House-spouse duties are top of my list every day. They need to be done before the daily fun begins. We like our fun so we make sure the chores get done as efficiently as possible. Toss in a little creativity and push a few boundaries helps move things along. Today I had a client coming back into town to pick up their pup. Great pup, top three-five of my growing list. He’s a shedder. Probably costs him a couple places.
Moving from a solid-surface floor ranch with a fenced yard+ to a high-rise building with wall-to-wall carpet (enemy of the dog) has meant a significant shift to ‘house-spouse duties’. Every outside dog trip means leash ’em up, find a coat and bags and head for the elevator. Losing the yard and garage frees up tons of time. Hi-rise means constant battles with smoke alarms when cooking. I normally lose–I’m about as immune to smoke alarms as most are to car alarms. That frequent.
Apartment size (and quality) washer and dryer means 50% more loads. Minimal storage means multiple trips to the market every week–not out of choice, out of necessity. Ditto dishes. Trade-offs.
Wall to wall carpet with dogs means daily crevice cleaning. Guest pups–shedding pups mean even more. An extra level of cleaning is always done after the canine guests leave. Ever aware of shortcuts I found myself staring at a fur-ridden comforter on top of freshly cleaned sheets and pillow-cases. A trip to the dry-cleaners was out of the question; all driving trips are planned. Too big for the washing machine; already learned that.
Options seemed to be slipping away. Putting away the vacuum I paused with a smirk. Why not? It’s fabric, like the carpet right? I roll around with the dogs on the floor after cleaning it. I’ll be rolling around the comforter after it’s clean. I failed to find any difference. A couple minutes later I was again wrapping up the cord and putting the machine back in its place. Comforter? Perfect. I’ve just shaved hours off my duties over the long haul. Moving things along creatively; lots of fun to be had!