Now that we’re going to be landlords, we have to make sure that everything actually works in the house. I’ve been far more preoccupied with how pretty everything is, but renters don’t care so much about the stuff I made to hang on the walls, they just want things to work when they need them. Silly renters.
Three of our four sinks haven’t really worked the whole time we’ve lived here. There’s a little lever in your drain that pushes the stopper up or lets it fall down depending on if you want the sink plugged or not, and all at once, that lever broke off in three sinks. It’s like it had a timer on it or something. Paying for a plumber was really not high on our priority list, so we just took the stopper out altogether and used the sinks with a wide open drain.
But that’s kind of poor form for a landlord, so we finally had to address it. A plumber gave us an estimate of $300 a sink, and after I caught my breath I decided to try it myself.
It took about three trips to Lowe’s, lots of advice from a great plumbing expert there, a whole lot of swearing, maybe a little crying, but I did it. I ran into all kinds of quirky little problems that come from stupid builders, I sawed through PVC and replaced traps, I broke out the plumbers putty and the plumbers tape and got the whole thing water tight. And I saved us $900.
When you are a stay at home mom, there are so many small rewards that get you through your day. But what I really miss are the advancements, the raises, the proof that you are doing a good job. Parenting is just one big leap of faith. You never get to say, “I improved productivity by 25% this year.” You don’t get to measure your performance. Here’s one time I have something quantifiable to hang my hat on and I want to shout it from the rooftops. I saved us $900! Somebody needs to give me a plaque or something.