kyounge1956
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2008
- Messages
- 2,171
I am planning to build a small house when I retire. After living with myself for many years, I know I am really lackadaisical about housekeeping. I'd much rather be surfing the web, reading a book, or knitting a sweater than cleaning house, and since there's nobody to nag me about it, that's what I usually end up doing! So this is going to be a really small house that, starting from a pretty messy condition, can be made presentable for guests in a two day blitz-cleaning. I figure 600 square feet max, and maybe even smaller than that. It will be on one story, and designed so it can easily be made wheelchair accessible if necessary—I want to be able to live in it for the rest of my life. I think sometimes I'm going to run into conflicts with my other goal for the house, which is to make it from recycled/recyclable/renewable materials as much as possible. Do I get the one-piece molded tub/shower surround because it's seamless and easy to clean—or pass it up because it's made of acrylic? Decisions, decisions...
I had some ideas already, and yesterday I picked my mom's brains for more tips to make the house easy to care for and low maintenance. She has a degree in Home Ec and many years of experience, so she knows whereof she speaks. Here's the list so far. What are your ideas on the topic?
General Principles
I had some ideas already, and yesterday I picked my mom's brains for more tips to make the house easy to care for and low maintenance. She has a degree in Home Ec and many years of experience, so she knows whereof she speaks. Here's the list so far. What are your ideas on the topic?
General Principles
- "A place for everything, and everything in its place."
- Keep furnishings simple; when you have enough, remove one item for every item brought in.
- Metal roof and siding (i.e. doesn't need painting)
- Gutter guards to keep leaves out
- No rockeries! (my parents have extensive rockeries in their yard. Weeds get established in the cracks and it's nearly impossible to get them out again.
- Probably no lawn, either.
- I plan to use the ideas in The Self-Sustaining Garden for my landscaping.
- Composite lumber for exterior steps, decks, railings etc (no rot or splinters, no painting required)
- No enclosed soffits, etc (just had to pay to have someone come and deal with a yellow-jackets' nest inside my 2nd floor deck)
- Windows that flip into the room so both sides can be cleaned from indoors
- Hard floors—no wall-to-wall carpet, area rugs if any
- Wallpaper rather than paint
- Window treatments that can be taken down and machine laundered
- All furniture comes right down to the floor. No "underneath" that requires moving the furniture to clean there!
- Twin bed (I tend to pile stuff on the other half of my double).
- Stainless steel or "clean steel" appliances (no chipping)
- Under-mounted sink or all-in one sink/countertop in kitchen; under-mounted, wall mounted or pedestal sink in bath.
- Kitchen counters with integral backsplash
- Baseboards, if any, real wood (I have MDF or whatever it is in my bathroom at current house and they are disintegrating due to the moisture—the ones in the kitchen have affected spots too).
- Wall-mounted toilet
- No open storage—doors on all cabinets
- Trackless shower door (if any--I may just use a curtain)
- Backdraft kitchen range (?—I don't know if this will be better than an ordinary overhead vent hood. I do know I'll keep the hood and microwave separate in the future. The glass tray in my above-the-range micro is broken, and a replacement from the original manufacturer costs $80. I could buy a whole new countertop microwave for less.)
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