Tidying: Feeling the Pressure

I had all intentions of doing a blog showing a transformation of my sewing area. Since I need to get my new machine set up for future refashions, I was going to spend today getting it in order. But my mind was quickly changed on what I wanted to do for today's post when I took the cat box outside for cleaning. Our patio has been in dire need of a good cleaning, and I just couldn't take it anymore. I probably should have waited until the spring to give it a good cleaning, but I was ready to do it NOW. So, I cleaned the litter box and got to work on the patio.

First thing's first, I had to sweep up all the leaves and dirt. Then I gathered all Piper's loose balls and put them in a bowl we have outside. Next, I threw away all the stuff out there that was no longer of use (i.e., old flip flops, broken dog yard stakes, broken hardware, etc.). Finally, it was time for the big clean. So, I had to get out my little friend.

After we got the sugar gliders, we knew we would need a power washer to easily clean their cages. We got one from Sears exactly like the one pictured above at a really decent price (click here for a link to the product page).

I've never used the power washer before, so this would be an interesting experiment. Our concrete slab on the patio was riddled with algae and mildew. I was ready to blast it all away with the power washer. Unfortunately, I underestimated the amount of time it would take to blast away all the nasty. So, I started daydreaming. First, I imagined I was holding the world's most powerful super soaker, and I was winning a neighborhood battle.

After I got tired of imagining a water fight (about the time I started getting really cold), I imagined I had a huge bottle of white out and that I was getting rid of all the horrible mistakes on my patio.

Finally, when I was tired of being an office geek, I started reliving The Karate Kid. Remember when Mr. Miyagi made Daniel-son paint the house (side to side) and the fence (up and down)?

Inevitably, I got tired of playing pretend, so I just focused on my work and eventually finished. Here are my before and after pictures.

 

 

 

 

I'm proud that I got out there and got the patio all cleaned. I just wish I had realized how much mud would be spraying up from the crevices between the patio and the house. I even got mud on my face.