So last November before we signed the rental contract and moved into this house that we adore, we made sure to clarify the waterproofness and structural security of the house’s foundation with our landlord prior to signing the lease. Our landlord assured us they’d had the house checked out and that, after a heavy rainfall, he paid a visit to the house to make sure the basement and garage didn’t leak – dry as a bone, he said. Perhaps at the time when he took a peek, the basement floor really wasn’t wet yet and water really wasn’t streaming down in streaky splashes from the cracks. Or perhaps he’s a proficient liar. It doesn’t matter. It’s all water over the bridge now (or, you know, over our carpet and into all of our boxes). Whatever the case, the basement is not waterproof. Indeed, during our most recent rainfall this week (and the heavy one we’re experiencing right now), the basement enjoyed a good, thorough soaking.
You could literally wring out the industrial carpet we put down there and we donated a good majority of our soggy cardboard moving boxes to the recycle bin – after we cautiously emptied them all out, air or towel dried the contents, and found new homes for our narrowly-salvaged possessions in plastic bins, in the lucky remaining cardboard boxes on the shelving system, or on wheels. Everything not on wheels or in a water-tight bin is no longer on the floor. Our de-humidifier, fans, and dry heat torpedo heater are working full-speed to soak up the water blanketing the floor. We’re happy that we got that shelving unit built a few weekends ago when we did and we’re relieved to have noticed the water downstairs when we did as it really could have been a whole lot worse. We actually fared pretty well, and for that we’re thankful. Most things were damp, but not beyond rescue as they surely would have been in a day or two’s time. The garage is literally a pond with about an inch or two of standing water. Surprisingly, neither of us are all that upset – though we suspect our landlord did know. Just as he knew this house was uninsulated and neglected to mention why the previous tenants always complained of such an outrageous energy bill, claiming they just plain used too much heat (um, yes, of course they did. Because the house isn’t insulated.) But this stuff happens, right? It’s all a part of having a home.
In all honestly, this minor little calamity lit the fire under our asses that we needed to get our butts in gear and organize the basement, as we’ve been meaning to find the time to do for the past 3 months. Well, we found the perfect reason and the time to do it. So it really is a good thing. We threw on some good music and made a great deal of progress and the basement looks pretty nice now with all the boxes properly organized, labeled, and stored neatly on the shelves. We still have a few hours more work to go, but the improvement is a big, welcome change. And we both feel better knowing our stuff is not only organized now, but also safe from the future water-damage we now know to expect every time it rains. I’ll be sure to post before & after pictures as soon as we’re done with it next weekend.
We didn’t spend all weekend hard at work though. Oh, no. On Ted’s first weekend off in ages we made sure to enjoy our time together. On Friday night I baked some fully-loaded, hot out of the oven chocolate chip walnut cookies from scratch, which we savored with glasses of milk while laughing through an episode of Big Bang Theory. On Saturday we headed to mass and dined on Chinese at a fantastic new little Chinese joint that is sure to become one of our favorites, then finished the night off with a movie at home. Today we ran errands to check out camping gear at Bass Pro Shop, walked a nearly abandoned mall (yet it was still kept up – it was spooky!) and made our monthly Sam’s run for bulk items. Tomorrow we both work, and Tuesday we’re both off for Ted’s knee surgery that morning and we’ll spend the day together laying low after that. My grandmother also celebrated her 90th birthday this weekend!
How did you fare this weekend relaxing and gearing up for the week ahead?
