gutter cleaning (or a terrifying activity)

When we had our home inspection it was clear that the gutters were not cleaned very often. Or potentially ever.  When Al got up there to inspect the situation it was pretty intense. It was basically a compost pile and there were trees growing. Not little trees, like 18” tall trees!

There was solid dirt in the gutters from years of pine needles and leaves piling up. It wasn’t a hard job, just time-consuming. It was just a matter of scooping everything out and tossing it on the ground, which we then later swept up.

There was one point when I needed to get on the roof into one corner where it was tricky to access the gutters. I learned two things about myself that day. First, I’m clearly petrified of ladders that go as high as roofs. Not so much heights, just ladders I think. Second, afraid or not I’m going to accomplish the task at hand. It was kind of hilarious. I climbed all the way up the ladder, freaked out and came right back down saying I couldn’t do it, nearly hyperventilating and needing to take a seat.

But then I was pissed at myself and was determined to get on that damn roof. And so I did. I climbed it again, got up there, did the job, and then had a mild anxiety attack where for a moment I thought I would be stuck there forever.

I came to my senses and realized I needed to just get back on the ladder. I finally did and felt so proud when I got on the ground. I will not lie, I was yelling for a bicycle helmet and for Al to be ready to catch me (he was holding the ladder) because I was convinced in that moment that I was the size of a sumo wrestler and that the ladder would just collapse.

My god, does homeownership test your limits or what? We were able to get all the gutters cleaned out, sprayed them down to ensure they weren’t clogged and were working properly, and hopefully the job will be easier going forward since we won’t have a massive dirt pile with trees growing in them.

How often are you supposed to clean gutters anyway?!