As some of you know, we recently moved to a new home here in Austin and now I need to prepare the old homestead for sale and move-out.   (pics and video are forthcoming, I promise).

Good thing I have the promise of knowing that hardworking, honest people who care are out there.  And it’s nice to know they are painfully honest.

I have an appointment with a handyman to come out next week and give me a bid on doing some work here and there – power wash the outside, rebuild a couple sections of flooring that got wet, fix some walls, lay down some vinyl tile - you know… stuff.  

Stuff I’d do myself if I had time.  Don’t even get me started on the cleaning that has to happen.

You see, the work itself is something I find fun and rewarding, but I just don’t have the time.  I’m the type of guy who likes to learn how to do something – just about anything - once.  I’ve changed my own oil – once.  I’ve rebuilt a carburetor – once.  I’ve laid tile, installed carpet, put up a dividing wall, poured concrete, dug a fire pit, changed my tires, installed a garbage disposal, painted a house, replaced heating elements in a water heater, built a computer from as scratch as you can get, installed a level brickstone walkway, resurfaced furniture and raised a couple of kids (well, halfway so far).  These are things I’m glad I know how to do, but I don’t want to do them every time, or very often.

Once is enough for most of it.

Now that I think about it, it’s not just about the fact that I don’t have the time.  It’s about efficiency, too.  Sure, it’s good to know how to do a lot of things… it helps you learn, you become smarter, more self-reliant, and if nothing else, you know how to spot a bad job when you see it.  But people who do things for a living are usually better, faster and more efficient than someone who just does it the first couple of times.  So while I know how to change my own oil, when *I* do it, it’s a mess and it takes me about 5 times as long as someone who does it every day.

About the only thing left is to figure out how to set up little mini-services for people who A) absolutely have the time to do a specific chore and B) have the money to pay for the chore to be done but C) want no part whatsoever in doing the chore (or) might do a horrible job at it. 

The example I’m thinking of right now is puppy dog poop stains.  I just want to call someone out to clean it up and clean it up right.  Sure, I have the time.  Sure, I have some of the right equipment.  But I know that there are people who are much better at doing that kind of stuff and won’t leave such a stain.  They can go door-to-door with a backpack-steam-vac and make the carpets look like new instead of like mushed up plastic swirlies.

Sigh. I guess it’s the price I pay until we can get a doggy door installed at the new house.

He sure is cute, though.