"Fluff post": do you make coffee at home? Provide details ...
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6 years ago
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What are you doing to make your house enrich your life?
Comments (38)I've been thinking about this a lot since it was first posted. I'm not sure I'll be very coherent, but my rambling will make sense (mostly) in my head. We bought this house/property 5.5 yrs ago, it was a neglected house, but the lot was to-die-for (middle of town, near a great park, LARGE (for in town), 7 minute commute to work, on a corner, with lots of mature trees). We stalked it for years prior while the old lady went off her rocker (sadly not exaggerating) as we lived just 2 blocks away. So that's part of our crazy plan- to not contribute to sprawl (it just makes me sad). I live in an area of the most fertile soil in the world- we should not be building houses here. So doing a demo/in-fill makes my heart feel a little joy. We want to create a legacy for our children. I know they may move away and not want this house when we die, but I hope it can be paid for and provided to them as an inheritance. Or maybe they'll want it b/c we're hoping it really creates a love of 'home' and family. We hope to do a lot of the work ourselves (being big DIYers and having done almost everything to the 2 homes we've lived in) and hope to involve the kids in some of that work so that they have some ownership. I really want to create a home with minimal maintenance as the last 2 homes have been non-stop with one thing or another. Like today when our kitchen sink was running slow and after snaking it it was fine- only to go to the basement and realize all water was now backing up from the floor drain. As if mowing, trimming bushes, and cleaning off the back porch from winter wasn't enough to keep us busy today. So new construction is a must. I get water in the basement every time it rains, the joists are termite eaten, there's adequate space (another 200 sq ft would be PERFECT), but it's not built for accessibility for overnight guests and my FIL is in a wheelchair (as is MIL, but she doesn't stay with us) and my mother has had 2 hip replacements and 2 spine surgeries. 1st floor guest room is also a must. When we bought this house we interviewed architects to see about an addition and major remodel- for 17K more the builder/designer could demo the existing house and build the same sq footage as a shell, BUT NEW (my eyes and ears and back like the sounds of that!). That sold us on living here and making do with 3 layers of wallpaper in the dining room, floor that are mushy, a 1 person kitchen, no tub, on and on and on. So we're living in the house until it's paid off so that we can get more of what we want. In the meantime we will continue to play around with plans and have done lots of reading and research. There are some things we'll be able to re-use- some light fixtures, the garage door opener, faucets, all the appliances, and I'm hoping to buy some things in advance and just store until needed. My husband and I agree on quality over quantity. We don't want a McMansion, we both want a rectangle (Colonial). Preferably one that's more energy efficient than our current home (not hard to do), and keeps us warm/cool/dry. A place to live in for as long as I can conceivably live alone (my grandma made it to 95 with her hardy Midwestern genes). The most current set of tinkering plans have very little in the way of compromise- I think if we can do that and actually build the thing we can call it a success and check something off our bucket list while drinking coffee sitting in our screened-in porch on a Sunday morning knowing all we have to do is mow and trim bushes (and maybe clean off said porch :))....See More"Fluff" post: what do you keep by your kitchen sink?
Comments (35)I am definitely NOT a minimalist! In anything! A window is over my kitchen sink, there are a couple of folk art paper mache sculptures there, about 7 or 8 inches tall. A hen and rooster ceramic figurine that spent many years on my mother's kitchen window sill, a "Thank you Mom" mug my son gave me a couple of months ago, and some ivy cuttings rooting in a glass jar of water. I can see out, over these things, over the patio and into the back yard. The left portion of the sink has a dish drainer in it, there is one of those drying mats on the left counter, and the coffee pot is on that side, too. The end of the cabinet above the left counter has a wooden "A house is not a home without a dog" plaque my sister made for me many years ago. The right side is where I stack the dirty dishes after a meal. Farther over is a selection of often used various sizes of Ziplock plastic containers. The end of the upper cabinet on that side has a framed needlepoint sign, "Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most." Wa-a-a-a-y too cluttered for most of y'all! I can admire pictures of beautiful uncluttered kitchens (or any room), but I would not be comfortable or happy living in one. Different strokes for different folks, right? Rusty...See MoreFluff post: What is your warmest winter coat?
Comments (70)I'm wearing a light almost "spring" jacket that's poly filled. My daughter bought it for me from The Bay years ago. It's one from their official Olympics line. I would love to own a Canada Goose coat, but the price is too much for me to go and get one. Besides, with our crazy weather, it can be -30 in the morning when you would need a Canada Goose coat, but by mid afternoon it can go over 0 and you look ridiculous in such a warm coat....See MoreFluff post: uses for old dishrags
Comments (26)Yay, Rhizo! I was going to mention that. I cut up old cotton fabric into the compost now and then. My garden buddy (we exchange seeds, plants, rides to the garden shop, harvests, tools, and sometimes even weeding chores) is finally starting a compost pile this year. He says he remembers watching me cut up into the compost an old rug that had belonged to my grandmother. That must have been many years ago. I don't remember the rug. My grandmother used to knit dishcloths and some of those definitely hit the compost pile. I'm thinking the rug must have been a very small cotton loop rug done in a floral pattern. P.S. I prefer the term dishcloth to dishrag. Somehow, dishrag sounds ugly and nasty to me....See MoreUser
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