I am sure that all of you read books about organizing. I have read lots of them over the years (decades?). One of the reasons I started this blog is that circumstances and problems in the books seem so remote from our situation and I am guessing that others feel this way also.
For the past couple of decades husband and I go to a chain book store (which one we go to has changed several times due to store openings and closing) on Friday nights after dinner for someplace to go. I tended to wander around while he looked at what he wanted to look at. I found the section of cartoon books and started reading them - I read quickly and would read while we were there, mark the page where I left off in my small, pocket notebook and pick up again the following week. Then I was wandering around in the book store one night and found a book on a subject I did not know existed - organizing! I started reading that book - one thing it did was tell me that there were people whose homes were much worse than mine. I finished it after a couple of weeks and found another - and another, etc. Every now and then I would have read all the books on organizing and decluttering in whichever book store we were in and I would have to wait until new books were written and arrived. I did this year after year after year. I found that while that while I did not necessarily get a lot of actual help from the books - every now then and idea worked or helped me figure out what would work - it did give me the impetus to keep working on clearing up our house.
Then something else caught my attention. Remember we are reenactors (or living historians which is the classier name). I found “BBC History” magazine. I loved it and decided to subscribe. The US price was $75 and there was no electronic version available in the US. (Yes, I liked it that much. I read nothing in the electronic version, but to get a subscription to this I was willing to.) So instead of reading books on organizing I would instead read the magazine when we at the book store. After several years of doing this, a $45 US subscription was offered this past fall and I can now read the magazine - slowly and savoring every article not rushing through reading what was of the most interest and hoping I made it to the articles of lesser interest as I had to do before at home. (And yes, I did repurpose one of the plastic magazine holders which was leftover when I convinced husband to get rid of the collected issues of a magazine we no longer subscribe to - I am scanning in the articles he is interested in, into the computer for this magazine, but we ended up with a couple of empty magazine holders.)
Also during this period the book store we go to cut their hours back so Friday nights they close an hour earlier than before, so we don’t always get there on Fridays any longer - with the crazy weather we have had, we have not gotten there much at all this year so far. I suggested to husband that we go there once a week in the afternoon for something to do and we did so this past weekend.
I checked the list in my mobile phone and found which books I was in the midst of reading when I switched to reading the BBC magazine and found that one of the books was still on the shelf and I settled into a chair to continue reading from where I left off.
Now I know that our life is different as we have no children and are together and home almost the time. Also we each have a small professional practice which is run from home (which takes much less space since I scanned all of client’s tax returns and papers other than the most recent year into the computer and he has few files) as well as small craft business we also run from home (and none of these make money). But when I started reading this book I was reminded of how the authors tend to think that everyone’s life is the same - or very similar - in what they tell one to do.
Have you found your life to be the same as the lives being organized in books about same?
In the past I attributed the fact that we have no children and much of our “stuff” is work related to what made the books seem lacking in universality to me.
Everyone has sooooo much clothing. Get rid of the excess! Get rid of clothes you have not worn in a year (umm, warm winter, no snow - get rid of my coat and boots that I will need next year? no party this year - dump the party dress I will need again sometime?)! Store your sports equipment like this. Food shop like this. Make separate areas in your kitchen for each type of cooking! Set up your children’s stuff like this! Have a lovely neat walk in area around your door with a mirror and table (room for neither in our entry)! Keep track of all those things you have to do - parties, work events, children’s events like this (if we have one event a year it is a lot)!
I suddenly had an epiphany reading this book as to why what the professional organizers write is so unrelated to reality as husband and I live it - they are dealing with the homes of people rich enough to pay them to come in and organize it for them!! They are not dealing with the homes of people who could never think of paying them as they need their money to pay for the food and house and other items they need.
What made me suddenly realize this?
The author of the book I am currently reading states that one should not buy cheap clothing as it does not last even a year. Surprises me. I have tee shirts that I bought for $8 more than 20 years ago - some have holes or stains and have been made into nightwear, but the others are going strong in my wardrobe. She seems to feel that if that if one “only” spends $100 a piece of clothing it is junk. Do any of you feel this way or spend that much on a piece of clothing? We don’t, well I guess I did, my wedding gown (with hat) was $275 custom made for me - and I thought it a waste of money at the time, but had to make my mother in law to be, happyish. (I wanted to elope.)
Along the same lines as clothing, the author in talking about finding the furniture and storage that one needs in their home says to buy “good quality furniture” and that the sort of furniture Ikea sells will not last at all - not even a year. About half of our furniture is knock down (the sort of furniture, like Ikea’s, that one buys flat and assembles themselves), especially in the office and our studio, as well as storage pieces. I know that some of the “kd” furniture is better quality than others and would rate Ikea’s pretty good. When husband quit his job and we switched to trying support ourselves with our craft business and my tiny accounting practice he constantly complained that his computer desk was not enough space. After a lot of convincing him to change - we bought our first purchases at Ikea - a small computer stand desk and a long table to put next to him (they make and L shape) so he could deal with orders and such easily. (Desk was easy to assemble - table involved much screaming and arguing as more complicated.) 11 years on they are still in great condition. But along with my idea that the professionals are used to working with people able to afford their services, the idea that something reasonably priced - or what I would think is reasonably priced and she would consider cheap, would work well, would not occur to her.
So, I now know why the information in the books seems to not be realistic to me. It is based on a life style and budget beyond ours.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
If you read a book or article about organizing, take into account that the people the professional organizers work with and their problems are probably those of wealthier people. Use the information to help you decide what will work for you, but if it makes no sense for you - remember that it may not be aimed at someone like you (or me). We all have common sense - it is in us somewhere, think about what makes sense to YOU in how to do something.
I know even within our house, what works for me does not work for husband. I like a small work space in our office - he likes a large space to spread out (as per the work table he needed from Ikea). I like to have papers that I am likely to need oftenish in folders in a stack of folder holder trays next to me - he likes all the papers laid out so he can see all of them all the time. It took me decades to convince him to let me sort his shirts by color, now he likes them that way.
