You know how we all have jobs that are not that hard but that we just hate doing? I have a few for sure! For some of the ones I have, it would be easy to hire someone but they are things that I CAN do myself but just procrastinate starting. My brother and I were discussing this and we decided to swap tasks; I would help him do the things he hates doing and he would help me do the things that keep getting put on next week's to do list. Here are a few that made the cut.
Broski was/is seeking someone to to the following:
Rollover his 401k to an IRA. DONE. This is one of those things a lot of people put off but in reality, it is not as hard as it seems. It does involve a bit of paperwork and can be anxiety inducing due to the fact that they have to liquidate one account and then you have to use those funds to buy something in the new account, but for most of us, we have enough time until retirement that we don't need to worry about timing the market. Just do it.
Clean out and organize his garage. DONE. Luckily, I love doing this kind of thing. However, I know it can be daunting, especially if you have any big items that you are not sure what to do with, or memories/mementos that you are on the fence about keeping (or that you need to look at as you sort). However, having a third party come in and be less emotional about your stuff can be freeing. The other hard thing is getting started! For Broski, he had one big item that he needed to get out of the way before the rest could be accessed, but that one thing was causing weeks of delay. I went up there and pulled that thing out, helped him reorganize, sort and label things and put the big item back. However, he just finally got rid of it so now we can commence with the second phase!!
I was/am seeking someone to do the following:
Fix the water pressure in my shower. NOT DONE. Broski took a look at this and it looks to be a bigger job than I want to do myself and I don't really care enough to hire someone to do it. It seems like the hot pressure is just lower in general than the cold, so there is probably some corrosion in the line or something and I don't really want to pay someone to do a huge job. I will just deal with the trickle.
Weed the yard. DONE. Broski came over this weekend and we got so much weeding done! He is a beast with a weedwacker and a fork looking tool that he uses to dig up the weeds by the roots. I worked alongside him, but it sure was nice to have someone enthusiastic by my side. Be gone ye weeds!
Install the bike rack on my car roof. NOT DONE. Broski got on this task and it was determined that before putting the rack on my car, I would have to buy other racks to put on my car. Hm. So I am mulling this over, but may just buy a different rack since some of the trunk mounted racks are the same price as the racks I need to buy for the top. Plus then I started thinking about it and will I really be able to lift my entire mountain bike above my head and put it on the roof? Anybody have any tips here? For context, my bike weighs about 32 pounds without anything on it and the rack does not require you to remove the front wheel.
Power wash my deck. DONE! Broski brought over the washer and not only did the back deck, but the side porch and front porch and all of my flagstone and paving stone. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! I forgot that the wood is red/tan instead of grey/black/dusty. It looks so good.
 |
So, I guess the moral of the story is, having a friend really helps when the jobs are crappy and/or one man's trashy job is another man's pleasure!?
What job do you hate doing? What job do you love doing and would happily swap with someone to do? Have you ever pressure washed anything?
I have never pressure washed anything.
ReplyDeleteWhat do I like doing? Tidying. Decluttering. Writing e-mails. Organizing. Grocery shopping.
Things I hate? House projects/handy work (hanging things, painting, gardening).
I had never pressure washed anything either. But I highly recommend it, if not now, maybe before you sell your house. It really gives it a newness that you probably forgot about!
DeleteYou seem to like most things that I like, but I don't mind some house projects, especially if they are not mine! For example, I would not mind coming over to help you paint and will even be enthusiastic and motivational, but I don't really feel like doing it at my house!
I love this! I would be happy to take on the legwork of rolling over a 401k all day long and I hate yard work and home maintenance with a passion.
ReplyDelete(Or would I though since I still haven't rolled over the one from a job that I left 2 years ago or oops a tiny one from a job that I left double digit years ago...hmmm looks like I'm big hat no cattle with this one. But srsly I'd rather roll over the 401k's than do many other things)
Ha! I actually have a 401k that I have not rolled over, but I do have a good reason for it. Sometimes it actually makes sense to keep it where it is. However, I do think that in most cases there is much more freedom with an IRA in the aspect of being able to pick your own investments, not pay mutual fund fees etc. However, for many, it is overwhelming and keeping it where it is may actually work! I am sure that is why you have not rolled it....right...?
