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Thread: Two Households

  1. #111
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Teacher Terry View Post
    PT: lots of people here use all rocks too which I hate. Plus the dogs need to be able to run and play in our yard. If you buy good quality astro-turf it is expensive but then you never need to water or mow.
    And leafy ground covers work well to replace grass. What passes for my front yard is pretty well filled in with a variety of them. I whack the grass near the street periodically, and use mulch and barrier cloth. I hate glyphosate.

  2. #112
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    I kid you not, every weekend the retirees on my street are out with containers of Roundup spraying their rocks. Such a different mindset. Was really frowned on back in Austin but here it is as common as can be.

  3. #113
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pinkytoe View Post
    I kid you not, every weekend the retirees on my street are out with containers of Roundup spraying their rocks. Such a different mindset. Was really frowned on back in Austin but here it is as common as can be.
    The amount of chemicals sprayed and peed into our waterways and ground waters is appalling.

  4. #114
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    Jane, Maltese are princes/princesses and won't step foot on ground cover so they need grass)

  5. #115
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Jane’s climate is way different fromTerry’s anyway, so I wonder of there is even a green ground covernd that works well for scrubby,dusty, hot dry western places. Of course ivy growns in the Pacific NW, most things do.
    Last edited by iris lilies; 5-13-18 at 8:33pm.

  6. #116
    Senior Member herbgeek's Avatar
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    I'm curious what you do for maintenance on a regular or annual basis that it is so much work in your opinion?
    Here's a partial list: outside- lots of weeding, blow the driveway off (dirt road), cut grass at least once a week, cut invasive brush at least yearly, prune bushes, clean out birdhouses, organize the shed and greenhouse, clean the inside of the greenhouse, weekly sweeping/blowing off of patio, deep clean of patio furniture, did I mention weeding? then there is the 700 square feet of vegetable garden and several perennial beds to care for, plant, harvest, composting. inside- clean 2 bathrooms, clean floors (dust/vacuum regularly, wash occasionally) in all rooms (3 floors), wash windows/screens, keep inventory and buy necessesities, dusting, painting, cleaning rugs, organizing/putting away of seasonal goods, going through clothes and belongings regularly for discards, and then there's the occasional maintenance project. That's on top of dishes, cooking, laundry, bill paying and keeping things running.

    I like to think of having a second place, but doing all of this in 2 places makes me pause.

  7. #117
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    Quote Originally Posted by herbgeek View Post
    Here's a partial list: outside- lots of weeding, blow the driveway off (dirt road), cut grass at least once a week, cut invasive brush at least yearly, prune bushes, clean out birdhouses, organize the shed and greenhouse, clean the inside of the greenhouse, weekly sweeping/blowing off of patio, deep clean of patio furniture, did I mention weeding? then there is the 700 square feet of vegetable garden and several perennial beds to care for, plant, harvest, composting. inside- clean 2 bathrooms, clean floors (dust/vacuum regularly, wash occasionally) in all rooms (3 floors), wash windows/screens, keep inventory and buy necessesities, dusting, painting, cleaning rugs, , and then there's the occasional maintenance project. That's on top of dishes, cooking, laundry, bill paying and keeping things running.

    I like to think of having a second place, but doing all of this in 2 places makes me pause.
    WOW. You do make it sound like a boatload of work.

    Let's see: Primary home is 1 level and 1800sf. Home 2 is 1 level and 1250 sf. We spend about 1h/week each on primary house chores. My gardens are my sanity so I don't perceive them as work but rather, my solice.

    NONE of these: cut grass at least once a week, cut invasive brush at least yearly, prune bushes, clean out birdhouses, organize the shed and greenhouse, clean the inside of the greenhouse, , deep clean of patio furniture.

    weekly sweeping/blowing off of patio-takes me 2 minutes to sweep our large patio. Did it today.

    did I mention weeding? I spend about 5 minutes per night when I get home from work-very therapeutic to be outside in the sunshine after a long day at work.

    plant, harvest, composting. Again my therapy. And composting? We keep a big pile behind the hottub. We don't work at it in the least. When I need compost we scrape off the top and dig some out.

    Bills: 100% automated except insurance because they won't.

    organizing/putting away of seasonal goods-we don't separate anything. Everything has a home. When we're done using it, it's put away...every time.

    going through clothes and belongings regularly for discards-once a year if that.

    As for our 2nd place: we spend 15m cleaning when we arrive: dust/sweep/vacuum/done! We have just enough clothing there for a week's stay.
    Landscape: NONE. Patios: take 5m to sweep

    We have our windows/screens done for us at both homes 1-2X/year.
    Your home life sounds super complicated and laborious to me. I'll keep my 2 homes and lifestyle

  8. #118
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
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    Our house is small, but it's also an older wooden structure, so it needs to be painted and stained and requires repairs on occasion. We have 28 windows ans screens that need to be washed once or twice a year, also curtains. We have seasonal leaves to rake and snow to shovel. Weeding, pruning, lawn mowing and garden upkeep need to be done in the warmer seasons. Housework and laundry probably take me 4 - 5 hours per week.

  9. #119
    Senior Member herbgeek's Avatar
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    Your home life sounds super complicated and laborious to me.
    It is. I am impressed with how you have streamlined things to take so little time. I hate housework. I feel its a waste of life energy so I tend to put it off, until I absolutely can't. I like to /think/ I am organized, but clearly not enough. Some days I'm pretty good with putting things back regularly, and other times life takes over, and stuff accumulates and then its hours to get it all in order because I wasn't disciplined. I've gotten rid of lots over the years, so it is easier to clean when you aren't cleaning around a bunch of things. I don't spend time looking for things (which is a time saver) because I do have systems where everything belongs. But when I do buckle down and clean, it seems to take so much time.

    I wish I had your ninja skills- do you have any recommended books/websites that helped you streamline things to the degree that you have? Are there other tips you've used that have helped?

  10. #120
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    I think home maintenance takes up a lot of our time. The thng is, we LIKE it. DH is very domestic. He likes caretaking our gardens and our house even though he has to be, um, urged, to fix many things around here. But when he goes at it he is damn good, he can do ANYTHING.

    Yesterday he sent out a photo on Facebook of a rhubarb pie he had baked while in Hermann in honor of his mother. He used her recipe. later that day he went out and chopped down a tree, a 25 footer. He truly is the most skilled person I know.

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