EVERYONE ELSE'S DISORGANIZATION PREVENTS ME FROM BEING ORGANIZED

Wednesday already? 

I have been a whirlwind of not getting things done. Amazing - really - entire days have disappeared since last Wednesday with nothing to little accomplished.  I am starting this post about 3 hours later than normal - Once a month I have to write and send out the newsletter for my embroidery chapter - and I barely started it before dinner and had to write it after dinner - through my “reading the newspaper” time, my “doing the laundry” time and my “writing my post” time.  (The last two items are normally done at the same time.

Worst of the week was our lost Friday.  I think I have mentioned my mom has not been doing well - she is 90 and now in an assisted living facility.  Since I was not able help to much at going through the family home and husband and I do not work full time (more like hardly at all) I was asked by sister to deal with taking mom to several doctors - she gave me a list of them.  Last week mom was unwell and ended up at the hospital overnight.  She had a blood clot in her leg.  After she was back “home” (in the assisted living) my sister wrote that mom had an appointment to go to the cardiologist on (now - last) Friday at 10 am with a certain doctor - Dr B.  We had been planning - again - to take a trip to Pennsylvania, but were not sure due to weather if we would go - decided Thursday not to and I texted my sister that I could take mom.  Mom called me before I could call her to make the arrangements to pick her up.  The appointment was at 10 am - none of the three of us - mom, husband, me - are normally up and out that early.  Thursday night there was a huge storm in the general two county area.  (Mom and sister are in the next county.)  The storm was so bad that the front was blown off of a warehouse on the county line. 

Husband and I woke up at 8 am to take mom (this is about 4-5 hours earlier than usual as wake up late and go to bed late (it is 2 am as I write this and husband has not come down yet for snack before bed and we will get to bed between 3 and 4 am).  I had estimated a lot of extra time for rush hour traffic, getting mom into her wheelchair - then our car - and then dealing with her wheelchair for our first time.  As we drove to mom there were lots of slow downs as huge trees had fallen along the parkway and the crews were working on them.  We got to mom just at the time we needed to be there - so my extra time was a good thing.  I went up and got mom, we got her into the car and figured out the chair fairly quickly (I had thought to look up online the night before how to take it apart to fit in the car) and we were off.  The doctor’s office was fairly close to mom’s place. 

I expected a doctor’s office as I am used to - an outer office with staff, then several exam rooms in the back.  If it was in an multiple office building I expected to see doors along the halls with the names of doctors on them.  The place had open offices along the hall - no doctor’s names - just the specialty that was in that space.  We came to the end of the hall we had been sent down and had not seen a sign for cardiology.  I asked an employee and we walked into a nearby office area.  I asked someone about signing in (at our doctors one signs a sheet with name & time) there was acomputer tablets - oh boy!  It asked if I was the person or signing in for them - I selected the latter - it wanted me to put my hand on the screen - I did, several times.  It gave up and asked for mom’s name and date of birth - rejected that.  I went to someone at the desk and explained - I should not have been sent there - mom was not registered.  I was handed another computer tablet to fill in info on.  Mom was confused by this (although she does use a computer since she worked with one at her job).  I started trying to fill in the form - I have trouble using my Android phone as I do not always show up on touch screens (if I knew we would be using one I would have brought a toucher thingee to use).  Husband had to take over and fill in info.  I gave the woman mom’s two insurance cards while we did all this.  Mom had to sign the tablet - multiple times - she was very frustrated doing so.  Then there was a problem with one of her insurance cards - there was an extra digit in the account number (I have to wonder if it is because she has had it soooo long).  The woman called it in and found out how to enter the number.  We were told to sit down and wait.

We were called much quicker than I thought we would be.  We followed an employee into a room.  She was checking and taking information - we were there to see Dr. Z per her - I told her that we were suppose to see Dr. B (my BIL’s doctor).  No, Dr. B is at the hospital doing procedures mornings - he only has afternoon appointments.  I started texting my sister.  All three of us thought mom was there to have her pacemaker checked  - employee said mom was there to have her leg tested related to her blood clot, and they don’t do pacemaker testing - that is done at the hospital.  (Her old doctor did same in his office.)  I called my sister - yes, she was there for her leg (did not say to her - but if she was not there related to heart -why say she is going to the cardiologist?)  and yes, she was suppose to see Dr B - sister had a card from the hospital which made the appointment with the doctor’s name and time.    Our choice was to see Dr Z instead, come back another day or they had an open appointment for Dr B at 2 pm - we could come back.  We chose the last.  As we walked out it was corrected to a 2:30 appointment

We now had close over 3 hours to spend.  We got in the car and started to drive and figure out where to go - lunch would be part of it, but not long enough.  We came to a Barnes and Nobles and parked and went in - I figured we could always sit and look at magazines.  We managed to easily spend over 2 hours there.  Then we went to a Wendys we knew for lunch.  Then back to the doctor’s office.

I had asked if we had to check in again and had been told to speak to the woman who had helped us.  Again we were told to take and seat and we would be called.  At 3:30 we still had not been called and I went back to the woman - I told her that it was an hour past the appointment and mom had to be back for dinner at 4:30 or she would miss same.  She apologized and said it would be “soon”.  Mom went in just after 4 pm - us with her.  Nurse took vitals and asked for info - her assisted living should have sent info with her, including a list of her meds (next time I will check with the office which handles this, in advance) - we gave the list of meds as we could.  We then went to another room where they had the machine that doctor needed to do the test.  We waited.  The doctor came in - he was extremely nice and took time to explain everything to mom and us very simply and without large medical terms unless he explained them.  (Husband and I had already the report on the counter from mom’s hospital visit.)  He said that she did not need the test yet - she should come back in 3 weeks.  He gave us a list of things to be done in the interim for mom’s facility - I had one of the employees make a copy for us.  We left.  So basically we had spent, just since picking up mom 8 hours - and nothing had been done.  We were concerned about mom not having dinner, but she said they would bring her a tray and when we got to her room, we had to insist that she throw out the tray left for her for lunch as it had been sitting out. 

