Empty Wallet - Full Pantry

Day Twenty-one - Thirty Days of Thanksgiving

Moving is generally expensive. There are the costs of the actual move (boxes, bubble wrap, tape, etc. moving van, gas, etc.), then there is the cost of all the little things to make the new place work. So here we are all cozy in our new home, left with too much month and not enough money. So I'm grateful for a full pantry from which to plan meals. The encouragement to store food is not just for natural disaster emergencies, but for the common vicissitudes of life, like moving. 

Creating Order Out of Chaos

Day Seventeen - Thirty Days of Thanksgiving

 

We've been in our new home, a small two-story townhouse, for eight full days. It's been almost as much a challenge unpacking and finding places for everything as it was to pack it all up. I grossly over estimated how many books would fit into two seven foot tall, three foot wide bookcases. Oops! I've struggled to put things away in the kitchen with so few drawers, there are three tiny ones, and cabinets that are narrow and deep with a half shelf at the back, except for the one in the corner which is shaped like a piece of pie with the wide end at the back, (who designed that abomination?), and the merry-go-round bottom corner cupboard. Not such a great kitchen for a senior citizen, but I'll get in some good exercise anyway. 

Today I finished putting away the mixing, serving and storing pieces in the kitchen. Then I moved on to setting up the living room which meant putting books on shelves, music cds on shelves, and dvds on shelves; then arranging the couch, ottoman, end tables and lamps, and chair. I even hung up two pieces of art.

I'm so grateful to have been able to create order out of all the chaos. It is now an inviting room--living, dining and kitchen all in one. Not my favorite layout, but I'm pretending it's a large RV and that makes it more acceptable. I'm grateful to have drywall walls instead of plaster, and tightly fitted windows that don't leak, and a heater that's powerful enough to warm the whole place, and a lovely counter in the bathroom to put my lotion on. There is much to be grateful for here.

Experience, Knowledge, Skill

Day Nine - Thirty Days of Thanksgiving

 

Today I'm thankful for all that I've learned in our many moves. I think this move is about number 12 since getting married over 37 years ago. 

• How to pack and label boxes
• How to unpack and find places for everything
• How to arrange furniture to the best advantage
• How to decorate with little money
• How to clean quickly
• How to find my way around a new place
• How to have adventures*

This latest move has gone smoothly so far. I'm still unpacking and putting things away and making lists of needed little things for each room as I recognize them. 

I have lots of other areas of experience, knowledge and skill. Some comes from age, some from study, and some from necessity. I'm grateful for all.

*In our family having an adventure can mean getting lost, either deliberately or inadvertently. We've learned to not panic, but enjoy seeing new places, learning new ways to get somewhere, and finding hidden treasures.

So Many Helpers

Day Seven and Eight - Thirty Days of Thanksgiving

My husband has "un-retired" and taken a shop teacher job again, this time at a school for 9th graders. That necessitated moving from Minnesota back to Iowa, which happened this weekend. Friday night we had a crew from church of 18, including six young male missionaries (at the end I gave them each a hug from grandma!). On Saturday there was another crew from the church where we moved to of about the same number. Both crews worked tirelessly to help us get the big truck loaded and unloaded. 

I'm so grateful to be part of a worldwide community of saints who willingly help each other with big tasks. The members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are so Christlike in the way they put their own needs aside to assist someone else. I want to be able to repay them by serving in some way.

Wednesday's Wisdom

When I was single and living in a downtown San Diego apartment I heard a man at church talk about the single biggest way to save money--Stay put. Don't move from house to house. I didn't appreciate his wisdom then as much as I do now, after marrying an active duty Marine and moving from coast to coast and bouncing around a couple of other states in the middle. Since that time in the apartment I've moved eleven times. Eleven different houses.

Not once have the curtains from one place fit the next. There are always little things left behind that have to be replaced again, and again, and again. And each place seems to need some updating, repairs, and things done that will make the home mine. All of that costs money. I don't think I've ever lived in a house that I considered finished. (Neither did my mom, and she lived in the same place for sixty years!) But you know what I mean. I think she got bored, I'm just trying to make it mine.

So I guess the real wisdom is stay put if you can, become a do-it-yourselfer if you can't.

Here's the latest in my quest to make over this house to suit me.

It began today with some Spring cleaning. I took down plates, dusted shelves, and ceiling fan.

Mr. Movie appeared and I recruited him to replace the awful sconce lights with the new ones.

Nice improvement already.

Now that's more my style!

Mr. Movie had some more time before work so he put up a new ceiling fan/light fixture to replace the old "dentist office" fixture. (Although I couldn't hear it, Noble always complained about a high pitched buzz from that old fixture.)

After all the installation I finished the room by mopping the floor, so all is clean and pretty now from top to bottom!

De-Cluttering Decisions

Now that school is out we are pressing forward with "The Next Big Project" which is to move to the house next door. My parents bought the house in January as a rental investment property and we were supposed to get it ready to rent. As we worked on it we thought it would be a good house for us, especially since it is that much farther away from the "neighbors from hell" on the other side of us. In March we sent a proposal to my parents with two options -- renting from them and buying the house outright from them. They discussed it thoroughly and made their decision. While I was with my Dad after my Mom's funeral he told me their decision was to give us the house as an early inheritance. The legal details will be taken care of later in the summer, but for now we can proceed to prepare the house for us to move into.

Preparation consists of finishing the bathroom remodel (the little old lady had a step-in tub which we took out and putting in a regular tub), cleaning and PAINTING! Finally, after sixteen years I'll have a home that reflects my taste in colors and decor! That hasn't happened since we lived in Mount Vernon, Washington. (Except for a beautiful paint job in the dining room, hallway, and bathroom by my big sister in Midvale; love you D!)

Anyway, part of this move will be a thorough decluttering. Since I know what my "new" house looks like and how much storage there is I can be picky about what I move over there. And if it doesn't fit, it's gone!  (Stop by our HUGE yard sale on June 9.) Our home population has gotten smaller also, the oldest three are gone, pretty much permanently, so for instance, I don't have to keep so much bedding on hand. (Which is what I moved today.)

Beginning tomorrow I'll post some pictures to show our progress.