House Maintenance: or, as I like to call them, 'grown-up jobs'

I hold my hands up in the air and admit that I’m not a domestic goddess. I can cook, and I can bake, but I’m not a natural home-maker – somehow, when I walk through the front door, I become a bit of a wrecking ball. One shoe ends up on the sofa. One in the hall. The bag is dumped, and it slumps, despondent, spilling its contents across the entire floor. Every morning is a mad rummage, as I up-end drawers looking for an intact pair of tights. I spill every cup of tea I make.

 

I’m hopeless, essentially. BUT, I have done some chores that are very responsible, home-owner-type chores since I moved in. I do feel particularly adult today, so I thought I’d tell you all about them.

 

Clearing the U-Bend & Dishwasher

I’m fortunate to say I’ve never had to do this before. It’s probably needed doing in past houses but I’ve chucked some bleach down it and hoped for the best. T unscrewed the pipes, and we found a moist black clot lurking in the u-bend. It was the size of a hamster.

Yuck.

The dishwasher (inherited from the owner) was an even worse task. The stench of mildew was overpowering and it took me almost two hours to get the gunk off. I used wooden skewers (although toothpicks would work) first to work most of the deposits free. Then I scrubbed all the parts with an old toothbrush and some special cleaner I bought from Sainsbury’s.

However, it’s working perfectly now and the smell has gone entirely!

 

Fixing a toilet

The insides of a toilet have always been a mystery to me. In my tenant mind-set, that white box at the back contained a magical land full of tiny people and a waterfall. Sadly, I now know there is just a big plug, a dangly chain, and a weird tube. Not interesting at all.
The toilet wouldn’t stop running, even though the plug was in place. What was wrong? Well, there just wasn’t enough water in there! A pint glass from the sink, and the problem was solved. It was incredibly simple.

 

Weeding the garden

In all honesty, my Grandma did most of this job. She’s very green-fingered and her garden is a thing of beauty. She came over on Tuesday and had it out with my front garden, which I am so grateful for. The rest of the weeds have been mercilessly sprayed and I plan to pull them out as soon as possible…

 

Cutting back overgrown trees

Our back garden is tiny little paved rectangle which shouldn’t take too much love to look inviting and keep neat. It was an overgrown mess, however; cue T and I standing on the garden bench and hacking over-hanging tree branches. Now that job’s done, the garden looks bigger and brighter.