On the way home we stopped at the bank as we had planned to do in the mid afternoon on our way home and the at the post office to pick up mail at our box - ditto.  Friday gone and wasted.

Then we found out that our kitchen telephone/answering machine was dead.  It is on the wall across from the basement door.  We bought a new one - per the online info it should have fit - the door passes close to the wall across from it - but apparently they had not included the handset in the measurements.  So we have now bought and returned 4 telephones - the others were too cheaply made and at least one of them hardwired so the wire could not be removed for wall use.

In the meantime I am trying to get a copy of the changes to my reenactment unit’s insurance that we did - back in April. The woman I have worked with for years at the agency retired and I figured the new one was stupid and did not understand what I wanted.  Then another thought hit me - perhaps the changes were not properly made - seems like that it the story - and she is checking what went on.

I have a client who files his income taxes on extension as he is away when it is due.  I just picked up the info from him a week or so ago.  He sent me an email that he needed to talk to me.  There is a situation with his income for 2019 and I need to call one of his financial advisors - so that is another call I have to deal with.

We need to have a printout of what we paid for medical insurance last year for a senior tax exemption.  We have 3 medical polices between the two of us.  One company has now sent us the wrong info - not a listing of what we paid - twice now, and I have to call them AGAIN! 



So when the heck am I suppose to get anything done?!!!

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

Sometimes the stupidity of ours takes up more time than thinks one can deal with.  One just has to deal with it and do one’s best.  When others are not organized - they take our from our ability to be organized.

WATCH THE PENNIES AND THE DOLLARS GROW

Yes, saving money involves being organized.  One thing that husband and I agreed on - very early in our dating - was that neither of us liked being in debt.  The day before we were married I paid for every one of my bills sitting waiting to be paid - including adding up the credit card slips and sending a check for same to the credit card company.  I never wanted husband to be able to say that I married him in debt.  (Well, technically I was in debt - my student loans were still being paid off by my parents and were not fully paid off until some time after we married - but he has been polite enough to never mention same.)

When I was a child - before age 5 - my parents started teaching me about money.  I got an allowance of something like a penny (US) a week.  Now, remember, both my parents were accountants.  My mom set up a “bank account” for me.  She drew up a little bank book (do they still exist now?).  When I received my allowance I could keep it and spend it (amazingly, one could actually buy things then with a penny) or I could deposit it in my bank account and save up for something.  If I “deposited” it in the “bank account” she would note in my bank book.  If I decided to buy something and needed money, I could withdraw it from my bank account and she would note it in my bank book.  Sounds crazy right?  Well it taught me to save and what saving could do.  (I don’t remember if she ever added interest to my account - I don’t think so.)  If I got a gift of money from a relative I could, again, keep it and spend it or “deposit” it.

 Over the decades the amount of my weekly allowance increased.  By the time I was in junior high school (around age 12) I was getting $3 per week.  My allowance was calculated so that I could buy lunch in school every day (50c per day), if I wanted to, from my allowance and I would still have money left over to spend.  Over time I saved up money and took my parents and my younger sister (second sister was still a baby) to see a Broadway play (tickets were a lot cheaper than - under $10 even for orchestra seats and I bought for the mezzanine). 

We have lived within our means since we married.  We found an apartment that we could afford.  At first we were spending most of our income.  As we went along I came up with an idea.  Husband received promotions at work - first director of his department and then director of the agency at which he worked.  With the first promotion I took half of the increase in his net salary and saved it - only using half of the net salary increase for spending.  Why?  Well, we had been living on the amount he (and I ) received before - the raise was extra money that we would not miss if we put it in savings.  I used the net amount (after taxes were deducted) as that amount was the extra money available to us.  I did for some time. 

Watch where you bank.  Different banks, savings & loan associations or credit unions can charge hugely different amounts for the same services.  A credit union functions just like a bank, only the depositors own it so fees are less.  The same financial institution that works for a friend or family member - might not be best for you and what is good for you now (or last year) might not be the best for you right now or in the future.  The credit unions I have been involved with locally require one to deposit $5 in a savings account and leave it there. One then gets a free checking account plus can make other deposits and withdrawals to the savings account.  Generally the interest rate on credit union accounts is higher than those on accounts at banks.


We eventually bought a house.  We bought one below what we could afford.  We put down a good sized down payment on the house  - much of it from my savings as a child.  We did not like the idea of having a mortgage and wanted it paid off as quickly as we could.  Instead of dividing the net salary increases in half after that, I would divide into thirds - one third to spend, one third to save and one third for extra mortgage payments.  We paid the mortgage off in half the time it was for - again since the money was new money, it was not missed by us as we had not had it to spend before. 

When we have bought cars - and we buy them, we do not lease them - we have mostly paid for them in full from savings. When we have had to take a loan - 3 times - for a car it was always for less than 25% of the price of the car.  We drive them, with two exceptions, until it no longer makes sense to repair them.  We have 23 year old van and a 10 year old car at the present time. 

We did buy our little RV.  It does have a loan on it.  I send an extra $100 at least 4 times a year to speed up the payments on it and cut the amount of interest we will have paid on it when it is paid off.

