If you are in any of my Closed Marilyn’s Way Groups I am sure you heard of my misfortune of a leaking  hot water heater.  Currently it is located in the basement of this very old house.  There is also a high water table and a sump pump is needed in the spring from all of the snow.

When I first moved into this home around 10 years ago, I was dealing with a hot water heater using only one element because the basement had become flooded and therefore my brother put the sump pump in.

When I could afford it I bought the hot water heater to replace it and instead of bringing it upstairs then I just had it installed down there.  Well it wasn’t but the next spring when the sump pump failed.  Actually it had somehow gotten disconnected.  I didn’t hear the sump pump kick in so I went down to what I should really call a cellar.  Sure enough there was water in there about three feet deep and that meant my hot water heater was sitting in water.  So there goes the element.  Water is very hard on everything in the town I live in.  It eats away even like my sink I had to have replaced.

When I could afford it I called the plumber to see if I could get a new heating element.  There are usually 2 of them.  Well, when he got here the element was so corroded that he couldn’t remove it.  So that it that.  I have had to turn the one element on as high as I could in order to take a hot shower.

I had talked about moving it upstairs when I bought that one.  The problem was, where was I going to put it?  Why?  Because my house was wall to wall clutter!  That’s why!  By having the clutter I put the hot water heater in the cellar basically throwing my money away.

So here I am again.  What is different?  I found Flylady in 2005 and the journey began.  Today there was no question that it will be brought upstairs on my porch, no questions asked.

I am still decluttering and the porch holds the washing machine, dryer, upright freezer and some cabinets.  Still it can be a hot spot and it is a work in progress.  The thing is that this corner needed to be cleaned.  I had stuff there and will show you a picture.

The porch has been on my list to redo but first I needed to get rid of the clutter.  When I cleaned the corner out where the hot water heater is to go, it was pretty dirty back there.  The baseboards were beyond to be cleaned.  I thought about how hard it is going to be trying to get back there and paint AFTER the hot water heater would be installed.

So I made a decision.  I would paint the baseboards after I wiped them down.  I looked up and the trim and ceiling had yellowed so what is a person to do but put on her big girl pants and get to work.

The moral of this story is that I still thought in my mind I had to do the entire room at once!  That is old thinking.  So I started in the corner and worked my way out far enough so that when I am ready to finish the rest of the room, this corner wouldn’t be an issue.

I stayed up very late to do this and that is against Flylady lessons but sometimes one has to do what she has to do.  I am glad it is done.  I am also glad my clothes are laid out for tomorrow and my sink is a shining because they will be here around 10 am and that means it will be a short sleep.  All in all I am happy with my decision to do it.
Good Night To All and Keep FLYing!
Marilyn

This the corner the hot water heater will go in.

Removed the clutter, scrubbed the floor and then painted the baseboards

Was first going to paint the trim but then I decided the ceiling had to be painted as well.

So here is the corner I painted, trim and ceiling to make it easy on me when I paint the rest of it.

I sure hope it will fit here.  At least I can move the cabinets over a smudge!