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Saturday, December 5, 2009

My Toilet Era Comes to a Close

This year I've successfully removed and installed 3 toilets. I think I'd like to put that on my Christmas card right next to a picture of me and my dog and Santa. Or maybe me and my dog and Santa can be sitting ON the toilet. The recipients of this proposed xmas card may poo themselves in confusion and/or glee (depending on their own awareness of my new found expertise as an amateur plumber). 

Slowly but surely I am becoming my own expert at Singlutionary home improvement. I've always loved figuring out how things work and taking things apart but I never thought I'd become my own handywoman. But being an unemployed home owner has left me without many other options: I've had to figure out how to do it and do it on my own because paying someone to do it simply wasn't an option.

In January, included in the new incarnation of this Singlutionary blog, will be a weekly post on do-it-yourself homeowner projects. I've been asked before to write about homeownership for single women-- or singles in general (and I've been trying to get to it) but in addition to offering advice on the home buying process and the basics of home ownership, I'll also write about how to fix/replace/improve stuff on your own. I think that most single people feel intimidated by tackling projects on their own (especially since many projects require more than two hands and who knows if anyone will be around in that moment of desperation when you realize that you need someone to hold this while you drill that) and with a single income, it is sometimes impossible to just hire someone to do all the work.

Buying a house is something I did without even thinking about the fact that I would have to take care of it all on my own. My desire for homeownership would wait for no man. In fact, it never occurred to me that I ought to wait to buy a home until I was "settled down" or in a relationship. But once I bought the house, I started to realize why domestic chores are divided so clearly down the gender line: there is too much work for one person. Or so it seemed at first. How was I supposed to keep up with cleaning and the yard and also fix the sink and also take out the garbage and also paint the ceilings and also decorate on a budget? How was I supposed to set up beds and move sofas and fix the garbage disposal all on my own? 

But after two years, I've finally got things under control (with a little help from my friends and plenty of frustrated phone calls to my veteran do-it-yourself parents). Yet, I am still the only single female home owner I know and, aside from one inspirational friend who actually is a professional handywoman, I am the most capable person I know. When I began Singlutionary, I was the only non-seeking single that I knew. And now I have a whole community. I hope that by writing about homeownership/repair/improvement for singles, a wonderful community of joyful home owning Singlutionaries will grow.

So, one day a week in 2010 will be committed to the single homeowners and the wannabe single homeowners of the Singlution.

I'll write from my own experience and be sure to mention at the beginning, when and where in the process a second sent of hands would be ideal or, in fact, necessary. And I'll try to make it funny. So, even if you live in an apartment or a condo or a tent, you'll be entertained. At least a little bit. 


7 comments:

Jenn said...

Good for you! When I bought my house a couple years ago, I had really not thought about all the work it takes to maintain on my own. There are so many times I wish I could just call a landlord! Fortunately, my house has not needed all that much work but when it does, I am often first frustrated (especially when I find I need that extra set of hands!) but then really proud when I figure stuff out on my own. I'm so glad you'll be writing about this!

Stevi said...

You are amazing! Keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

hey - maybe in the coming year you won't be a handywoman but a SUPERwoman??!!!

iol ;-)

Special K said...

Yeah! This makes me happy. I just said this week "I would be scared on owning my own house." My rental is HUGE 176 SM (ready for guests!) and the landlord came over and was fixing the wood panels and about a list of 20 things and I felt...could I do this by myself?
My suggestion, selfishly, is to have your first post review the "story" behind you decision to own and what that was like for you?

Sixty and Single in Seattle said...

I hope your month for reading and not blogging is reviving you, because I look forward to reading you a lot more. And I like the homeowner angle. I'm a homeowner who has left her home in Port Townsend and rents out two units in it, while loving being a renter in Seattle who gets to call somebody else when things go wrong! (Though I did try duct tape to keep the big loop fluorescent in my rental kitchen from falling down and unplugging itself...)
As with much else in life though, the hard stuff ends up being the proudest. For me, thawing the pipes at 3 am for my renters with their new baby girl twins!

Anonymous said...

toiling away with the toilets....hmmm

well life is a fart isn't it?

and a very happy 2010 to you!

The Singlutionary said...

I was gone for a while and I came back to all these fantastic comments! Yes, I will write about why I decided to buy a house (because it is not for everyone) and thank you all for these awesome comments!!