Blog du Wren

More Housesitting Features

I've often said that my chosen profession, housesitting, is the best job one could have. And it is. I get to stay in nice houses, snuggle on animals*, always shop at new and different grocery stores, and make a little money on the side. But every now and again, there's a different perk, one that I would have never expected going in. I get to see so many neat and different house features.

Sure there's differences in architecture, design, and even stuff as little as appliances. And all those are neat. But recently I came across two house features that I just loved.

I know; this is the lamest picture ever. But it just isn't possible to really encapsulate this neat feature via photography.

I know; this is the lamest picture ever. But it just isn't possible to really encapsulate this neat feature via photography.

Feature 1: Magic sucking wall dustpan*

Central vac was something I only learned about through housesitting. And in my long career, I've come across it enough times for it to become common enough. But this extra use of central vac was just too dang neat. Basically, you just sweep your pile into the wall and it disappears. No more dustpan. No more leaning over. Just sweep and you're done! Not that I'd ever have central vac, because I can't imagine it is very efficient, but I can appreciate a neat feature when I see one.

Feature 2: SECRET BOOKSHELF!!

In movies, it isn't uncommon for the dectecive to snoop around until he finds the secret book on the secret bookshelf that, when pulled, reveals a hidden room*. But those don't exist in the real world, do they? They do! At my current job, THERE IS A HIDDEN ROOM BEHIND A SECRET BOOKCASE! The story goes that the builder/first owner of the house had kids so built in a bunch of neat features like this. Besides the book shelf, there's another mini-room only accessible via crawling under a bed. So neat!

Yeah, housesitting is a pretty dang neat way to pay the bills (or avoid them). I know on all jobs, there is always something new to learn or discover. But with housesitting, you can do it all in your skivvies!

Thursday March 20 2014

File under: work

Toggle Comments (5)

comment?

on Thu 20th Mar, 2014 05:09 pm CDT Saxtor said:
So, what nefarious use are these hidden rooms intended? Besides storing floor sweepings, of course...
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on Sat 22nd Mar, 2014 01:56 am CDT stephanie said:
I had no idea central vacs existed until I was nannying a few years back. The woman asked me to vacuum and showed me the closet where the vacuum attachments were, so later I went to pull them out and I was like, "Where the frick is the actual vacuum??" I told her later I couldn't find it and she was like, "Oh, it attaches to the wall." So I was like, "Oohh, ok." But I still had no idea what she was talking about. The next time I just asked the kids where the vacuum plugged in and they showed me the outlets and I was totally blown away. It was a pretty hilarious scene. That dust pan hole is pretty genius though.

And secret passages, yes! Jason and I were joking the other day about how if we ever build a bigger house there will be rooms that are like 3 feet wide and the rest will all be secret corridors >:)
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on Mon 24th Mar, 2014 12:28 pm CDT Jule said:
What's the title of the book you pull to open the door?
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on Mon 24th Mar, 2014 01:18 pm CDT Wren said:
The Great Escape!
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on Sun 30th Mar, 2014 12:31 pm CDT Mark said:
I think you should install some fake central vac outlets in your new place...just to mess with people!
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