Distraction - Not Finishing the Job

Not finishing is not happening to me, but it is trying to! The carpets are clean, but they have taken overnight to dry. Some are still a little damp. I keep thinking of things to do other than putting the house back together. In the kitchen, I temporarily placed the plastic shelves from the office, which are full of financial reports I have received in the mail and wish I could understand, some old camera equipment that I already brought to the camera store to sell for me on consignment but they wouldn't take, and some precious patent leather shoes that my kids had to have for band but that the current band kids seem to have to have in a different brand. I need to either put these shelves back in the office or clean them off and maybe leave that nice-looking space in the office clean. (I call the second photo, "Even the Dog Leaves When I Put the Shelves Back Next to the Couch.)It's a decision.

Instead of making the decision and getting the shelves out of the kitchen, along with all the other things I have taken off the carpets and end tables and temporarily placed in the kitchen, I keep thinking of things I should get ready to sell on Craig's List, banking statements I should peruse, a balance sheet I should create, and the Netflix DVD of the Gilmore Girls season 3 that I need to finish before Monday.

But the project was to get the carpets cleaned, and that means putting everything back on the carpets or otherwise disposing of things properly. That means upstairs, too. I'll finish it...before I take on any other projects, and as soon as I finish posting my thoughts about it!

Cleaning Downsizes Dirt & Helps Organize

This is the perfect opportunity for getting all the carpets cleaned: no one's around but me for a while, our young adults are planning to visit in a few weeks, and the upstairs was done about a year and a half ago and the downstairs carpets are 2 and 3 years old. I'm ready! The effort of getting as much as possible off the carpets and getting other surfaces cleared so that furniture can be moved is tremendous...especially in a home with too much stuff! Every one of our too-many end tables has too many dustables; these have been moved to the kitchen table, mostly.

My original plan was to take as much off the carpet as possible and move the rest to the hardwood and tile areas. A sudden brainstorm reminded me to leave a large path for the steam and vacuum tubes to run between the driveway and all the carpets. With my free hardwood and tile areas decimated, it still was workable.

Without mentioning names, I will mention that I made one mistake. I was lazy. My daughter was home for the July 4th holiday, and I was too lazy to tell her I was planning to get the carpets cleaned. I didn't ask her to leave her room ready. It wasn't negligence; I kind of felt sorry for her because she has been working outdoors in this searing heat so much lately, and she had to drive 4 hours each way to be here. I wasn't feeling too energetic myself. So the weariness of it all kept my mouth shut. The hardest thing we did over that weekend was put fluids in her car - it entailed a trip to Walmart, complete with asking a man who was also shopping in the automotive area for advice on transmission fluid. There were two kinds, neither of which were actually "transmission fluid." Fortunately, the guy was able to help us. Why the transmission fluid wasn't right next to the two kinds of other transmission things (cleaner? lubricator?)I don't know!

My daughter left her room ready for a room cleaning, not a carpet cleaning. I tackled that one first or I would have never gotten the house ready! I put some of her things on shelves, put clothes into a big plastic laundry basket and stuffed it in the closet, and cleared some things onto the wooden platform that she has as a canopy over her bed.

The other difficult room was the office. There are a lot of things stored on the floor! Plus I did move DHs work table out, by first moving everything from on top and underneath. There is still a snarl of wires about a foot wide and 7 feet long under my work/computer tables. I decided to just leave it there. It's not as if it drops food on the carpet anyway. I'll sit down there and vacuum by hand under it.

I still have more vacuuming to do. I worked hard to get the upstairs vacuumed. It took 5 separate vacuuming sessions. For me, this meant 5 trips upstairs to get the Roomba placed into each room and started. Actually, it took more; some to rescue the Roomba from a tight spot.

The downstairs isn't vacuumed yet. That's today's chore. I have to use the regular vacuum for some of it. Oh, and the stairs! That is the hardest vacuuming of all - note to self: do it first!

Bells Sold, Collection Downsized

Members of the American Bell Association (ABA) are connoisseurs of bells. They know which bells are collectible, and they know which bells they like. Sometimes the two categories don't go together too well. I think most everyone in the group has some bells that are worth money and others that are favorites even though they wouldn't appeal to collectors. At the ABA convention, a group of 150 collectors from all over the country and a few from overseas talked about bells, looked at bells, and bought and sold bells. There were slide shows about such bell categories as Disney bells, hanging bells, and bells with men depicted on them.

There was a "behold room," where several members graciously displayed groups of bells they brought. One table had bells by John Macombie, who may be the most popular bellmaker currently producting metal bells. One table displayed a collection of Chinese enamel bells; the whole table shimmered with bright blue and green tinted bells. The person who essentially planned and ran the convention brought her collection of all things with a flamingo theme.

There was also an auction, lasting 6 hours on Saturday. This was where the most serious buying occurred. I had some serious bells in the auction. Some sold well, although prices were generally low this year.

Also, a "sales room" was open specific hours. I had a sales table. I spent about 20 hours selling bells. It was a lot of fun because of the interest and love of bells expressed by everyone who visited my table...and most everyone did. I went to the convention with 11 boxes of bells to sell and came back with 9 boxes. So, I downsized!

Distraction: I bought 3 bells. I couldn't help getting a little bit into the quest. I bought one bell because it was pretty and a low price, one because I had wanted one like it and had bid on it and lost at the auction...I got the same bell for about 30% less at someone's sales table after the auction! Also, I got one bell that I bid on at the auction. It wasn't a valuable bell, but I liked it and I think my daughter will like it. No one else bid on it, so I got it at the lowest price. I bid on 3 more bells, but it was clear to me in all cases that someone else bidding wouldn't stop raising the price no matter what, so I gave up each time. When I got home, I realized that the bells I bid on and didn't win were not as nice as others like them that I already have. I was mostly glad I didn't win them. After all, I'm downsizing here, not building a collection!

