27 April 2006

About yesterday

Friend is looking for a house exchange. Her first visitor comes to view today, but as she has a flat/apartment and we're all by the sea there was more than just her home to straighten up - white communal exterior paintwork streaked black from the rains, little things that make the difference between the first impression of a sunny corner and one of a grubby dump.
Then there was boxing stuff and carting it downstairs to the shed - not because it was mucky but because the rooms had acquired a lot of clutter that made it difficult to see the true size of the place.
I don't think any of us realise what kleptomaniacs and nest builders we are until we think of showing a stranger the depths of the airing cupboard.
Lots of leaning precariously out on windowsills to clean window glass on the outside.
The break in the middle was a mad dash back to my home town by train, to get the kids from school. Furniture was moved to remove the gaps and, again, show up the space, and all in all we took the place from homely to near utilitarian, just so that todays visitor and the ones after that can wander through in double quick time and get a fair idea of what they have to work with, if a swap goes ahead. This also meant a deal of working on bended knee to dust and clean areas of floor (graa, she has bare polished floorboards) and skirting boards that had 'settled' behind bookcases for a year or so.
Knackering, but fun, and all done now.

5 comments:

Greg said...

Good work! She's lucky to have a friend like you to help!

Cheryl said...

Its a guilt salve Steggy - other people's housework is always easier than my own - now I can look at my own little dump and know that at least I cleaned something yesterday...

:-)

Jennifer said...

Good for you! Here's what I cleaned yesterday:

my teeth

fineartist said...

Why is it always more fun to clean someone else's house? I guess it’s the camaraderie, maybe. Or the thought that you are doing something nice for someone else too. I don’t know, maybe the combinations of the two.

You’re a good friend, but we all knew that.

jane said...

How interesting to do a house exchange. How long will they be doing it for? Or is it permanent? My gosh, I'd like to exchange ours! LOL
How nice of you to help, I dread doing stuff like that.