, and face scruff. Grumpily I said, “What are you doing?” there was no reply “Van Horn what’s going on?” no reply still. The figure moved and then I heard the front door open and shut.

So now I’m fully awake and freaked out. I figure I’ll text him and see what the heck was up. I hear his phone in his bedroom. Now there is no way I’ll fall back asleep until I make sure there is no one in the house. So I get up. Van Horn’s not in his room, which was a huge relief. I went and locked the front door, checked all the closets and corners in true paranoid fashion. Phew—All clear! Chance an extra half hour of z’s? I think not. Note to self: no coffee this morning I’m all ready jittery.