What works for you that is not something that works for others? I would love it if some of you would reply to the blog with your thoughts - I know you are out there.
I wish you a Happy Easter or a Happy Passover if either applies to you.
Thursday, March 29, 2018
Thursday, March 22, 2018
AH, THE SECOND DAY OF SPRING
As I write this it is the March 21 - the second day of spring. Also as I write this we are having the 4th nor’easter of the month (yes, month - not year) and the largest snowfall of the season!
But on to a more pleasant subject - income taxes. Was that a sigh I just heard? It is related to organizing you know.
I know that earlier in the year I offered some advice about organizing your papers to do your income taxes this year and to help you do them next year, but this is some encouragement to actually file your taxes. I am aiming this at those of you in the U.S. as that is where I am and the taxes I know about. Again, while I am an accountant and a tax preparer not all advice applies to everyone and you should consult someone about your personal situation and not rely on my comments.
I am going to start with past years’ tax returns. I see you looking around as if to say - “who me?”. Okay I am just imagining that your are doing so.
I have a good friend - the best friend I have had other than family members. She was always one of those last minute filers. Then her husband was unwell and they were also moving their home of decades to another state. She settled her husband into their new home and then had to deal with everything in the old home. She runs a home based online business and the entire house was filled with inventory which had to be moved, plus the normal items one accumulates over decades.
Due to all of this going on at once, she and her husband were not able to file their taxes on time for 2014 - the last year they were in their old home - and I prepared and they filed extensions so they could file later in the year. Of course with the move, the tax items were missing and the return was never prepared. The next year there were medical problems and again, extensions were filed, but no return filed and the same for 2016. I recently contacted her and reminded her that if she did not file her 2014 by April 17 of this year she would lose her refund for 2014. She managed to find the paperwork and the return is out to her for them to sign and file. This also motivated her to find and send me the info for 2015 and 2016 which I will also prepare and send to them.
Do you have old tax returns which have never been filed? You really should file them. If you are entitled to a refund you have 3 years after the due date of the return to file it and still receive the refund. No matter what your politics are - do you really want to let the government keep money owed back to you? In this case the 2014 return was due in April 2015, so if it was not filed by the tax date this year - 3 years after the due date - they would have lost their refund - and so will you if you have one coming and don’t file the return.
Oh, and if you don’t file a return - on time, on extension, or late - you know those rules that the government can’t come after you for taxes still owed to them after a certain period of time - it doesn’t apply if you never filed the return on which they are owed!
So file your old returns that have not been filed - believe me you will sleep better. Then file the return due this April 17 on time. Find the papers now and get the return done on time. If you really can’t get it done on time - file for an extension - it is easy to do this both for IRS and separately for states that have income taxes also. Extension is automatic for 6 months until October 15 when you file the paperwork for IRS and most if not all states with income tax also. But then, make sure you get your paperwork together - if you owe money when you fill you will pay penalty and interest and if you are entitled to a refund - you don’t get interest on it - so get it sooner rather than later.
In any of the above cases, if you are missing information you can request a print out of your account from IRS by telephone or with a form online or by mail to help you.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
If your tax information is a mess - vow to do better this year- start collecting related papers, even if it just to throw it all in a single file folder or into the traditional tax information shoe box. (No really, if you watch old television shows you will hear the shoe box mentioned as where the tax papers are accumulated during the year.
We all hate taxes (yes, even accountants hate dealing with their own taxes - it is the hardest return I do as I have to do the work on the return that I do for others plus I have to do the work they do to prepare for me for my own taxes) - but they do have to be done and the sooner the better and the less complications.
But on to a more pleasant subject - income taxes. Was that a sigh I just heard? It is related to organizing you know.
I know that earlier in the year I offered some advice about organizing your papers to do your income taxes this year and to help you do them next year, but this is some encouragement to actually file your taxes. I am aiming this at those of you in the U.S. as that is where I am and the taxes I know about. Again, while I am an accountant and a tax preparer not all advice applies to everyone and you should consult someone about your personal situation and not rely on my comments.
I am going to start with past years’ tax returns. I see you looking around as if to say - “who me?”. Okay I am just imagining that your are doing so.
I have a good friend - the best friend I have had other than family members. She was always one of those last minute filers. Then her husband was unwell and they were also moving their home of decades to another state. She settled her husband into their new home and then had to deal with everything in the old home. She runs a home based online business and the entire house was filled with inventory which had to be moved, plus the normal items one accumulates over decades.
Due to all of this going on at once, she and her husband were not able to file their taxes on time for 2014 - the last year they were in their old home - and I prepared and they filed extensions so they could file later in the year. Of course with the move, the tax items were missing and the return was never prepared. The next year there were medical problems and again, extensions were filed, but no return filed and the same for 2016. I recently contacted her and reminded her that if she did not file her 2014 by April 17 of this year she would lose her refund for 2014. She managed to find the paperwork and the return is out to her for them to sign and file. This also motivated her to find and send me the info for 2015 and 2016 which I will also prepare and send to them.
Do you have old tax returns which have never been filed? You really should file them. If you are entitled to a refund you have 3 years after the due date of the return to file it and still receive the refund. No matter what your politics are - do you really want to let the government keep money owed back to you? In this case the 2014 return was due in April 2015, so if it was not filed by the tax date this year - 3 years after the due date - they would have lost their refund - and so will you if you have one coming and don’t file the return.
Oh, and if you don’t file a return - on time, on extension, or late - you know those rules that the government can’t come after you for taxes still owed to them after a certain period of time - it doesn’t apply if you never filed the return on which they are owed!
