The Week I Caught Up on the Boring Stuff

I didn't plan for June 30th to be a catch-up day. It just sort of became one. Mark had a thing in the morning that finished early, the kids were occupied, and I had this list of tasks sitting in epBode that I'd added and then quietly pretended weren't there. You know the ones. The tasks that feel vaguely important but not urgent, so they just hover.

Anyway. We flushed the water heater on Our Minneapolis Home, which I'd added as a task that same morning and then marked complete by afternoon. That probably sounds like nothing. But the last time I let that slide into fall, we got sediment buildup and a repair call I didn't need. So now it's a summer thing, every year, and I log it so I don't have to remember it.

While I was in that mode, I also added "Deep-clean dryer vent" on Our Minneapolis Home and got that done on July 1st. I know. Dryer vents. Not interesting. Except they kind of are when you look up how often that's actually a fire hazard and then quietly add it to your recurring list without telling anyone.

The Naples stuff I handled remotely, which is just how it goes with the condo. I'd already gotten the hurricane shutter maintenance logged for the season, but I realized the dryer vent there had the same problem, so I added that task on June 29th and it was done by July 1st too. I also finally got the smoke detector tested in the Guest Bedroom on Naples Getaway, which had been sitting on my list since before the June 19th post. I'm not proud of how long that one sat there. But it's done, and I set the date: "2026-06-29". That's what matters.

Back in Minneapolis, I tested the smoke detector in Maya's Bedroom on July 1st and logged the door alarm batteries, which I buy in 9V bulk now because I got tired of running to Target at inconvenient moments. Twenty-nine dollars. Worth every cent for the peace of mind those alarms give me.

I also logged safety lock replacements, $55, which is one of those things that's easy to skip because the old ones still sort of work. Except "sort of" isn't good enough for me, so.

And then there's this: I added a task to re-laminate the visual schedules. Eli's had the same ones up for a while and the edges are starting to peel. It's not urgent. It is, however, on the list now, which means it'll actually happen instead of being something I notice and forget six more times.

That's really the week. Nothing dramatic. A lot of small things marked done. I keep telling myself the goal is to look at my property list and have more green than red, more "logged on this date" than "I think we did that last year." This week felt like that. I'll take it.