DeleteThat before and after from the weeding is remarkable! Nice work, Broski. I power washed our deck when I was in HS before staining it. I haven't power washed since. Phil's cousin and him have power washed at our house quite a bit - first we power washed our old deck to see if it was salvagable. It wasn't so they built the new deck and then power washed it this spring/re-sealed it.
ReplyDeleteI would do anything financial like 401k roll over, etc. I love decluttering but that's hard to do for someone else since you have to make so many decisions and I can be a bit, um, ruthless (like I threw out all of my yearbooks when my parents handed those off to me a few years ago). When I was a kid, I went over to my cousin's house one afternoon and when we were trying to figure out what to do, I said, "let's organize your clothes drawers!!" Nothing was folded and clothes were jammed in there so I had the best time organizing her drawers.
I love decluttering and it is really fun to throw stuff/give stuff away. I find the act of looking at a drawer or closet or shelf and seeing it half as full as before SO satisfying. Although you know me and my stressful freezer; I also like filling it back up sometimes! That is also satisfying (when it comes to food). When it comes to clothes, I have never been a retail therapy kind of person so I don't need much. However, I am a lazy launderer, so I prefer to have a week's worth of clothes (like I don't want to wear the same running shirt twice like Phil does!) so I don't have to do laundry more than once a week!
DeleteI think luckily since we do not have as much snow as you, my deck has held up well over the last eight years. Hopefully I can power wash it again right before I see it and that will be the second and last time I do that!
Oh man, I was just wondering if I could pay someone to pull the weeds out of my driveway and also to pressure wash the drive. I know it would look sooo much better if I did these two things but I never feel like doing them. I also don't feel like paying someone to do them... so the weeds continue. I love the swapping idea!
ReplyDeleteI have about 8 retirement accounts and I would love for them to be combined just so I wasn't getting endless statements but cannot be bothered to look into it. So maybe I would put that on my list of things to do too.
The before/after picture of your drive is inspiring though....
For what it is worth, the retirement thing is EASY nowadays, as many can be done online. First though, you should open a Rollover IRA somewhere. Then once you have that info, you can go to your old 401k website and request a rollover. Most of them can be done online with just a simple click of a button (Merrill for instance)! Many of them will send the check straight to your new IRA firm so you don't have to be the middleman. AND you don't have to do them all at once, you can just do one per month or quarter, but it would feel good to get the ball rolling! Or at least pick the low hanging fruit. If you want to tell me which firms you use, I can tell you which ones would be super simple.
DeleteActually I have a question for you. Can you still have a US account? Or is it easier for you to have UK based accounts?
I actually combined my (2 or 3?) retirement accounts in the USA when I was there in 2015 so that's all sorted now. Every time I get a new job over here I seem to end up with a new retirement account. I have so many with very small amounts. They all seem to have the same fee structure so I don't feel the financial urge to combine... I probably could figure out how to do it with a few hours of work. However they are all with different companies, and some of them have even moved between companies... Maybe I should just try combining the ones that exist with the same groups first and then aim to combine them all later.
DeletePlus my husband has a bunch as well, so I should really look to combine his too. It just seems rather.. thankless haha.
I can have US and UK accounts - so my UK jobs are paying into my UK retirement accounts. My old US jobs paid into my US accounts. I still have bank accounts in the USA which I can use for paying US checks or paying other people and I use WISE if I need to transfer money between the two.
Wow, that deck looks great! I haven't personally pressure washed anything but my husband has, and it always looks so good after. I am good at organizing tasks and now, since the move, I feel like I'm good at purging things too! I love a good organizational task. I don't mind housecleaning either, even though it's kind of weird to say that. It's just so satisfying!
