Oh, my, what can I say - life is just chaotic leaving very little time to do other things, as in a post on the blog. But here I am with a slightly different theme than my usual litany of fun activities to do in Naples.
The condo is up for sale, lots of people looking, lots of great comments, but no offers yet. Anyone who's sold a place while still living in it knows what I mean when I say living in a fake perfect house is exhausting. The exception would be if your particular market is so "hot" that you can make up your own rules. My sister has informed me that Seattle is one of those. There, you put your house up for sale in whatever condition, have a couple of open houses and then, a single day is scheduled to
take offers. You then sit on your throne and royally decree who wins the right to buy your house. Really.
This is most certainly not the case in Naples. I have been painting, scrubbing, organizing, and cleaning out every nook and cranny in this small place. Somehow it feels like my closets and cupboards have magically reproduced and there is no end to them. It all needs to be done for selling and for moving regardless. We close on the new house March 1, so time's a marching.
I'm not a newbie to this fun endeavor and had some tricks up my sleeve already, but sharing some new tips I have discovered this time around.
White vinegar- most of us know this is a good, natural, environmentally safe cleaner but I didn't know that it can take off hard water stains on shower floor tile with no effort, when other cleaners have no effect at all. Double thickness paper towels are put on the shower floor, saturate the towels with white vinegar and leave overnight for at least 8 hours. Wake up, squeeze out the towels and discard, and turn on the shower. All the crud goes right down the drain. Amazing. Only drawback is there is a lingering vinegar smell for a day (but that may be because I'm in a humid climate).
Baking soda - another multi purpose product. Make a paste with it, smear it on a glass cooktop and cover with a towel soaked in hot water and wrung out for 20 minutes. Most, if not all, of any burnt on food stains will loosen and you can scrub off.
I already knew to wrap a paintbrush in aluminum foil and store in the frig between painting sessions. Cleaning a brush each time you stop is enough to keep you from starting in the first place. The brush lasts a week or more without drying up. Heather, you know all about this. What fun we had...
And microfiber cloths are your friend. I assume everyone has them, but if you don't go buy them now. A pack is not expensive and they last forever, at least a bunch of years for me so far. I use them on everything and they don't streak.
So you can see where my head has been. Quite thrilling. The prospect of the new house is so exciting and I can't wait to move in but there's a lot to be done before that happens. I will be forced to focus on other things as I have another 3 day watercolor workshop coming up, given by my good friend Patty. I will put my brain on other things at least temporarily.
Thanks to all who are hanging in reading my lame and late posts...