We have paid our credit card bills in full - with one exception - since either of us had a credit card.  No interest paid means money not needed for same and available to use.  I recently read an article and the person who wrote it said that one should always pay in cash for everything.  I wrote to them and pointed out that if items are put on credit cards one has a record of where their money went (and records for tax deductible items).  If they are paid in full, it costs nothing in interest or fees.  If one gets a credit card one can get one that pays a very small percentage back in cash - additional money to spend or save.  In our case we use several credit cards - each for a different purpose and depending on the card and what we buy we can get up to 5% back in the purchases. Does not sound like much?  We bought a fence for our house - we got 5% back on the price of the fence.  We put a car down payment on a credit card - paid the credit card in full and got 5% back on the down payment towards the car.  The one exception was decades ago.  Husband used to get his unused sick days paid off at the end of the year, which was August, so we used the money received in September for the sick days to pay for vacation (and the balance of what was received into savings).  One year there was a problem and the sick day pay was coming in October.  We discussed should we take money from savings to pay the vacation bills and then deposit the sick pay to replace what we took or should we pay the half of the credit card bill we could and then pay the balance in full the following month.  It was an odd time and the two interest rates were just about the same, so we went with paying half and then paying the bill in full the following month.

If one can get their bills in order, one can actually pay less and have money available for savings or needed items.  I was reminded this past weekend when the movie “I Remember Mama” was on TV that I actually started my thinking of dealing with money with when I read the book (actually named “Mama’s Bank Account) as a girl.  If you have never seen the movie or read the book - it is about a lower class Norwegian immigrant family in San Francisco in the early 1900s.  Every week the father brings home his wages (in cash which was how people were paid back then at all but professional/executive level) and gives it to his wife.  She sits there with paper and sorts the money “ for the grocer” she makes a pile and wraps it in paper, “for the landlord” ditto and so on. When there is a problem and money is needed for something special/different (such as the son going to high school - they will his potential wages and there will be costs) the mother says that they must figure out what to do so that they do not have to take money from her bank account.  I have gone with this idea of “piles.  I have moved money - in my computer accounts - to save for various things.  By subtracting the money before we have it on our regular savings account, it is not there to spend.  I had subaccounts in my Quickbooks - savings for next car, for vacation, etc. subtracted from the total amount of each paycheck and each time I did I heard in my head “for the grocer, for the landlord..”.  (Spoiler alert - at the end of the book/movie the daughter/author has received her first payment for writing and tells the mother to deposit it in the bank account and the mother admits that she has never been in a bank in her life - but that “it is not a good for children to worry”.)  Set aside money in advance for things that you want or need and you will not have to worry.  Start next time there is a raise if you want and set aside part of the net raise in a savings account (or even a jar) and it will become a habit.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

It is back to school time again.  If you need or know that you will need office supplies - now is the time to buy them.  Pens disappear all the time?  Buy them for around US$ for a dozen.  Will you need a memo book, notebook, ruler, file folders etc.  NOW is the time to buy them!

               

WORK, FAMILY, CLUBS - ALL ARE TAKING UP MY ATTENTION

Okay, so now I have to work on getting things done - not all house things - mostly work, family,  financial, and club things. I got a fortune cookie today that said that my problems are behind me - if only I believe it.

Work - I went to the client that I go to monthly.  She was charged a large amount for fees by her credit card processor and she had no sales.  I telephoned her processing company and they gave me a breakdown that sort of made sense, but did not.  What I was told the fees were for do not match what I have been told in the past about the annual fee she has to pay (due to low sales and this being a crooked company that she says she will switch from, but does not).  A friend of hers (she is in an indoor, open market area and this is one of the other vendors) came by and said that she has to fill in a form with the processing company (and Mr. Expert does not use the same company) and then they will get rid of one the larger fee.  I called the company again and they  then said that I had to call the sales office for more info.  Her salesman who should be who she talks to about questions disappeared in 2016 about two months after she signed up this company.  So I am trying to reach their sales office - either no answer at the extension I need or it keeps ringing.  I looked up the company name on line that answered and not only is not the company she signed up - it seems to be a “use an electronic device for card processing” company not one that uses the card reader she has.  I will keep trying.

Mom - since I have been less helpful with going through mom’s house, I have been put in charge of taking her to 4 doctors she has to go to.  Husband insisted her wheelchair will not fit in our car (and she cannot climb into the van).  I pointed out to him that if I went without him, it would fit as I could drop the back seat down for more room behind it.  In the meanwhile, my sister explained that the wheelchair comes apart to fit in a car.  I have been waiting for husband to set on when we are going on a trip - still a short one and probably to PA again - so I can make appointments for mom.  Today my sister called - mom had to go to the emergency room due to leg muscle spasms.  Now she will have an aide 24/7 for 3 days due to the medication - so I am putting off calling about the appointments until next week (or the week after if we go away next week) so I know where we are with her going out. I called her Medicare supplement plan to see if they would cover the aide, only if Medicare does - so, no, they don’t

Work, again - I have a tax client who has me put his tax return on extension as he goes south for the winter.  Normally he will contact me the start of September to set up an appointment to do his return.  He sent an email  - can we meet Monday?  Have to find out from husband if we are going away next week or not - he seems to be leaning towards not as it is suppose to, yes, rain.

