Top 5 List as of September 23, 2016

My family and I recently remodeled our house.  It was a process that took well over four months to complete and involved us moving out for three of those months.  I must confess that I would have preferred to buy another house rather than remodel but my husband got cold feet last year and he cancelled our escrow.  Needless to say I was devastated.  I’ve never really liked the house we moved into nearly 18 years ago and remodeling it seemed like such a waste of time and money.  The house we were in escrow on was perfect.  It was my dream home and I’ll never forget it.

So, instead of moving into a brand-new home, we soldiered on with a remodel.  After discovering there was no way to move any of the basics (sink, stove, refrigerator), we had to keep the same footprint.  I had wanted something so different that I’d forget we were in the house I don’t like but it wasn’t meant to be.

Now that we’ve lived in the remodeled house for nearly six months, I’ve figured out the Top 5 Things I Hate About Our Remodel.  Before you think I’m spoiled, I will also write the Top 5 Things I Love About Our Remodel.  I’m writing the things I hate first because I’m in a crappy mood and am only thinking negatively.

Without further ado, here are the Top 5 Things I Hate About Our Remodel

5. The Toto toilets we chose.  These are supposed to be the best in getting rid of your business but they’re not.  In some ways, they’re superior but in others, let’s just say I prefer my old Home Depot basics.  Lesson learned from this experience:  look at reviews of everything before you buy.  Just because it has a superior name doesn’t mean everything they make are superior.

4.The flooring.  Oy, on one hand I love the floors but on the other, they require dusting/sweeping/care twice per day and washing every other day otherwise they look like I haven’t done anything with them for a month.  This was an epic fail. Also? It’s tile but things that accidentally get spilled on it leave a stain.  I have blobs left in two spots–one in front of the refrigerator from yogurt and the other is in front of the sink from homemade salad dressing.  Think of it as a daily Rorschach test.

3. The electrical panel.  We didn’t make any changes except now when we have the Keurig, the toaster, and the electric kettle on at the same time, the circuit breaker goes and somebody has to go out to the front side of the house and flip the switch.

2. The cabinets in both the bathrooms and the kitchen.  I don’t think I gave my last cabinets enough credit.  They never looked dirty and I think I wiped them down once a year, and if I’m really honest with you and myself, it was probably more like every other year.  The new cabinets show dirt, fingerprints, spills, and everything else immediately.  I think I’ve cleaned these cabinets at least once a month, and sometimes even more often.

1.The dishwasher.  Although it came as part of a package deal, and it was cheaper than its usual retail price, I would have been over-the-top mad at its less than stellar performance had I paid full price.  A dishwasher we used at our Salmon River Retreat that probably came from Sears works better than our current dishwasher.  The only good thing about it is its beautiful blue light when you open the door and how quiet it is.  We always have to look at the floor to see if it’s on or not.

And there you have it, my list of complaints about our recent remodel.  Stay tuned for the things I love about the remodel.  Fortunately there’s a lot more than five.  I just hope I’m in a better mood by then.

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