So file your old returns that have not been filed - believe me you will sleep better. Then file the return due this April 17 on time. Find the papers now and get the return done on time. If you really can’t get it done on time - file for an extension - it is easy to do this both for IRS and separately for states that have income taxes also. Extension is automatic for 6 months until October 15 when you file the paperwork for IRS and most if not all states with income tax also. But then, make sure you get your paperwork together - if you owe money when you fill you will pay penalty and interest and if you are entitled to a refund - you don’t get interest on it - so get it sooner rather than later.
In any of the above cases, if you are missing information you can request a print out of your account from IRS by telephone or with a form online or by mail to help you.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
If your tax information is a mess - vow to do better this year- start collecting related papers, even if it just to throw it all in a single file folder or into the traditional tax information shoe box. (No really, if you watch old television shows you will hear the shoe box mentioned as where the tax papers are accumulated during the year.
We all hate taxes (yes, even accountants hate dealing with their own taxes - it is the hardest return I do as I have to do the work on the return that I do for others plus I have to do the work they do to prepare for me for my own taxes) - but they do have to be done and the sooner the better and the less complications.
Thursday, March 15, 2018
THE NOR'EASTERS CONTINUE - SO MORE ON ORGANIZING IN ADVANCE OF DISASTERS
Well, we have now had 3 nor’easters in 10 days. Another is now due in early next week. That’s a lot of nor’easters. Additional today we had extremely light snow in the late afternoon. Tomorrow I am going to Manhattan for work - it was suppose to be a completely clear day - no, now during the evening rush hour there is to be snow or rain - at just about freezing temperature and I will be driving home. There was a time when I would not even blink at the idea of driving home in snow - now even rain if it might freeze on the road worries me.
As of last Saturday afternoon (a week after the first storm and 3 days after the second storm) there were 300,000 electric outages in the tri state area - most still out from the first storm. And outage is not necessarily one family’s outage - a single outage can be for an apartment building (or businesses) and may actually be lots of families with no electricity. There are still outages.
We were lucky though. The exact spot we live in was treated very gently by all 3 storms. The first storm had almost no snow - here. The second two we had maybe 3 inches of snow each overnight and by the time we went out the next afternoon - it was 95% or more melted and gone. The first storm passed to the west of us - the second one to west and east of us (at the same time) and the third one passed to the east of us. According to the news broadcasts the second two storms dropped 6+ inches of snow in our county - how all missed us we do not know and feel lucky.
So, a bit more about suggestions to organize in advance of possible weather or other emergencies. I know it recommended to have a gallon of water per person for 3 days minimum. I don’t know about you, but when we tried to do this we had no place to keep the water. We finally settled for 2- 1 gallon bottles of water stored in the basement on the top shelf of a metal shelving unit. I would use the water for a reenactment event when time was getting close for the water to expire and then use the new water bought for the event to replace it so it would stay fresh. So - if you do buy water - make sure you keep the water fresh.
We also had a plastic box that we put a jar of applesauce in and some other food items - no canned meat as we know we would not eat it. Again, make sure to use your supplies and replace them so they are fresh if needed. We also bought a sterno stove with cans of sterno which were in the box. It has never been used - we presume it is all still good.
As I mentioned in last week’s post - if you have babies or small children, make sure to have the food they use which does not need refrigeration as well as diapers and related items if they are still being used. Also make sure you have spare medications for any ailments or conditions and any sanitary items you or other women in the household might need.
We had thought much of this was overkill as we had never needed it despite nor’easters and hurricanes over the decades we have both been alive. If one community in the area was without electricity, then others would still have electricity and one could eat out and buy supplies as needed elsewhere. We have always been told to fill bathtubs with water which can be used for flushing toilets if there is no water or the water is not good. We have municipal water - this has never happened so we did not bother. Then came Hurricane Sandy.
Just about the entire Island (4 counties) was without electricity - there were a few spots here and there. Some villages have their own electric plants - off the grid - and always have electricity - well, some of them were the places the flooding hit the worst and even they did not have electricity. One village near my mom’s house did have electricity - she would go there once during the day to a casual type restaurant that was open and she would call us on her mobile phone, recharge it, and eat.
Mobile phones might or might not work, by the way. The antennas had been damaged and the remaining available was overwhelmed. One trick was that text messages go through easier than phone calls - something my niece had figured out in an earlier problem when she was a young teenager. She and some friends were at a mall some distance from home and she wanted her mom to not worry as they were okay (mall security had actually gotten all the kids together to be able to keep them safe) and to know where to pick them up - her mobile calls would not go through and she thought to text her mom. So remember, texts go through sometimes even if calls do not.
One of the county water plants had a sewage plant near it go bad - we are on one side of a major road - we had water. If we lived on the other side of the road we would have been on the that water system - we would not have had water.
Now, we had a certain advantage during Sandy and mostly used since then. We were about to go away on a trip in our RV when Sandy was coming - two days after it actually. So, we did not know what to do. There is a lot of work setting up the RV for a trip. I suggested to husband that we fill the water tank of the RV - if we could go, it was a major thing done to prepare, if we did not go and there was a problem with the drinking water (remember this is before it actually happened to the next area) we would have 25 gallons of clean water in the RV tanks - and if we did not go and did not need the water, it is relatively easy to let it back out. We have continued to fill the water tanks when a storm is coming if it is coming when the tanks are not winterized. Winterizing keeps the pipes and valves from freezing so we would not want to take the chance on same and add water to the tanks - also the water, while safe, it would smell and taste awful.
In addition after the first day and night with no electricity I figured out that we could go in the RV and watch TV - there is an antenna that lifts up and the batteries are kept charged. Husband calculated and figured out that we could run the TV and lights - and recharge cell phones, laptops, etc. - for 2 hours on the batteries (they would last much longer but would need to be recharged) and then run the generator in the RV for an hour which would also recharge the batteries from the 2 hours of use. Most importantly in the aftermath of Sandy when gasoline was extremely hard to get - it would only take 1/3 of a gallon of gas. We also used the propane stove in the RV to cook. We could not use the refrigerator as we would have had to have the batteries on all time.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Okay, I have run on and bored you enough what does all this mean?