Family, again - husband this time - husband has been having problems for several years finding the clothes he likes.  As a result he is low on presentable clothing.  Now that RV is finally working correctly, he needed something else to obsess about.  Underwear - it seems that it cut with a lower waistband and is too low for his to be comfortable in and falls down.  Then again, his old underwear falls down also - I am going to have start sewing new elastic in the waists.  Some of his shirts are so worn out that he can be seen through them.  When he complained a week or so ago, I made him go to the outlet of the company whose shirts he likes - they are short sleeved which I figured would make it easy - but he found most of them to be “too heavy”.  He got 3 shirts - which have to be washed so he can wear them.  We also have been going to various Walmarts as he found shirts in another fabric he liked, looking for what colors it comes in.  He also bought some tee shirts to try - only $2 each at Walmart closeout.  He didn’t like them, but they are fine are spares for me - especially at that price.  Jeans - he had 2 spare pairs that he bought when the ones he likes was discontinued.  I washed them.  I went to pin them to shorten - but the waists are so tight that he would pass out if he wore them. (They were 2 of 3 identical pairs he bought together - the other is tight, but not like this and the next size up falls off him.) We went out looking for jeans.  He found 3 pairs - all going back are they are not right.  I did convince to buy a waistband extender which moves the button/button hole 1 or 2 inches apart and he is using same.  More jeans shopping to come.  (Okay, I can be as bad, just have been lucky - my only problem is socks and I have taught myself to darn so I can fix them when they get holes.)

Clubs - I have to get paperwork out to an upcoming event for our reenactment unit.  We raised the unit’s insurance coverage and I have been trying - by telephone and mail - to get a copy of the increased coverages from them since May!

Clubs - I managed out to get out the summer newsletter for my embroidery chapter.  Now I have to get the year book (upcoming year’s meeting programs) out.  The newsletter is email; the yearbook has to be printed and mailed - and husband is planning a trip - sometime.

Financial - I have to print out, sign, and mail by certified mail two letters for credit cards that we have to “opt out” of changes they are making.  I paid all our bills today until the end of next week in case he decides that we are going away same. 


THOUGHTs OF THE WEEK -           

First thought is - I don’t have time to write and post this!

When one does not know when one will do something - one cannot plan when one will do something else and has to juggle to deal with it all.  It will all work out in the end - either work out well or badly, but it will work out and new problems will come along to be solved.

RVs, Cars, Mom, and Work

I have not made it back to the family house since 2 weeks ago to finish up, heck, I haven’t even had a chance to try calling mom to just talk to her.  I have been busy taking care of my husband. 

No, he isn’t sick, but he has been going crazy over our RV and its batteries.  Back towards the end of July I mentioned that we had ordered new RV batteries and then had to drive down to New Jersey and spend part of the day getting them installed (by the company which ordered them for us).  We thought that would be the end of dealing with the batteries. It was not.   

To explain the problem with this - our RV (a Chevy Express Van converted to a very small RV) has the regular battery under the front hood which does all the “car” type things - like starting the engine.  We also have in a cabinet which opens to the outside two more batteries - similar to those in golf cart.  These run all the electrical RV things, when turned on, if the RV is not plugged in and the engine is not running - like while the RV sits in a parking lot all day while we are somewhere.  (Well most of them - we cannot run the RV air conditioner unless plugged in or the engine running.)  There is a small electrical panel on a wall in the RV which lets us check how much water in the clean water tanks, how much is in the dirty water tanks, how much propane we have in it’s tank, and how well the electricity is doing.  (It also has the switches on it to turn on the RV batteries to allow them to be used and to turn on the water pump so water works out of the sink, toilet, etc.)  The top light for the batteries on this panel lights up and is green when the RV batteries are charging while the RV is plugged in or the engine is running.

In addition to the green charging light showing that the RV batteries are charging, husband has a small device to plug into the cigarette lighter to check the voltage of the engine battery or into a similar receptacle he had put in so he could check the voltage of the RV batteries.  This had been low for the RV batteries, which is why we replaced them - especially since they were 2 years passed their expected life. 

However, after the RV batteries were replaced, the green light still was not lighting up.  That meant the RV batteries were not charging.  We do not have an RV dealer near us to go to about any of this (hence the trips to Pennsylvania and New Jersey to get work done).  Husband was going crazy about this.  Over the past month and a half we paid out something like $4-5000 that we do not have to fix the three vehicles.  He needs to get a tooth added to his denture as one fell out - probably another thousand dollars.  Between being upset that the RV batteries are not charging, not knowing where to go about it, and not being able to pay to find out what is going on, he was rather despondent and depressed. 

We have a really good mechanic and he tries to help us as much as possible even though he does not know about RVs.  The fellow who used to work for him (retired) was even better at figuring all this out.  Just in time for us - the fellow who had retired decided that he needed to work part time as he was going crazy retired.  We called them and explained.  I was suppose to go to work this past Tuesday, but husband was soooo, upset about all this - and Tuesday was when they could take the RV - I made the work appointment for Thursday (tomorrow) instead. 

The engine battery was also low and was replaced (had another year and a half to go on it).  But it the voltage was still low.  There is a device, called a separator, which lets the engine battery or the RV batteries charge alone when needed.  It is apparently a simple electrical switch, but not generally available.  We had talked about ordering one to have it if needed and with all this going on, last week we did.  It came in this past Monday. 

Tuesday we were ready to go out for lunch and had not heard about the RV, so I asked if he wanted to stop by on the way to lunch and then suggested we put the separator in the car. 

The fellow who worked on it was on the verge of replacing the alternator as he still could not get the system to the correct voltage.  He was looking online for which of their suppliers had one for our RV that was good and not crazy expensive.  We all went out to play with the RV.  The fellow had not known about the light panel to show the RV batteries were charging.  We showed it to him.  They used this voltage meter and that in this place and that.  Then I asked - can the voltage going through the separator be checked?  Ah ha!  Voltage going into the separator - right - voltage coming out - low!  We brought him the separator and the voltage on each side was the same.  Solved!  Husband was so relieved to see the green light on the panel light up!

So, if I had not stayed home with him to comfort him, we would have paid out more big money for an alternator and still not resolved it.  (Makes me wonder if we needed any of the batteries, but that is water under the bridge.) 

