Laundry Explosions

Hi there. It's been awhile.

While I've been gone for over a year, I'm still neurotic about the same stuff. As proof, my first post back has a similar theme as the last post before I left: Home Explosions.

Here is a story I heard over the summer. An old lady had a gas dryer (so do we). She smelled gas and went down to the basement to investigate. Realizing it was coming from the dryer she thought it would be a good idea to open the door and air it out. So she did, and the door sparked, igniting the gas-filled bowl inside. The explosion knocked her back, action-movie style. She died.

Crazy way to die, right? The thing is I am certain that I would have done the exact same thing. Have you ever had a pilot light go out on an old gas stove? You open the window to air out the house, right? So that would have been my thought with the dryer. I would have opened the basement window, then opened the dryer. Boom! Dead. I asked my husband what he would have done. Boom! Dead.

So, now I am neurotic about both house fires, AND our poor decision-making skills and lack of common sense.

Forgetting I Remembered to Do Something

The other day I drove 26 miles home from work at lunchtime because I was certain I had left the iron on. I know everyone has had the experience. Turning the iron off, locking the door and other mundane tasks are such an instinctual part of the morning routine you can easily do it without thinking about it, and then it does not register in your brain.

On this day, I simply could not remember turning the iron off. I could not concentrate on work because I kept calculating how much damage an iron could do. Would it ruin the room, or the whole side of the house? How would I know my house had gone up in flames? My neighbor does not have my phone number. Given we have no drapes I think the damage would be relatively minor. Aren't window treatments always the first to go? At least in those old PSAs they were.

Thanks to a forgiving boss who has her own neurotic behavior related to the straightening iron (Turn off, tell yourself you turned it off, unplug, check again) I was able to head home at lunch.

Of course, the iron was not on.

I found this blog post from Apartment Therapy on things to do in order to remember you've turned off an appliance.

A Setback

A few weeks ago I blogged that I had overcome "slow cooker neurosis." I was able to go shopping while leaving the slow cooker on. I was proud. Like anyone dealing with personal demons, I battle everyday to overcome my neurotic behavior. Each day is its own challenge. Today, I lost. If only I had a sponsor I could have called, maybe I'd be at Pottery Barn debating between nickel finish and stainless lamps right now.

I had gone out for errands-- the post office, The Container Store and Pottery Barn. I only made it to the post office before the slow cooker compelled me home.

I'm not making excuses for my self, but I am trying a new recipe and I don't think it has enough liquid in it not to burn.

Now we are (slow) cookin'

Yesterday I conquered a fear. I left the house while my Cuisinart crock pot was running.

In the winter I love making stews and soups in the crock pot-- great comfort food for a cold, winter day. However most crock pot specialties cook for 9-10 hours. With the exception of "work-at-home" days, I am never in my house, and awake, for nine hours.

I had heard that it was safe to leave your house with the crock pot on, although this belies any kitchen-common-sense I ever learned from my neurotic mother. You don't leave your house with the iron on, the stove on, or the oven on, so why is it "ok" to leave with the crock pot cooking? Nevertheless, yesterday as my crock pot made creamy, bacony, clam chowder I left the house to run to Best Buy. In an emboldened act of courage, I also went to Bed, Bath & Beyond. I was gone for a good hour and a half.

I rounded the corner to my circle (stopping to look for children of course) and my stomach felt queasy with butterflies. Joyous day! My house was still standing.

Today I learned it is ok to leave the crock pot on while going out for short errands. I dont think I would leave it for a whole day of work, but for an errand or two, that's fine.

A Hearty Thank You to the CO Detector Inventor

Our heater is working overtime right now. I can tell because it's very loud. Now, it's likely that this is because it is just darn cold outside and we have an old heater. Winter arrived in Boston today.

Of course, as a neurotic wife I think it's loud because the heater is broken and spewing carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas, and in large enough levels it can kill you. I keep wondering, does my head feel light? Is the room spinning? When the room starts to spin, will I have the mental faculty to get out of the house, or should I just leave now as a precaution? Do our carbon monoxide detectors work? (Yes, I just checked.) Phew. How did we ever survive without carbon monoxide detectors in our homes? Thank you CO detector inventor!

The EPA says you should have your gas heater checked before the start of every heating season to ensure it is running properly. We didnt do that this season, and since we just bought the house in June, I dont know if it has ever been done.

How it began

I blame my mother. Actually, "blame" may not be the right word since my mother takes great pride and pleasure in my neurosis. I worry; she thinks, "my job is done."

When I was in college, my brother was in law school and my sister was about to graduate first in her high school class. My mother tied a ribbon around all the beds in our house. "To ward off bad thoughts from others," she said. I had always thought we were liked enough in the community, so this step seemed peculiar. Whenever life is going really well my mother is certain something bad will happen. After 31 years of study I have perfected her thought process.

I am happy. I am happily married to a great man, who just happens to be using paint thinner to clean up our recently painted and expanded closet. He is working in a tight space (the closet). What if he inhales too much paint thinner? How much paint thinner can you inhale before your lungs bleed? If his lungs were bleeding I would call an ambulance. The hospital isn't too far away. This is my thought process.

When I am worried I often turn to the Internet. I just looked up "inhaling paint thinner" and I learned from Wikipedia that you should not drive a car after inhaling paint thinner. Luckily, we are in for the night. It doesn't say anything about bleeding lungs. It looks like I made that up.