One has to plan in advance “just in case”. Even if there has never been a problem in large storms, one never knows what will happen. Think of who is in your household - or might seek shelter with you if you have parents, siblings or children or good friends who might need help in an emergency. Think of what you and the others might need and try to figure out innovative ways to deal with same, in addition to the standard ways. Have alternate ideas of what to do.
Plan alternatives. You never know what might happen out of the ordinary for emergencies in your area. After Sandy all the bridges and tunnels to our Island were shut down - no way in or out except for official vehicles. Tunnels remained flooded for some time - damage in them is still be repaired now - 6 years later.
Hopefully you will never need what you have planned and stored - but that is much, much better than needing it and not having it.
As of last Saturday afternoon (a week after the first storm and 3 days after the second storm) there were 300,000 electric outages in the tri state area - most still out from the first storm. And outage is not necessarily one family’s outage - a single outage can be for an apartment building (or businesses) and may actually be lots of families with no electricity. There are still outages.
We were lucky though. The exact spot we live in was treated very gently by all 3 storms. The first storm had almost no snow - here. The second two we had maybe 3 inches of snow each overnight and by the time we went out the next afternoon - it was 95% or more melted and gone. The first storm passed to the west of us - the second one to west and east of us (at the same time) and the third one passed to the east of us. According to the news broadcasts the second two storms dropped 6+ inches of snow in our county - how all missed us we do not know and feel lucky.
So, a bit more about suggestions to organize in advance of possible weather or other emergencies. I know it recommended to have a gallon of water per person for 3 days minimum. I don’t know about you, but when we tried to do this we had no place to keep the water. We finally settled for 2- 1 gallon bottles of water stored in the basement on the top shelf of a metal shelving unit. I would use the water for a reenactment event when time was getting close for the water to expire and then use the new water bought for the event to replace it so it would stay fresh. So - if you do buy water - make sure you keep the water fresh.
We also had a plastic box that we put a jar of applesauce in and some other food items - no canned meat as we know we would not eat it. Again, make sure to use your supplies and replace them so they are fresh if needed. We also bought a sterno stove with cans of sterno which were in the box. It has never been used - we presume it is all still good.
As I mentioned in last week’s post - if you have babies or small children, make sure to have the food they use which does not need refrigeration as well as diapers and related items if they are still being used. Also make sure you have spare medications for any ailments or conditions and any sanitary items you or other women in the household might need.
We had thought much of this was overkill as we had never needed it despite nor’easters and hurricanes over the decades we have both been alive. If one community in the area was without electricity, then others would still have electricity and one could eat out and buy supplies as needed elsewhere. We have always been told to fill bathtubs with water which can be used for flushing toilets if there is no water or the water is not good. We have municipal water - this has never happened so we did not bother. Then came Hurricane Sandy.
Just about the entire Island (4 counties) was without electricity - there were a few spots here and there. Some villages have their own electric plants - off the grid - and always have electricity - well, some of them were the places the flooding hit the worst and even they did not have electricity. One village near my mom’s house did have electricity - she would go there once during the day to a casual type restaurant that was open and she would call us on her mobile phone, recharge it, and eat.
Mobile phones might or might not work, by the way. The antennas had been damaged and the remaining available was overwhelmed. One trick was that text messages go through easier than phone calls - something my niece had figured out in an earlier problem when she was a young teenager. She and some friends were at a mall some distance from home and she wanted her mom to not worry as they were okay (mall security had actually gotten all the kids together to be able to keep them safe) and to know where to pick them up - her mobile calls would not go through and she thought to text her mom. So remember, texts go through sometimes even if calls do not.
One of the county water plants had a sewage plant near it go bad - we are on one side of a major road - we had water. If we lived on the other side of the road we would have been on the that water system - we would not have had water.
Now, we had a certain advantage during Sandy and mostly used since then. We were about to go away on a trip in our RV when Sandy was coming - two days after it actually. So, we did not know what to do. There is a lot of work setting up the RV for a trip. I suggested to husband that we fill the water tank of the RV - if we could go, it was a major thing done to prepare, if we did not go and there was a problem with the drinking water (remember this is before it actually happened to the next area) we would have 25 gallons of clean water in the RV tanks - and if we did not go and did not need the water, it is relatively easy to let it back out. We have continued to fill the water tanks when a storm is coming if it is coming when the tanks are not winterized. Winterizing keeps the pipes and valves from freezing so we would not want to take the chance on same and add water to the tanks - also the water, while safe, it would smell and taste awful.
In addition after the first day and night with no electricity I figured out that we could go in the RV and watch TV - there is an antenna that lifts up and the batteries are kept charged. Husband calculated and figured out that we could run the TV and lights - and recharge cell phones, laptops, etc. - for 2 hours on the batteries (they would last much longer but would need to be recharged) and then run the generator in the RV for an hour which would also recharge the batteries from the 2 hours of use. Most importantly in the aftermath of Sandy when gasoline was extremely hard to get - it would only take 1/3 of a gallon of gas. We also used the propane stove in the RV to cook. We could not use the refrigerator as we would have had to have the batteries on all time.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Okay, I have run on and bored you enough what does all this mean?
One has to plan in advance “just in case”. Even if there has never been a problem in large storms, one never knows what will happen. Think of who is in your household - or might seek shelter with you if you have parents, siblings or children or good friends who might need help in an emergency. Think of what you and the others might need and try to figure out innovative ways to deal with same, in addition to the standard ways. Have alternate ideas of what to do.
Plan alternatives. You never know what might happen out of the ordinary for emergencies in your area. After Sandy all the bridges and tunnels to our Island were shut down - no way in or out except for official vehicles. Tunnels remained flooded for some time - damage in them is still be repaired now - 6 years later.