In the process of all this - we have driven out to almost the end of Long Island to charge all the batteries.  Since we do this after dinner we can go and return in about 2 hours.  I have lived my entire life on this (long) Island and have been out as far this (or further) maybe 10 times, 12 at the most on the north shore.  Five of these times - including these two times - have been to charge the RV batteries.

So I lost 2 nights of being able to do things in the house. I am going to my client 3 days later than I planned - and there is a possibility of thunderstorms.  Plus the day lost while he was too upset to be home alone and all the time we were outside in the RV playing with the batteries.

In addition, my sister had sent me a text Monday evening asking me to go to mom on Tuesday as she was meeting with the physical therapist and would have to sign papers.  Unfortunately it must have come in while I was out of the kitchen - after leaving my phone on the table while cooking.  I did not see the text - due to all of the above mess - until half an hour after the end of the of the time range of when I was needed there!  So poor mom was there alone because of all this mess. I sent a text to my sister explaining and apologizing, but have not had a chance to call mom.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

Our time is limited.  If we need (or want) to do one thing, we cannot do something else at the same time.  Our loved ones are the most important reason for choice to be made.  I am not sure if I had the text in time if I would have picked going to my mom or staying with my husband to make sure he did not go over the edge.  When I apologized to my sister, I also told her that next time something must be done on such short notice, to call to make sure I knew about it and did not miss another important text. 



                       

CLEARING OUT MY OLD CLOSET AT THE FAMILY HOME

Last Thursday husband and I went to my family home to deal with “my stuff”.  I knew that there should be certain things there that I wanted - not many - and I sort of figured that there would not be much more in the closet I had to go through.

A digression - yeah, I always do same, without labeling it - I am the oldest of 3 girls and there are big age jumps between us - 5 years to #2 and another 7 years to #3.  When my family bought the house I was 4 or 5 years old  - it was then built to order in a 1950s subdevelopment - and my sister #2 was born several months before we moved in.  The house as shown in the model house had 5 bedrooms - 2 regular and a master bedroom on one floor and another 2 bedrooms (and a 4th bathroom) on the floor above it.  The house is a split level so floors not on top of each other they alternate back and forth.  My parents did not need the extra 2 bedrooms or the 4th bathroom and wanted to save money, so that floor was not finished into rooms when we moved in.  I had one bedroom of the 2 regular ones and my sister #2 - baby in a crib - was put in the other one.  The house stayed with this layout and each of us in our bedrooms for about 7 or 8 years.  At that time sister #3 was born.  My parents idea was that they would now finish the upstairs and have a bedroom for me, an office for my dad, and the fourth bathroom up there.  Being only about 12 and not knowing that in the future I would love the idea of a bedroom so private, I refused to move up there and sleep alone.  So instead my parents made it into a second (larger) master bedroom.  Sister #2 moved into my bedroom.  Dad got an office in her old bedroom.  Sister #3 and I moved into the original master bedroom.  This worked great.  When sister #2 got married a year before I did over 10 years later, I left sister #3 with the original master bedroom and moved back to my original room - which by then had sister #2's furniture in it, except her desk, and I left my furniture with sister #3 = except for my desk.  The house arrangement remained the same after that until I married a year later and moved out and then sister #3 moved out some 10 years later when she was married.  So, the room I had to clear out was not filled with items from when I was a child, but rather items I had after college.  I took almost all of my stuff either when we were first married or 9 years later when we bought a house.  Just a cute story - I had picked this bedroom originally as the room in the model had a little rocking chair - no one told me that the house did not come with what was on display in it and I thought I would get the rocking chair - boy was I disappointed. 

So, back to clearing out the room.  I had expected to walk in and see my old bed and a room as I left it.  Hah!  Either my mom had turned it into a mess of a storage room or my sisters had been throwing stuff in there to decide what to do with as they have been there several times to work on clearing out the house. 

My desk was not there as I have it here and use it as my desk - and still hit my knee on the leg of it as I did when I was a child.  I looked at the dresser in the room and started opening drawers.  As I thought they were empty but with 2 exceptions.  When I was baby I had a dresser set (not a child’s set, a grown up person’s set).  It had 2 small china dishes and a china box with lid.  I have one of the dishes still on my dresser and thought the rest gone - I knew the box’s lid and the other dish were broken and presumed that I had forgotten about breaking the box - but there it was!!  And in it was my girl scout knife and a couple of other small items.  Took it and the contents to go through - the box will go back on my dresser.    In another drawer I found a small tack hammer and two small boxes of tacks - not mine and I left them. 

It was rather hot when we were there.  I had asked sister #2 - who is coordinating all of this as she seems to know what to do - in advance if the air conditioners were working - she said yes, but not well.  Husband put on same in the original master bedroom and the one in the dining room (covers same, living room and kitchen).  Not much cool.  So as I am working he is starting to get overhot.  I sent him to the dining room then to outside several times to cool off.

I should say at this point - this entire process would have been harder for me if not for Hurricane Sandy.  Most of our toys were in the basement.  If I had to decide which toys to take and which to donate or toss it would have been close to impossible.  Since mom’s basement was flooded in the Hurricane, everything down there had been tossed out - including her washer, dryer, furnace etc. (furnace was replaced, but she decided to go to a laundry for her clothes).  No more Barbies (I have one trunk of them I had brought here).  No more doll house that I got when I was 3 or 4.  No more games.  No more Bobbsey Twins, Honey Bunch, Nancy Drew, Dana Girls, etc books. 

