2008 July | Texas Hill Country Blog

Texas Hill Country Blog

Homeownership from a single mom’s perspective!
July 24, 2008

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— Jeanne Zenner @ 10:21 am

Oh, the life of a single homeowner….

Having recently become a single homeowner for the first time in my life, I am slightly overwhelmed with all that must be done. My home is on the market (a great family home with a pool, hot-tub, and large yard (more info). Having to keep it in show ready condition is a full-time job in itself!

Yard work? I get to pay someone to do that. Since the yard equipment went to live at another address, I don’t have a lot of options here. An added expense in an already stretched too-thin budget - but cheaper than buying more lawn equipment.

Pool care? Again, I get to pay someone to do that. If the house wasn’t on the market, I would attempt this myself. But I feel it is best to have it professionaly done to ensure it stays in top working order……again an added expense to a stretched too-thin budget - but cheaper than replacing the pump, etc.

Water softener? Now this one I can handle….although it’s taken waaay longer than it should have to get to the Culligan store for salt……I finally made it there today, so when I get home I get to haul 50 pound bags of salt from my car to the water softener, lift them up, and attempt to dump the salt in without making a gigantic mess or injuring my back. Woo-hoo!

Air-conditioner filters? You would think this would be a no-brainer. There are two electrostatic ones that need taken out and rinsed off with the water hose every 45 days. Simple enough. Except that one of the filters is about 20 feet high - and the tall ladder went to live at another address. So I am left with a six-foot wooden rickety ladder that would best serve as kindling. But I’ve become adept at hauling it in, wedging it tight between the refrigerator and the wall, climbing up to the top step (that warns of impending doom and death should I step on it), taking the extra-long spatula used for grilling, reaching up to release the clips for the filter, releasing them, opening the door, and taking out said filter. Did I mention I’m afraid of heights? By this time, I am alternating sweating bullets and cursing a blue streak - all while looking at the dust that is visible from 20 feet in the air.

The filters (the other is at ground level, thank God) are taken outside, rinsed well, left to dry - and then - guess what happens next? I get to replace said filters. Which means I get to do the rickety ladder, spatula clip switching, sweating, cursing routine all over again, just in reverse. Double woo-hoo!

My biggest accomplishment thus far is reprogramming the sprinkler system. Now that may sound simple, but having never looked at the thing before, it was a daunting task. It took awhile, but I finally got it programmed to water twice a week. As fate would have it, the city has assigned days to water based on addresses, so…..I get to reprogram the thing again. Which I did last night, while cooking dinner……bad mistake. At least the smoke alarms didn’t go off - and I ate two meals at Sonic yesterday.

Having the wonderful home I do (did I mention it’s for sale?), it is equipped with all the bells and whistles I would ever need, and several I don’t.

There’s an alarm system (which I still don’t understand why the previous owners had installed. Who uses an alarm system in Fredericksburg? No one!). I never learned to program the system, don’t know how to arm it or disarm it. Never felt the need. (EXCEPT, when the darn thing went haywire during the middle of the night a couple of months ago. I quickly learned where the back-up battery was and how to disengage it.) So alarm company came out, charged me for repairing a system I don’t use anyway and showed me the basics of turning the thing on and off. Great info to pass on to the new owner (did I mention it’s for sale?).

What’s next? The daily routine of life still has to go on. Taking care of kids, taking care of pets, trying to earn a living, paying bills, watering plants, and keeping it all spic and span, spiffy and shiny for any prospective buyers.

Home-ownership is the American dream, but I think I need to rent for awhile to recover from this current dream!