Hopefully you will never need what you have planned and stored - but that is much, much better than needing it and not having it.
Thursday, March 8, 2018
PREPARING FOR EMERGENCIES
As I write this we are on the tail end of nor’easter - our area is the only area still getting snow and rain, but then again we have had a lot less snow than most other areas. For those of you who do not know what a nor’easter is, think of it as nontropical hurricane. There is wind. The storm is rotating so that the winds come from the north east (hence, its name). There can be heavy rain or heavy snow - or a mix. This is our second nor’easter this week and there is a possibility of a third one on this coming Monday (which would make 3 in 10 days). The first one was just rain, but had wind gusts up to 70 mph in some places. This one had wind that was not as bad, but had the snow and there is a problem as the ground is so saturated in some areas that the wind can easily take over trees whose roots were flooded by the first one. Tens of thousands of people who lost their electricity in the first storm, still do not have their same back from then - plus the those now without electricity. They hope to have those who are still waiting from the first storm back on electricity by Friday - a week since they lost their electricity.
Husband got through last week’s storm relatively well. In case you don’t remember he has become “weatherphobic”. He is terrified of our losing our electricity - and therefore heat - and of digging out from snow - due to several years of repeated huge snow storms (20 inches, two days later 20 inches, repeat) and 3 extended blackouts after hurricanes within 2 years of each other - and in one case the electricity came back on finally and the next day we had one of these nor’easters and lost it again.
Our biggest problem with last week’s storm was that late that night he noticed a strange light on our 3 in 1 in the office that the fax has no phone line. So I telephoned the phone company and made an appointment with their computer to have our phone line fixed. I was lacking information from the computer call and called back the next day (all this calling being done on my mobile phone of course) to get additional information - some of which matched and some of which did not match what the computer told me - no one has to be home/someone over 18 must be home, repair will be done by 8 pm (what start time is one of the reasons I called)/the repair will be done between 8 am and 5pm and so on. I had specifically answered NO to being texted so of course the phone company kept texting me - glad I don’t have the plan that charged me 25c a text as there have been a lot of them. I called my mom and told her. I emailed my sisters and the president of my embroidery chapter and told them - all told to call on my mobile. The appointment was for - Wednesday, today. My embroidery chapter was to meet for the month - Wednesday, today.
We do a variety of things to prepare ahead of a big storm. If it was summer we would have filled our RV’s water tanks, but this time of year we can not do so as pipes and valves might freeze. It was to be warm enough both times so we did not have to worry about the pipes in our basement freezing though - or we would have plugged in an electric heater to keep them warm.
In the old days when husband went out to work and I did the preparation (and he was not terrified as mentioned above) I would fill the gas tank in my car. I actually did this whenever something happened or was going to happen. After hearing of the 9-11 attacks, I filled my car tank. Gas prices announced to go up, I filled my car tank. Storm coming, I filled my car tank. Husband used to laugh at me until the gas (petrol) stations either did not have gas or could not pump as they had no electricity after Hurricane Sandy - now he makes sure all 3 vehicles have enough gas in them when a storm is coming.
In the summer I tend to keep refrigerated food at close to minimal amounts so that if we lose electricity we do not lose much - we had to dump out what was in our fridge and freezer 3 times in just over a year due to hurricanes. In the winter I tend to keep more in the house as I am concerned about snow coming and not being able to go out for food - and if it is cold enough we can put the refrigerated food in plastic boxes outside in the cold. But, whatever we have, he goes shopping. This time I got him to go 2 days before the storm, instead of the day before when all the rest of the panickers are shopping -lines are long and food short. We went in and bought cans of soup - we can always use them - and a bit of “snack” as well as milk (we needed it anyway) and hot cereal (ditto). No lines. When we walked out he looked a bit relieved - we could probably live a month on what was in the house anyway, but if it helps him feel better...
When something like this is going to happen we plug in everything to charge it. The lantern from our RV is brought into the house and its batteries charged (it also takes regular batteries). Our laptops are left plugged in to charge. Our mobile phones (including my old one that I use as a PDA) are left plugged in to charge. This time it was even more important to have the mobile phones charging as the house phone is down.
So, we finished making ready - much of it to reassure him.
Now, remember, the storm was coming today - today is, believe or not, the same Wednesday that the my embroidery chapter meets and the phone company was coming to fix our telephone!
Yesterday afternoon I telephoned the chapter president (I am also an officer) to ask about canceling the meeting - as schools were already canceling for today. She was surprised to hear how a big storm was coming (as she was last month) and had planned to wait until evening to decide about the meeting. She agreed we should cancel it and I sent out an email to the members. I thought we should call them also (8 calls for each of us would taken care of it) but she said no - they would have the email and/or would call her or me - I reminded her that they could not call me and I hoped they would call her if they had a question.
I have mentioned that I do my laundry on Wednesday and Thursday nights. I washed and dried all waiting laundry last night - Tuesday. If we lose electricity we would at least have clean clothes and towels for 2 weeks. It has not been folded, but, hey, one can fold without electricity.
This morning I woke early and dressed and went back to bed - as we were not sure when - or if (since there was to be the storm) the phone repairman would come or if he would be ringing our doorbell. I am not a morning person and this is how I deal with anyone who is coming early or makes an “be there sometime during the day” appointment. Later in the morning while still in bed I got still another text from the phone company asking if the problem was resolved (I got about 3 of these since the request for repair). Husband picked up the house phone to see and there was a dial tone - a buzz on the line, but that could be do to the storm. A short while later I got a phone call - hung up after 2 rings - also from the phone company and I called back and spoke with a nice fellow who called the house and made sure our phone was working. One problem down - I hope.