I opened the closet door expecting a mostly empty closet - OH BOY.  I started taking stuff out.  I found a red looseleaf book that I had copied folk songs into while in high school - took as I hoped to find it.  I found love letters from husband - definite take.  I found 2 art projects from college - painting - took (I am not a good artist and it actually came out good), cut out initials - toss.  I had expected/hoped to find my dad’s army shirt - he had given it to me back in the late 1960s when “hippies” wore same - it had reproduced and I took both of them.  While I know that the rank and badges on them are not right, I figure one of the military museums might like and his name would go down in posterity (and my nephew had previously said the did not want same) so they were a definite take.  Some “awards” drawn by a friend who was editor in chief of our college yearbook (before I was) had been taped on the inside of the door - took the one I found - hope to find at least one more.

For a closet it was lacking in clothes.  As mentioned, my dad’s army shirts were in there.  There was a pink gown.  I took it out.  We looked at it and then at each other.  I was maid of honor at sister # 2's wedding  - I wore brown (the others wore orange - fat girls don’t wear orange).  I was not in my other sister’s wedding party - and did not buy a gown for same.  I had not worn a gown to the afternoon wedding of the sister of my old high school boyfriend.  What the heck was it for? It looked to be in good condition - I hung it over the top of the bedroom door and went on.  I found a sweater I bought in Mexico  - tossed it.  If husband was not there I would have put it in a donate bag - but he insisted it was not wearable.  I found a “genuine” 1960's/early 1970's peasant blouse - hung it over the bedroom door.  (Sister #2 has come across so much clothing from that period in the house that she plans to contact theatrical costume houses to see if they want them - she can add the blouse and gown.) My college house plan (similar to a sorority) windbreaker - took that.   I also hung a green jacket over the door - I have no idea whose it is, but it would not have fit me at 12 years old, let alone when I was grown. 

I found an assortment of papers I had written (brought them home to shred as my personal info on them).  I found needlework  - kits and almost finished.  Husband had me leave the 2 latch hook rugs - hooking finished, rug edges not finished there.  (If we go back and they are still there I will take them home - I decided I really want them.)  Two embroidery kits - not finished, I took.   One unstarted latch hook kit - left for donation or sale.

I also found a complete, unopened set of “spurtles”.  These were cooking utensils that a TV chef named Graham Kerr used.  We had apparently bought 2 sets - either to give the second set as gift or for when the others broke - they are still in great condition.  We opened the box and took the spurtles out and tossed the box. 

Then I hit the problem.  Apparently when we lived in our apartment we used this closet for storage of - yes - empty boxes.  Cabbage Patch Dolls, fancy teddy bears, etc - empty boxes - you know, because they will be worth a fortune one day.  I did not take the boxes - but since I had not thought that there would be this much stuff - I did not have enough garbage bags so the boxes had to stay for next time. 

I filled 3 large bags of garbage.  I could not put it out as there would be no pickup until the following Monday and the house is near an animal preserve and the animals come and go through the bags.  I left them in the living room - sisters would be there on the weekend to put it out.

There was a section of stuff still on the top shelf that was not boxes - but neither of us could reach them safely and husband was soaked through his shirt and we needed to leave.

Problem - I had not figured out how to pack the stuff we were taking in plastic bags and seal them without them coming into the house (that bed bug fear).  So I carried the stuff I was taking down to the front door and husband held a bag outside and little by little I filled 2 bags of stuff to take.  They are now in our garage - I will take it out a bit at time and heat it in our Packtite bedbug heater - just in case. 

I am missing an item I would like to have.  I embroidered a tablecloth while in high school.  When I got married I went looking for it - I could not find it.  I have looked a couple of times since.  I told both my sisters about it and asked that if they find it they save it for me.

As we were driving home husband commented on the lack of air conditioning in the house.  He had seen the one in the office (bedroom next to mine - remember?) but could not get to it as that room is completely filled.  I then remembered - there was one in my bedroom!  He insisted that there was none - unless it was removed and the wall fixed it should be there - not sure it works, but we will look next time we are there.

Sister #2 insists that we are almost done - I am not sure how - there is soooooo much there of mom’s..
                   
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -

One can go home again - but mostly to clear out home.  Why not post about your experience in something like this?

A CHORE LEADS TO A TIME FOR SOME REST

Well we now both have working computers - yay! 

The fridge seems to be working - bigger yay!  Husband found out that the drawers at the bottom of fridge keep a more even temperature than the rest of the fridge.  After testing the temperature in same, we decided that the best place for his insulin in one of the drawers as the temperature in same seems to always be 36F or higher so that problem is resolved too.

Missed working with my sisters and their husbands at mom’s house again last weekend.  We had terribly hot weather here and I was “under” it.  My sister told me that they have gone through all but 3 rooms and 6 closets - not sure if that includes the room I have to go through as I left a lot of “stuff” in my old room.  I found out that the other day that “we” will having a tag sale.  Hmmm, I guess if I found stuff to donate it might be worth leaving it for the tag sale and  maybe I will add some of the stuff we need to get rid of in our house and the money from same when (if?) it sells can go towards mom’s living expenses while not costing us anything that we don’t have to give her.

