Landscapers

Ramit Sethi who made his fortune guiding people to handle their money in the most sensible way has some reservations about owning your own home.  When he runs the numbers on the true value of home ownership, he includes real costs, down payments, mortgage, taxes, upkeep, insurance.  It does not always give the best financial return.  Sometimes lifestyle prevails.  I like having a space that is mine.  Mortgage paid off long ago.  Only one other borrowing episode to replace asbestos siding with vinyl.  Other than purchase costs, and selling costs which have not yet happened, we still have those expenses that never disappear.  Insurance on autopay.  Taxes just boosted significantly following countywide reassessment.  Upkeep never ends.  Some outlay to the plumbers periodically.  And the pest inspectors who seem to do well at keeping us free of six and eight legged vermin, frustratingly incomplete with sending the mice on a one way ticket.  We have an electrical contract, about $30 a month.  They inspect our systems for us twice a year, tell us what is wrong, which is usually more than what really needs repair, then gives us an estimate for them to fix what they say we ought to fix.  We get a second electrical, plumbing, or heating estimate from reputable contractors that always undercut them, sometimes even advising us not to undertake the project yet.  And then there is tree removal.  Infrequent but costly enough to have a place on my spare credit card that gives 2% credit for my next airfare.

And then we have the landscapers.  Some things are simply beyond my capacity, others within my capacity that I really prefer paying somebody else do.  I still have several lawnmowers, including one that probably runs.  My lawn gets mowed weekly by a different, more limited landscaper. It gets fed a few times a year by Lawn Doctor so it will grow faster and need more mowing.  But twice a year, the forest primeval that has become my yard needs control.  Trimming hedges which brush my head with dew or the previous night's rain when I walk out my front door.  A perimeter of plantings along the back yard.  I rarely go to the back yard, but look out the window frequently. My garden disabled a few times with herbicide.  Gutters that have sprouted their own vines in the growing mixture that settles there.  No shortage of things to do.  Impressive bill each time, but our grounds appear well tended whenever they finish multiple tasks.  Just something the hangs at the interface of needs doing and want done.  Either way, beyond my level of skill.  In my senior years, my physical capacity to do these things has long passed.  

Degreasing

Have some serious cleaning that I need to do, while I am still motivated to do it. Efforts to engage a cleaning service have not succeeded. Gone are the days of Cameo Homes of the 1960s where everyone's mother could tap into a network of thorough and personable cleaning ladies from Spring Valley who would come each week for a fixed sum, lunch, and transportation round-trip. Now we have crews that have websites with their own logo cars who are done by lunchtime.  They follow a checklist in lieu of the homeowner guiding what needs to be done most. To degrease kitchen cabinets  and appliances on my own I have baking soda. For some sturdier objects with serious buildup, the online sources recommend ammonia. None for sale at Shop-Rite or Target cleaning sections. Went to Lowe's. Online said they had it. Did not find it on shelf. Went to customer service. They looked it up, but I had to spell it for them. It has two M's. They directed me to aisle and shelf, just what their computerized inventory list said. None there. All stores have chemical concoctions, toxic blends done by graduated chemistry majors who probably did not excel at Science Fair. Lots of glass cleaners. Lots of all-purpose cleaners with big mark-ups at all stores. No ammonia anywhere. They have vinegar with the cooking products and at Lowe's, where they had industrial concentration vinegar not suitable for a salad.

Why? Online tells me there is an ammonia shortage. Has been since 2022. Supply chain and regulatory problem. I assume the P&Gs and DuPonts who need it to blend with other products can still get it, though at a premium that they recoup on the end products. Small consumers like me that want their tea kettles and chandeliers to sparkle have to use the more toxic stuff.

Household Help

At one time I used to mow the lawn.  It got too much and we hired a service to do it.  I still have all the lawn mowers.  When it snows, I shovel.  While I own a snow blower, it hasn't worked in a few years.  For as often as I use it, hiring somebody to remove the snow that exceeds my hand shoveling capacity seems like a wise option.

Some other hiring on the horizon.

1. Tree Removal
2. Housecleaning Biweekly
3. Professional organizer for two rooms
4. Electrician
5. Carpenter

These sources of assistance have not been easy to find.  The tree surgeons seemed happy to do what we need, second estimate expected shortly.  The others have remained a challenge.

There are websites that match task to provider.  When I needed a new disposal installed, it did not go well.  Somebody who I did not expect showed up to do it.  He said I prepaid.  I don't remember engaging him.  But he did a good job and I have a functioning disposal.

The organizer, electrician, and carpenter have not gone well at all.  I went to Lowes to see if they allow tradesmen to post their business cards.  They don't.  I've tried carpenter near me searches.  Mixed results.  Some not available for what I need done, or really don't serve my region.

Electricians should be easy.  It wasn't.  One estimate considerably higher than expected charges for what I need that are posted on websites.

Organizers say OK, then for some reason bail out.

And I'm not quite ready for somebody to come to the house every two weeks.  Gone are the days of the cleaning ladies that my mother and other stay at home housewives would bring in weekly, assign them whatever is best done that day, then do some other things the next week.  Now we have crews, often franchised, with a protocol checklist that does not always mesh with the best use of time or effort.  This one can wait.

And we've not even gotten to snow removal.  I'll make an effort in the fall to restore my snow blower to adequate function.