When we got up for the day husband started to panic about what we would eat this evening if we lost the electricity. I opened the refrigerator and took out the bread, peanut butter, “American cheese”, and jelly and put the piece of mozzarella cheese and package of cream cheese that we have on the top shelf next to where the refrigerator door opens so they could be grabbed quickly if there was no electricity. I showed this all to him and reassured him. I also reminded him that we have sterno and I could cook soup in the porch. He then remembered we could cook in the RV if we needed to and felt better. The food is still sitting next to the fridge and I will put it away before we go to bed tonight and will unplug everything sitting and charging.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Make sure you are prepared for emergencies.
If you won’t eat canned meat - don’t buy it. Think ahead of what you might need.
I made sure Saturday night when I refilled our pill boxes for the week that we had enough medications.
If you have a baby make sure you have whatever you need for the baby - the same for a person who needs care in your household -even sanitary items if it might be “that time of the month”.
I paid all bills due out before the middle of next week and transferred enough money to pay them and have some cash in the checking account and made sure we had some cash at home (not much - what we have for the week plus and extra hundred dollars) just in case.
I had finished a business tax return for a client which has to go out by next Thursday. I go in to do her books, write the tax checks and help her sign the forms and put them in addressed envelopes to be mailed out right away when I am there. I had not copied and assembled the returns. It dawned on me that if there is another storm on Monday - and who knows what is coming after that - I might not get to her in time to send out the returns. So, Monday night I copied and assembled the returns and wrote instructions - including that I plan to be there to send them out and would call her if I was not able to be there and to help her deal with them. They went out in yesterday’s mail to her. I will call tomorrow to check with her about it.
Think about what you and your family needs if you can’t go out or have no electricity for a few days ahead of time so you know what to do and you don’t panic if something is coming.
Husband got through last week’s storm relatively well. In case you don’t remember he has become “weatherphobic”. He is terrified of our losing our electricity - and therefore heat - and of digging out from snow - due to several years of repeated huge snow storms (20 inches, two days later 20 inches, repeat) and 3 extended blackouts after hurricanes within 2 years of each other - and in one case the electricity came back on finally and the next day we had one of these nor’easters and lost it again.
Our biggest problem with last week’s storm was that late that night he noticed a strange light on our 3 in 1 in the office that the fax has no phone line. So I telephoned the phone company and made an appointment with their computer to have our phone line fixed. I was lacking information from the computer call and called back the next day (all this calling being done on my mobile phone of course) to get additional information - some of which matched and some of which did not match what the computer told me - no one has to be home/someone over 18 must be home, repair will be done by 8 pm (what start time is one of the reasons I called)/the repair will be done between 8 am and 5pm and so on. I had specifically answered NO to being texted so of course the phone company kept texting me - glad I don’t have the plan that charged me 25c a text as there have been a lot of them. I called my mom and told her. I emailed my sisters and the president of my embroidery chapter and told them - all told to call on my mobile. The appointment was for - Wednesday, today. My embroidery chapter was to meet for the month - Wednesday, today.
We do a variety of things to prepare ahead of a big storm. If it was summer we would have filled our RV’s water tanks, but this time of year we can not do so as pipes and valves might freeze. It was to be warm enough both times so we did not have to worry about the pipes in our basement freezing though - or we would have plugged in an electric heater to keep them warm.
In the old days when husband went out to work and I did the preparation (and he was not terrified as mentioned above) I would fill the gas tank in my car. I actually did this whenever something happened or was going to happen. After hearing of the 9-11 attacks, I filled my car tank. Gas prices announced to go up, I filled my car tank. Storm coming, I filled my car tank. Husband used to laugh at me until the gas (petrol) stations either did not have gas or could not pump as they had no electricity after Hurricane Sandy - now he makes sure all 3 vehicles have enough gas in them when a storm is coming.
In the summer I tend to keep refrigerated food at close to minimal amounts so that if we lose electricity we do not lose much - we had to dump out what was in our fridge and freezer 3 times in just over a year due to hurricanes. In the winter I tend to keep more in the house as I am concerned about snow coming and not being able to go out for food - and if it is cold enough we can put the refrigerated food in plastic boxes outside in the cold. But, whatever we have, he goes shopping. This time I got him to go 2 days before the storm, instead of the day before when all the rest of the panickers are shopping -lines are long and food short. We went in and bought cans of soup - we can always use them - and a bit of “snack” as well as milk (we needed it anyway) and hot cereal (ditto). No lines. When we walked out he looked a bit relieved - we could probably live a month on what was in the house anyway, but if it helps him feel better...
When something like this is going to happen we plug in everything to charge it. The lantern from our RV is brought into the house and its batteries charged (it also takes regular batteries). Our laptops are left plugged in to charge. Our mobile phones (including my old one that I use as a PDA) are left plugged in to charge. This time it was even more important to have the mobile phones charging as the house phone is down.
So, we finished making ready - much of it to reassure him.
Now, remember, the storm was coming today - today is, believe or not, the same Wednesday that the my embroidery chapter meets and the phone company was coming to fix our telephone!
Yesterday afternoon I telephoned the chapter president (I am also an officer) to ask about canceling the meeting - as schools were already canceling for today. She was surprised to hear how a big storm was coming (as she was last month) and had planned to wait until evening to decide about the meeting. She agreed we should cancel it and I sent out an email to the members. I thought we should call them also (8 calls for each of us would taken care of it) but she said no - they would have the email and/or would call her or me - I reminded her that they could not call me and I hoped they would call her if they had a question.
I have mentioned that I do my laundry on Wednesday and Thursday nights. I washed and dried all waiting laundry last night - Tuesday. If we lose electricity we would at least have clean clothes and towels for 2 weeks. It has not been folded, but, hey, one can fold without electricity.
This morning I woke early and dressed and went back to bed - as we were not sure when - or if (since there was to be the storm) the phone repairman would come or if he would be ringing our doorbell. I am not a morning person and this is how I deal with anyone who is coming early or makes an “be there sometime during the day” appointment. Later in the morning while still in bed I got still another text from the phone company asking if the problem was resolved (I got about 3 of these since the request for repair). Husband picked up the house phone to see and there was a dial tone - a buzz on the line, but that could be do to the storm. A short while later I got a phone call - hung up after 2 rings - also from the phone company and I called back and spoke with a nice fellow who called the house and made sure our phone was working. One problem down - I hope.