I has been HOT here - over 100F one day and almost the same the day before.  Monday night there were major rain storms around the area - over several states. Husband was again demonstrating to me how wonderful having Roku is and that we can see every episode of “Midsummer Murders” from the start (we- mostly I - have only seen about 3 seasons as that is when I found the show) and we don’t have to watch it 3-5 am when it is on PBS we can see it any time.  Last week when he ran the second episode (had run the first one previously) it kept going out of sync and needing to be restarted. Monday the hottest of the days and at night was the huge thunderstorm.  We were watching episode 3 when it froze.  He kept trying to get it going.  Then something dawned on me - I turned on my cell phone and turned on the house wifi - nothing.  I switched the TV to the cable - nothing.  We had lost our Internet service - no cable, no computer Internet.  (We still have copper wire telephone service from old telephone company so same still worked.)  Husband was having a fit over no TV and no Internet.  I knew that at least we had electricity.  The TV came back gradually over several hours.  At first the broadcast channels were back.  Then the non-premium channels.  The cable company’s local news channel was not there - but husband found it on their local weather channel - how the heck can one channel from their studio work and not the other?  And shouldn’t their news channel at some point have mentioned - hey, we are on this other channel do an outage of our service - sorry - here is what is going on and which problems are where?  They did not even do so after the service was restored.  When the first channels were back, I went on my cell phone to see what had happened - just lots of people complaining that they had called to report the outage and find out what they could and got the message I did - “We are experiencing a large call volume.  Please contact us through our website.”  No website working of course!!

Today we went on a little trip.  (Oh, no, another of her nightmare trips.)  Our RV has two batteries (the type that are used in golf carts) which charge from the RV being driven, running the RV generator and/or plugging in the RV to electricity at home or at campground.  As I am pretty sure I mentioned our two had reached beyond the end of their lives.  We found a company in New Jersey that could order the batteries that husband had been told were the best to get for our RV and could install them.  We ordered the batteries last week - paying for the batteries themselves at that time by charge card over the phone.  They came in and we made an appointment to go to have them put in  - for this past Monday - the day of the storm.  On last Friday husband looked at the weather and saw the huge storms expected and told me to call and change the appointment to today (Wednesday).  Blew out my week - I had planned to go to my client this week either Tuesday or Thursday and could not wake up that early two days in a row.  I did so.  Good thing we did.  The area where the company is located was hit hard by the storm.  Parts of the area were still out today and the company was running on two generators. 

We (I) cleared out stuff where they might need to work - both halves of the bed were stacked on the base for husband’s side of the bed on each other.  (His side is longer than my side and they might have needed to access the cabinet under my bed.)  We figured out what we needed to bring.  Not having been to this place before and having looked at online maps and there was no place for lunch near by, we bought sliced deli turkey and made sandwiches last night and bagged them in a cold bag made for lunch with two cans of diet soda and plastic ice.  I emptied out my travel backpack.  (I use it when we go somewhere where we will not have easy access back to the RV or car if we use same instead during the day.  I put in what we might need based on where we go and what we do.)  I put the cold bag with our lunch in it.  I also added a package of saltine crackers as they work well for husband if he has a blood sugar low.  In our other cold bag I put some bottles of a sugar drink he uses if his blood sugar goes too low and I put that bag in the RV fridge - which we did not put on.  We had no idea if there was a place for us to wait while the work was done inside the building or if we would be sitting outside (in lesser, but still heat) on a curb waiting for it.  We were also not sure how long it would take for the work to be done as we knew that there was no way we would be there by 8:30 am as we just cannot get up early enough to get ready and drive at least 2 hours and be there by then. 

We got out this morning just ahead of our planned leaving time (okay - it was the same 8:30 am that it had been suggested we be there) and when husband went to back the RV out into the busy main street we live on it was actually empty on our side of the street long enough to pull out without waiting.  (I stand in the street with a walkie talkie and tell him when he can pull out - he pulls up next to the curb and I jump in and we go.)  As mentioned in past posts, what used to be a 45 minute drive to the bridge off the huge island we live on, can take 2 hours now.  We have found that leaving the house at 8:30 am seems to be the best time for us to leave - we are driving at the rear end of rush hour and by the time we reach the construction areas - they are just short of starting work. 

Drive was going pretty well and then the news announced that there had been a car fire on the bridge we had to take off the Island and traffic was bad.  OH (expletive deleted)!!  We figured we were in a mess for sure.   Husband asked me about alternatives.  I started thinking.  We are on the south end of the Island and therefore also the south end of Manhattan Island.  To get to “the main land” - mostly New Jersey we can take a bridge to Staten Island and then another bridge from there to New Jersey.  We can drive through one of several bridges or two tunnels into Manhattan and then go across same and go out through one of two tunnels to New Jersey - this would involve driving the large van that is our RV in crowded Manhattan streets and we cannot take a tunnel due to having propane in a tank in the RV.  So, we could get into Manhattan from where we were, but we would have to drive most of the length (south to north) of it to get to the George Washington Bridge.  We could go north on our Island on one road that we can go on (we are too tall for many limited access roads here) just at the start of the next (Queens) county/NYC line drive north to the Bronx - over a bridge - and then across the Bronx on a road that I have never seen or heard of not being stopped by traffic - and then into Manhattan (on a bridge) and then over the same George Washington Bridge to New Jersey.  An additional problem was the road we needed to use in New Jersey was only open to vehicles like ours for part of the way - no problem if we go by State Island, but if we go by the George Washington Bridge we have to figure an alternate way to drive south until we are near where we would get on the road if we went through Staten Island.  We decided to keep on the way we normally go as it was so much simpler and it would probably take more time to go north and then come back south again than deal with the delay. The car that had been on fire was in the opposite direction from the one we were going.  And the GPS traffic was not showing any drastic problems.

We figured that we would monitor the reports on the radio news channel we listen to as we went along and that, along with the traffic we hit would make our decision. But - today was the day that Robert Mueller was testifying at Congress and the radio station decided to run same instead of news and weather. The road was not as bad as usual.  The bridge barely had a slow down.  At 9:30 am I called the company and told them that we were on way and would be there in about an hour. 