Bells Bells Bells Bells Bells Bells Bells

I have done good work this week. I have prepared 167 bells to bring with me to sell and give away at the American Bell Association Convention! For each bell, I listed it in an Excel file, gave it a price and pricetag, and made sure it is on a photo in my computer. I will bring paper copies of the file, and I will note who buys each bell and the actual price they pay. I like to keep the bells well-organized, so I know for sure where they went and how much money I have made. I have gotten to know the bells, and every now and then I want to check on a specific one. I have also gotten to know some of the bell collectors who have bought my bells (I sold many a few years ago.), so sometimes I check my files to see where a certain bell is or who bought one. For more about the bells and the convention, see my post from February 15th. I have been getting ready for this for months!

Husband Shows Wife How To

Last weekend, while I was away with friends (having lots of laughs, some shopping and even some culture), my husband cleaned his closet. When he told me he had "scheduled" it for while I was away, I knew he meant to roll up his sleeves and super downsize. I wasn't disappointed! He had everything boxed up. I huge box, mostly T-shirts from the 1980s through now, 1 leaf/trash bag full of work jumpsuits for various types of weather, 2 medium-sized boxes, mostly pants and shorts, and about 30-40 shirts and jackets on hangers.

My daughter and I went through the stuff and were able to find some treasures. Although my husband has always been a few sizes larger than me, that doesn't mean he has always been a few sizes larger than any size I have ever been. This means that I am now a size where I can wear some of his old clothes! So I found a pair of jeans that fits me well. My daughter found some useful clothes for working in the field for her environmental cleanup job.

My husband's side of the closet is virtually empty, which showcases the rich tapestry of clothes on my side. My side is neater than it was before I started working on it about 2 years ago, though, and I get a feeling of controlled choice in there: lots of choice but it's under control. I feel like everything in my closet is useful to me, at least at some time of the year! I'm not planning to downsize my clothes much, except to continue slowly getting rid of things I notice that I haven't worn in a year or two and/or that I hate.

Distraction - Diagnosis

Unluckily, I have been diagnosed with an illness and must undergo surgery. This past month the time went to the testing, diagnosing, more testing, researching, and deciding. Another week for surgery and maybe I'll be out of the woods. Other than that, "I don't want to talk about it!"

I did some downsizing during the month, but not much. I went through my displayed bell collection, and my daughter went through hers. We took about 20 bells off the shelves to sell at the convention this June. I went through the bells I have already chosen to sell and chose a bunch for my sales table. I hope the bell collectors will appreciate these gems!

I thought I was so busy, but when disease reared its ugly head, I found time for it, although at the expense of lots of downsizing! I feel fine and will be fine soon!

Distraction - Plumbing

Simple? Of course not! I decided to replace my bathroom faucets because one was leaking and they were all corroded. Simple. So I go to the plumbing supply to look for new fixtures, and what do I see? No faucets in the color that's throughout my bathroom - polished brass! It isn't in style right now. Brushed nickel is in. But my shower is polished brass, and my bathroom window has built-in polished brass mullions among glass block. Lucky me - pretty but not simple.

I had found some faucets at Home Depot when I was shopping for the water heater (see previous distraction). They are polished brass. There were only the 2 sets left, because they were being discontinued. Of course, they were on sale. The Home Depot salesman told me that because they were discontinued, they would eventually be discontinued by their computer system, and in that case I would not be able to return them. So, I decided to get the plumber quickly to install them. I hoped I would be quick enough to be able return them if necessary, in case there was something wrong; ie, before they disappeared form the Home Depot computer system.

The plumber spent several hours. Finally he told me that the "adapter" (remember that word) was too short, so the handle of the faucet didn't quite reach the valve to turn the water on and off. He said that some faucets came with little adapter extenders in case this happened, but there were no extenders in this set.

We phoned the 800 number for the faucets and waited about 45 minutes for help. The help line said there were no adapter extenders for these faucets. I phoned again and waited again and this time they told me they would send me a new set of adapters, which would reach me in 7-10 days.

So the plumber left the bathroom sans faucets. I went in to clean up a bit, and I was taking the faucets apart and putting pieces together at random, when suddenly, I realized that the plumber had the adapters on upside down! The adapter is a cylinder about 1 inch long, but one end is narrower than the other, and when I turned it over and put the faucet together, it worked!

The next day a master plumber came out and spent 4 hours putting everything together. The company didn't charge me. Later that night, I realized that one of the sinks had a leak underneath where the plumber hadn't sealed two pieces together.

I phoned the company about the leak first thing in the morning. A while later, the phone rang. The boss who had sent the master plumber was on the line asking me to pay for some of the job, because when he said I'd get the remainder of the job for free, he hadn't realized that the previous plumber had left everything totally uninstalled. He thought the plumber had installed everything except the adapters and handles.

Ass that I am, I talked this through with this boss and agreed, yes it had seemed a lot of plumbing hours to get for free and sure we'd be glad to pay for another couple of hours. Then it came out that this boss didn't know about the call I had placed in the morning about the leak under the sink!

They'll fix the leak for free, but I'll still be paying those fees I agreed to pay. Had I been a little more adept, I might have embarrassed them into dropping all the charges!