When we got up for the day husband started to panic about what we would eat this evening if we lost the electricity. I opened the refrigerator and took out the bread, peanut butter, “American cheese”, and jelly and put the piece of mozzarella cheese and package of cream cheese that we have on the top shelf next to where the refrigerator door opens so they could be grabbed quickly if there was no electricity. I showed this all to him and reassured him. I also reminded him that we have sterno and I could cook soup in the porch. He then remembered we could cook in the RV if we needed to and felt better. The food is still sitting next to the fridge and I will put it away before we go to bed tonight and will unplug everything sitting and charging.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Make sure you are prepared for emergencies.
If you won’t eat canned meat - don’t buy it. Think ahead of what you might need.
I made sure Saturday night when I refilled our pill boxes for the week that we had enough medications.
If you have a baby make sure you have whatever you need for the baby - the same for a person who needs care in your household -even sanitary items if it might be “that time of the month”.
I paid all bills due out before the middle of next week and transferred enough money to pay them and have some cash in the checking account and made sure we had some cash at home (not much - what we have for the week plus and extra hundred dollars) just in case.
I had finished a business tax return for a client which has to go out by next Thursday. I go in to do her books, write the tax checks and help her sign the forms and put them in addressed envelopes to be mailed out right away when I am there. I had not copied and assembled the returns. It dawned on me that if there is another storm on Monday - and who knows what is coming after that - I might not get to her in time to send out the returns. So, Monday night I copied and assembled the returns and wrote instructions - including that I plan to be there to send them out and would call her if I was not able to be there and to help her deal with them. They went out in yesterday’s mail to her. I will call tomorrow to check with her about it.
Think about what you and your family needs if you can’t go out or have no electricity for a few days ahead of time so you know what to do and you don’t panic if something is coming.
Thursday, March 1, 2018
VERY FRUSTRATING WEEK
We had a very frustrating week. Husband has been weaving a scarf for me. He is using a yarn that he had used before - lighter in weight than most yarns he works with and thinner. I like a light weight scarf. He bought a skein each of light and dark blue - my favorite color.
The first sign that this project was not going to be as simple to do as past weaving projects was when we set up loom to do the weaving. To do this we have to run long pieces of yarn which are attached to the loom on each of the two ends of the pieces of yarn and stretched out tight between them. When we did this we saw something we have never seen before. The yarns pieces, parallel to each other, were pushing away from each other - static electricity. Remember, he has used this yarn before. We ignored this and went ahead. There are various other steps to setting up the yarn to be woven through and they were hard to do as the pieces of yarn kept pushing away from each other.
Well, this is a bit like the frustrating things which happen when we try to organize and declutter. Dividers we know will fit in a space do not. We start doing one part of a project and find ourselves led into another project. But, we carry on trying to get the end of the project.My part in the weaving is done after the loom is set up and I left husband to work.
The easy part of the weaving follows - the actual weaving. Yarn wrapped around a long piece of wood - the shuttle - is pushed through the yarn pieces that have been tied onto the loom. Then the yarn that has been taken through is pushed against what has already been woven in a process called “beating”. Then the yarn pieces on the loom are switched so what was up is now down and vice versa and the process is repeated. On the kind of loom my husband has - with a solid bar that the yarns on the loom have been tied through to lift them up and down - the same bar is used to beat the yarn after each pass - the yarn passing through alternate holes and slots in the bar.
Husband, upset, comes upstairs. He is having a problem. Apparently the yarn that he was using is yarn wrapped around a core thread - we did not know this. At one spot on one piece of tied on yarn the wrapping had unwrapped and was being pushed backwards as he used the bar as a beater - a bunch of fluff sitting on the wrong side of the bar. We managed to get the fluff through to the right side and he glued it in place not knowing what else to do and left it to dry.
Again, similar to doing organizing - if we hit a snag (which is what this was) we try to fix it and move on.
The glue was not enough to hold the wrapped yarn in place, so we repeated getting it through to the right side and then husband kept weaving, but used a large comb as a beater - needing to repeat this several times across the loom for each cross thread being woven.
Along the way a second spot on the same yarn had the same problem. We again pulled it through and glued it into place and husband kept working with the comb.
Well sure, we have all had the same problem repeat - perhaps magazines which are sorted for storage and then additional magazines are found and they all have to be sorted again.
Finally all of the problem yarn was woven into the piece. Husband looked and the rest of the yarn he could see looked fine and he relaxed and went back to his regular manner of weaving. Happy that he was making something for me and it would be greatly appreciated.
Suddenly he is back upstairs. The same problem on the same yarn piece has appeared again in a new spot! At this point he could not deal with it and he decided that the piece had to be finished, even if it was not long enough to be a scarf.
Frustration - we all know this feeling when organizing - what we think will work does not. The time we think something will take is underestimated. Mostly we go on, but sometimes something is so impossible that we have to stop and figure out an alternative.
I know the work he had put into the piece and how disappointed he was that something he was making special for me did not work out. I figured I would take the short piece when it is finished, and use it a table runner or mat (depending on how long it is). It turned out to be long enough for me to use as a scarf - although it will get a bit smaller when it is finished (washed to set it), so I will be able to use it as scarf and show it off to friends as something special he has made for me.
Again, sometimes an idea we have had about how to organize something does not work out - and we must rethink what can be done - how the containers or dividers can be repurposed to be used.
Yesterday we set up the loom for a new project for him - with a more basic yarn which he uses much more often. He has been happily weaving since then.
Similarly, if a project to improve our organization goes awry we must go on and continue doing what else is needed for us to clear clutter away and organize.
