BUYING USED (Pest Control) +
Baby bottles? I don’t know. Some say “Don’t buy used.” Prepare to be grossed out …
1. BASKETS. Be careful. I was hired once at a nice middle class home, where the owner had scores of baskets as décor. There was a problem. Several baskets were infested with bamboo powder post beetles. As a result, her wood floors and oak dressers were also infested. I’ve also seen baskets infested with German cockroaches and/or bedbugs. Inspect baskets for infestations. Spotting bedbugs or roaches is easy with a strong flashlight (your phone light at brightest setting). A beetle infestation is not so easy. Therefore, avoid bamboo baskets altogether. (Carefully check used wicker items for use inside … headboards, side tables.)
2. HARDWOOD DO-DADS. Here again the culprit is powder post beetles. Any hardwood item which was not kiln-dried can be infested. If the wood has been sealed on all surfaces there is less risk. Unfortunately, most items are not sealed on the bottom. One customer went on vacation to the islands and purchased a beautifully carved turtle. After he brought it home it developed pinholes in the wood and powder spots beneath it. Yup! Powder post beetles.
3. CLOTHES. The moment you arrive home any used clothes you purchased should be laundered. Don’t take anything in the door which you won’t immediately place in the washing machine. Separate the loads outside. Take them in as you can. I cannot tell you how many times people have purchased pest problems with the clothing. This is true for blankets and pillow cases as well. Lots of critters love to hitch-hike. Fleas, roaches, bed bugs, ticks, even ants, silverfish, crickets, and spiders.
4. CARPETS (or anything made from animal hair or leather). Some wool carpets are absolutely stunning. Don’t bite unless you are willing to fork out the money for professional cleaning SOON after purchase. I was invited to a home where the man claimed to be a “collector.” $50,000 worth of carpets were so badly infested with clothes moths that they had to be trashed. There was no way to restore the years the moths had eaten. But that is not the full extent of the possible damage. Imagine what happens to taxidermy and leathers that are infested with moths or beetles. Expensive! Other things in your house become food for these creatures … sweaters, belts, leather shoes, jackets, woolen socks … the list is long. Do the right thing first … it can save a bundle … your home insurance probably won’t cover the damage.
5. MATTRESSES. (OK, who doesn’t know this?) There is absolutely no way to sanitize them. Even if they aren’t “infested” they are a “do not buy” item. As a pest control technician I had to handle thousands of them and I’ve seen, and/or smelled, lots of ick. Another tech told of a mattress he leaned up against a wall and within 10 minutes there was an expanding puddle of pee leaking from it. Eww! Of course, the biggest pest problem is bed bugs, but mattresses can be infested with cockroaches or fleas, too.
REMEMBER (and why):
1. KEYS. Your keys, wallet, glasses, purse, and/or anything that you will pick up at the last second before heading out the door … ALWAYS put them in the very same location. The key to your cabin, or your neighbor’s back door, or the lawnmower … LABEL it (not just put on a funky key ring) and put it in the same location as other occasional keys (in our case, a box in a junk drawer).
2. PASSPORT. A funny thing is that many countries won’t allow you in if the passport will expire in less than 6 months. Renew them 7-12 months before expiration date. Put the reminder in your calendar program (I use an actual calendar).
3. SUBSCRIPTIONS. Many renew automatically. That doesn’t mean you should allow them to do so. In your calendar program, set reminders for subscriptions a month before they renew. If you haven’t used the service, cancel. (We had an auto-renew computer program/app. Before the due date we went to the website and found that we had been paying for Premium, which we didn’t need. We changed to Basic and are saving over $100/year.)
4. ON TIME. I refuse to arrive late, if possible. It actually is possible. I build in three things: a) time to travel, b) time for stops, and c) extra time for trains, road construction, and traffic. That gives me a “leave before” time. My goal is to leave before my “leave before” moment.
5. PHONE. Check this right now … have someone else pick up your phone. If the screen does not give a emergency “If found, call this number _ _ _-_ _ _ _” you should add it. Your phone has everything and if you lose it … so nice to get it back. Plus, unlike mine, your phone probably set you back some serious cash.
6. PENNIES. You have change everywhere in your house and car. Collect it all. Then, carry at least 4 pennies everywhere you go, so that, instead of collecting more useless pennies you can use them to get silver coins. You are helping the government, retailer, and yourself. The government says that over $60 million dollars worth of pennies drop out of circulation every year (never seen again). Stores hate to keep supplies of them. You don’t need more. Pennies are a “stupid” tax. (We should carry “change cards,” but that’s another article.)
7. PLAN ONE MEAL. There is some ingredient in your cupboard you haven’t used in … forever. Plan a meal around it before it goes bad. Do this kind of meal planning for the second Thursday every month instead of ordering pizza. You have stuff. Use it.
[PLEASE NOTE that Don is always open to discussing the thoughts and opinions he shares here and welcomes comments as shared in the comment section. He doesn’t use other social media platforms and won’t see whatever you’d like to share with him if you post it elsewhere.
ALSO, Don is always open to offer his thoughts on various topics. If you have a specific request, you can let him know in a comment; he reads – and replies to – them all. ~ Sherry]
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