ReplyDeleteI actually do not mind housecleaning to a certain extent. I have hardwood and tile and it is dusty here, so I do have to sweep the floors fairly often, but it is one of those things I can do in a few minutes when I have spare time. However, things like cleaning the baseboards is not something I do often, so would be more fun if I had company. I also like purging and organizing, although even that is nicer with some company!
DeleteYes, this makes perfect sense. There are jobs we hate that others love (or, don't hate as much) and vice versa. Brilliant idea to switch tasks with your brother. Now that I think about it, my sister and I do this informally. Like if I have a really irksome phone call to make, sometimes she'll just do it- she has more time in the mornings than I do, and she doesn't mind sitting on hold and waiting. Also, if I'm debating some issue she'll just go ahead and do the research for me and give me the information. Hmm, I have to think about what I do for her in return! I'll have to come up with something.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have a great sister! I really don't mind yard or housework, but I do hate waiting on hold as well! I always put those calls off, even though really the call itself is not difficult! Regarding house/yardwork, it does go a lot faster with another person so both of those things are good "family" activities! My grandma used to say "many hands make light work" and it's true!
DeleteCombining my two 403b retirement accounts this October when the older one can be transferred without penalty (10 year mark).
ReplyDeleteWhat job do I hate doing? Putting away laundry! Making phone calls!
What job do I love doing? Organizing, decluttering, cleaning, planning!
You and I are kindred spirits! I always procrastinate when putting away laundry! Sometimes I have to do it so I can put new dirty clothes in the basket, but I put it off until the last minute! I also am not a huge fan of phone calls, but for some reason, don't mind doing other people's calls or work calls as much as personal calls. I think many times the call is not as bad in reality as it was in my mind, and it does feel so good to get it over with, but I still drag my feet.
DeleteOh how fun! Love that you guys did this. That weeding job is IMPRESSIVE - how did you clear the weeds so well in the gravel? My gravel areas around the house are so weedy and I've always thought I'd need to spray it down to kill them off or really clear them out but that picture gives me hope. Thought I'm guessing it was A LOT of work. I am really feeling the urge to declutter lately - it happens every year at the end of the summer! So I am looking forward to getting to work on some of that this weekend.
ReplyDeleteThat weeding job is Broski all the way. I am an okay weeder, and am quite diligent but he has this magical tool which is a fork on one side and a hoe on the other (like this: https://a.co/d/2X4Hs2j) and he just goes to town on those things. Also he has a leaf blower and a weedwhacker and all of the right tools. I have those things too (not the cool tool) but I just am lazy to get them all out and do all of the work at once. I often weed for a half an hour or an hour after work, as I don't really WANT to spend my entire Saturday doing that (hence the swap), but it is not as effective and the results are not so impressive!
DeleteI love decluttering; I feel like it is so satisfying AND it is almost passive if that makes sense. Meaning you can pour yourself a cup of coffee and put on an audio book and sort things into bins without too much "work." I am getting better and better at it as I get older. I think I used to hold on to memories more, or things I thought I "might use someday" and now I have the freedom to give it to charity and buy it again if I need it (although I still only do that with smaller $ things!)
I feel this way about division of labor in my marriage. Jon and I compliment each other for the most part ;)
ReplyDeleteThat is perfect! I find that this usually works out well in travel too; if the person can do the things you don't love as much or aren't good at, that works out great!
DeleteYour deck looks like new after that pressure washing! It's nice that you and your brother can trade off tasks like this. My stepdad recently waxed my car and I got his a case of beer as payment, haha.
ReplyDeleteI think the thing I would love doing for other people is decluttering and reorganizing their space. I love doing stuff like that - I find it so satisfying, and I like to think I'm good at it, too!
I like the car waxing swap! I don't know how much an actual wax would cost, but I think a case of beer sounds like a good price! My brother and I went home to see my parents last weekend and we washed everyone's car and it was so satisfying to see them all clean (I hate washing my car and/or don't care that much about this always being in top shape) and the work was so easy because my Mom and I did it assembly line style!
DeleteRe organizing, I also find it satisfying, but you have to know the person a little or they have to be very open to letting you do whatever you want and going with your rule/setup.