He had bought 2 other skeins of the yarn that he had problem with in other colors (it was a sale) and I have pulled the receipt for them and we will be returning them. After all, if they stayed around and he would not feel comfortable using them, we would just be adding to the clutter in the house in addition to being out the cost of them.
Just to add to this week’s frustration, we are suppose to go to a woodworking show (he is a man of many crafts) this weekend. The show is in the next state and is here only once a year. While he does not buy much - if anything - he had in mind to buy a few very small, inexpensive items which are not sold locally (and we don’t like to order things) and it is something different to do and see. So far in this year’s planning to go we have dealt with it being moved to a different venue - not an easy one to get to - and the fact that there seems to be no place nearby for a quick, cheap lunch - found a place 15 minutes away, we hope - and now - the rain and wind storm that is coming may also have - snow. Snow would be a deal breaker and he would have to miss the show - or what is known around here as the typical end to a planned trip.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Frustrating things happen. Things go wrong. All we can do is look at what went wrong and what we can do to deal with what happened. It is life and it just must be dealt with. Sometimes the alternatives are better than the original idea - based on the length of the finished scarf, if he had made the entire scarf he planned, it would have been much longer than I wanted - sometimes they are not.
The first sign that this project was not going to be as simple to do as past weaving projects was when we set up loom to do the weaving. To do this we have to run long pieces of yarn which are attached to the loom on each of the two ends of the pieces of yarn and stretched out tight between them. When we did this we saw something we have never seen before. The yarns pieces, parallel to each other, were pushing away from each other - static electricity. Remember, he has used this yarn before. We ignored this and went ahead. There are various other steps to setting up the yarn to be woven through and they were hard to do as the pieces of yarn kept pushing away from each other.
Well, this is a bit like the frustrating things which happen when we try to organize and declutter. Dividers we know will fit in a space do not. We start doing one part of a project and find ourselves led into another project. But, we carry on trying to get the end of the project.My part in the weaving is done after the loom is set up and I left husband to work.
The easy part of the weaving follows - the actual weaving. Yarn wrapped around a long piece of wood - the shuttle - is pushed through the yarn pieces that have been tied onto the loom. Then the yarn that has been taken through is pushed against what has already been woven in a process called “beating”. Then the yarn pieces on the loom are switched so what was up is now down and vice versa and the process is repeated. On the kind of loom my husband has - with a solid bar that the yarns on the loom have been tied through to lift them up and down - the same bar is used to beat the yarn after each pass - the yarn passing through alternate holes and slots in the bar.
Husband, upset, comes upstairs. He is having a problem. Apparently the yarn that he was using is yarn wrapped around a core thread - we did not know this. At one spot on one piece of tied on yarn the wrapping had unwrapped and was being pushed backwards as he used the bar as a beater - a bunch of fluff sitting on the wrong side of the bar. We managed to get the fluff through to the right side and he glued it in place not knowing what else to do and left it to dry.
Again, similar to doing organizing - if we hit a snag (which is what this was) we try to fix it and move on.
The glue was not enough to hold the wrapped yarn in place, so we repeated getting it through to the right side and then husband kept weaving, but used a large comb as a beater - needing to repeat this several times across the loom for each cross thread being woven.
Along the way a second spot on the same yarn had the same problem. We again pulled it through and glued it into place and husband kept working with the comb.
Well sure, we have all had the same problem repeat - perhaps magazines which are sorted for storage and then additional magazines are found and they all have to be sorted again.
Finally all of the problem yarn was woven into the piece. Husband looked and the rest of the yarn he could see looked fine and he relaxed and went back to his regular manner of weaving. Happy that he was making something for me and it would be greatly appreciated.
Suddenly he is back upstairs. The same problem on the same yarn piece has appeared again in a new spot! At this point he could not deal with it and he decided that the piece had to be finished, even if it was not long enough to be a scarf.
Frustration - we all know this feeling when organizing - what we think will work does not. The time we think something will take is underestimated. Mostly we go on, but sometimes something is so impossible that we have to stop and figure out an alternative.
I know the work he had put into the piece and how disappointed he was that something he was making special for me did not work out. I figured I would take the short piece when it is finished, and use it a table runner or mat (depending on how long it is). It turned out to be long enough for me to use as a scarf - although it will get a bit smaller when it is finished (washed to set it), so I will be able to use it as scarf and show it off to friends as something special he has made for me.
Again, sometimes an idea we have had about how to organize something does not work out - and we must rethink what can be done - how the containers or dividers can be repurposed to be used.
Yesterday we set up the loom for a new project for him - with a more basic yarn which he uses much more often. He has been happily weaving since then.
Similarly, if a project to improve our organization goes awry we must go on and continue doing what else is needed for us to clear clutter away and organize.
He had bought 2 other skeins of the yarn that he had problem with in other colors (it was a sale) and I have pulled the receipt for them and we will be returning them. After all, if they stayed around and he would not feel comfortable using them, we would just be adding to the clutter in the house in addition to being out the cost of them.
Just to add to this week’s frustration, we are suppose to go to a woodworking show (he is a man of many crafts) this weekend. The show is in the next state and is here only once a year. While he does not buy much - if anything - he had in mind to buy a few very small, inexpensive items which are not sold locally (and we don’t like to order things) and it is something different to do and see. So far in this year’s planning to go we have dealt with it being moved to a different venue - not an easy one to get to - and the fact that there seems to be no place nearby for a quick, cheap lunch - found a place 15 minutes away, we hope - and now - the rain and wind storm that is coming may also have - snow. Snow would be a deal breaker and he would have to miss the show - or what is known around here as the typical end to a planned trip.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Frustrating things happen. Things go wrong. All we can do is look at what went wrong and what we can do to deal with what happened. It is life and it just must be dealt with. Sometimes the alternatives are better than the original idea - based on the length of the finished scarf, if he had made the entire scarf he planned, it would have been much longer than I wanted - sometimes they are not.
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