Diamond in the Rough: Maintaining a Home

I've posted so much on the negative aspects of this house, about how ugly it was when we moved here, how dirty and what a mess they left for us. This was truly the ugliest house in the neighborhood. But you know, not everyone is cut out for home renovations, not everyone can afford them and not everyone has the patience or the ability to overcome the obstacles that crop up along the way. I'm a very stubborn woman and there have been many times I've been reduced to tears over this house. I do know the husband was a high school teacher who had lost his job. Here in Oklahoma that means he was being paid low to begin with. They had three teenage daughters and the wife was working a job to keep them afloat. When we were looking at the house, the husband told us he thought they should have turned the master bedroom and the bedroom above it into an efficiency apartment with a spiral staircase. I'm assuming he had intended to include the master bathroom in that plan which would have taken out the only downstairs bathroom and would have reduced the now four bedroom home into a 2 bedroom home one bath with an efficiency apartment 1 bedroom, 1 bath. I'm not sure how that would have worked in this neighborhood of 4 bedroom, 2 bath homes or even if it would have been legal. I'm not sure how he would have financed such an undertaking. I think he was a dreamer and there's nothing wrong with that. Dreamers are necessary but he didn't know how to fix anything. Nothing was repaired in this house or I guess I should say, nothing was repaired correctly in this house. Now, lets move on to his wife. She had a truly gifted green thumb. I think that's where she found refuge was in the yard in her gardens. She spoke of the unbearable heat here. There was this sun room at the back of the house that was actually being used as their dog house because they found it unbearable to sit out there. I find the greatest comfort sitting in the sun room with the windows open, on very hot days the ceiling fan on low helping to circulate the air but the large trees in the backyard give a wonderful shade that bring the temperatures down a great deal. When it's 105 in the summer it's like 80 in my sun room. It's a most pleasant room. Her choice of plants were beautiful, I just didn't find them practical for this part of the country. The tall wheat like grasses near the house, we have a greenbelt behind us and a creek which means snakes, copperheads mostly. I would prefer not to give them places to hide so close to house. But the one choice she made was the peony plant near the street in the front yard and I love that one. I built a flowerbed around it. It is so beautiful. I'm sure you're suppose to trim it, or do things to it but I have no idea what and I'm so not the garden type most plants cringe when they see me come near so whatever I put in the yard has to be hardy and a survivor because delicate anything will faint away just from my reputation alone. But this peony must be a kick-ass survivor because it comes back stronger every year and it brightens my day every time I see the first bloom. I know that winter is over and Spring has arrived. That is the one piece of happiness the previous owners left behind and it brings me hope each year.

This house has seen a lot of owners. It was built in 1973, the year I graduated from high school. It had so much of the original markings of the first owner still in it that sadly you realize very few made it theirs while they lived here. It was just a stopping place. A place to hang their clothes, watch a little TV, wash a few clothes and move on. A house should be made into a home. It needs to be loved, it needs to nurtured. It grows old and worn out just like we do if it isn't taken care of. It isn't so very expensive if it is taken care of yearly or seasonally. Upkeep on a home is part of the responsibility of becoming a homeowner. You have a fireplace, every fall you have a chimney sweep check it to make sure it's safe to turn on or burn wood in. Every spring or fall you check the chalking around your windows to make sure they are sealed properly. You walk around the outside of your house checking for tiny/small trees that are trying to take root from (in my case pecans) seeds that have fallen the previous year and you pull them up (or donate them whatever your conscious tells you to do). While checking for trees near the foundation you check your brick to see if the mortar is intact and if there are any tiny cracks that need attention. Lift your eyes up check your siding, has it separated at all? Is there any way that water can get beneath it? What about the fascia, does either the siding or fascia need painting? You want to prevent wood-rot so you make sure all the wood is covered well. This sounds like a lot of work but really it's just a few minutes walk around the house. Clean your gutters!! Clean your gutters!! This protects your roof and your fascia. In the house, those little valves that turn water off an on near the toilet, under the kitchen sink, under the bathroom sink, by the laundry? You really should turn those off and on at least once a year to check that they are working. Almost all small maintenance problems now are on YouTube. Check them out. Get a good plumber and electrician. I have a great AC/HV company that comes out twice a year for a small sum that does a thorough cleaning and check of my units each spring and fall. They are awesome and to me it's worth it because if there is a problem they find it before it becomes a big problem. Get a home warranty (American Home Shield is the one I'm partial to). Don't let things build up until they become a problem, take care of things a little at a time. Keep your house happy and I promise you, it will repay you in the long run by increasing in value. I mean really, a home is one of the largest investments you'll ever make ... treat it like that.