When we got there we were very pleasantly surprised.  The building was large.  The employees very friendly and nice.  Robert had some info that the guys putting in the batteries needed to know and he gave it to the nice woman who wrote up the work order.  I took my back pack - with lunch and some paperwork (about the ordering of the batteries) I had in case we needed it out of the RV.  She wrote up the work order and then showed us what she called their “living room”.  There were sofas, a huge TV showing - of course - Robert Mueller testifying.  There was a man already there waiting for them to work on his car.  I sat down - backpack on an end table - and husband walked around their small shop area of stuff for RV s.  The man was very nice and we talked thorough out the time we were waiting.  (Found out that there was a TV remote and he had chosen the show - fine with us.)  I played solitaire on my cell phone.  I had also brought my old Palm Centro as it had different games I like to play in case I got bored with the solitaire I play.  The poor fellow was going to be there most of the day and have a huge bill when he was done.  (Not that our bill between the parts paid for and the work to be done was small.)  At one point the employee came out and asked him if he wanted to see local food place menus to order lunch as he would be there so long.  (Very nice of her to think of this.)  He offered it to us also, but I pointed at the backpack and we explained that we had brought lunch when we saw there was nothing near by.  Of course I needed a trip to the ladies room.  Very nice compared to most and especially to what I thought it might be based on other RV places. 

Our work was done by 1:30 pm and we paid for it and were off - with our lunch still uneaten.  We found out that the place still had not had their electricity restored and were running on 2 generators.  We had not even noticed a problem with same.  We were glad that they had been able to do the work under these conditions.

We have been in the general area before and had planned to hang around, have dinner in the area and then drive home - both because there is a chain buffet restaurant husband likes near there and to avoid being stuck in rush hour - which we would hit by the time we got back to Long Island.  We decided to go to a shopping mall and walk around - and we figured to eat lunch in their food court area.  As we were driving there we noticed soooo many stores that were dark and no cars in their parking lots as well as utility crews working.  I suggested to husband that since we would pass it, we should check that the buffet was open after the storm instead of spending time and then finding ourselves with a dinner problem.  Few cars outside it, but the lights were on and we saw people at tables.

Went to the mall and had lunch and walked around for over an hour.  Then we went to Barnes and Nobles and walked around.  Then we drove to a Walmart we knew about  - closer to the restaurant then the other two - and went there for a while.  Then dinner and home.    Coming home the upper level of the bridge was closed - we presume based on what we saw that they were still clearing the bridge from the accident or making repairs due to same.  It was the most traffic we had the entire trip. 

Although much of the day was wasted time as we did not want to come home and got stuck in traffic (and he REALLY likes that buffet) I don’t feel like we had a wasted day.  We had a lot of down time and actually I feel as if I had a chance for an enforced rest period today.  (He, on the other hand, was in a constant state of concern.)  Now that the batteries are replaced and new - he is worrying that the alternator is going bad or the “separator” is going bad.  (The same alternator charges both the car battery under the hood that most if not all cars have and the RV batteries.  The separator - surprise - keeps the RV and car batteries separated when same is going on - one is charged than when it is finished, the other is.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

Sometimes things work out better than one thinks they will - but always make sure to plan for the problems that may arise.  Sometimes a chore that wastes a lot of time can bring some needed rest to you. 

NOW WE NEED TO PUT EVERYTHING BACK TO WHERE IT BELONGS

In preparing for the old refrigerator to leave and the new one to come in - the first time - we had to make room for the crew to bring the fridges through the house.  Being lazy - plus going away in the middle - we left the house as it was after the first new fridge - until the second one was here and installed.

I am not so much talking about moving clutter as moving furniture and household items in common usage.  We have a small house. The new fridges had to come in the front door go to the left into the living room, close the front door, then double back in the opposite direction into the dining room through a doorway.  We took the floor mats out of the front hall - put in living room.  We have a standing chest for our good silver/tableware  - it blocks the doorway into the dining room.  It had to be moved - which we did, moving it further into the dining room.  A wooden box with husband’s reenacting gun stuff that is kept under the silver chest also had to be moved into the room.  We set up in the dining room a table which we take when go to reenactments to set up some stuff we put out for education and sales at events to put stuff from the kitchen/fridge on.  So this gave a wide pathway through the dining room into the kitchen.  What is on your fridge?  We have 4 magnetic pockets on ours - one each with stuff to take when we go out, one with pencils and pens (and emery board) and one with papers which we need in the kitchen - maybe a dozen recipes or package instructions and other items.  Magnets that hold our keys - 2 each.  Magnetic calculator.  Decorative magnets which hold small items.  On the front of the fridge we added 2 years ago a large dry erase calendar - we use it to keep track of TV shows we want to watch since seasons no longer run as long as they used to - held on with magnets.  Much of this went onto the table we set up in the dining room - the small magnets and the, oh, forgot to mention, the clippers I keep on the side of the fridge near the stove, held with magnets and potholders hanging on magnets went into a plastic basket that is normally next to the silver chest in the dining room - it normally holds items we have bought or received in the mail that we are concerned may have bed bugs and we need to heat in our Packtite heater until we have enough items to run it - this basket went into our studio behind the office with the magnets in it, and during the following week the items we wanted to heat were added.  (Doing laundry and running the Packtite as I write to you.) The food that did not actually need to be in a fridge - soda, condiments, beer (hey, we did not even know we had beer), and the like took over the one open kitchen counter area.  Our kitchen chairs were in the back room during the time(s) they were actually moving the fridges.  Things were so confused that the first time I went to cook after all this, I stuck my hand out (by habit) to grab a potholder - and there were not only no potholders - but no hook for them either and I could not for the life of me remember where they all went.  (I used a kitchen towel as a pot holder.)  If I had to write something down no pen or pencil, no paper?)  Leaving the house - where the heck are our keys?  A couple of days after the second fridge was put in place and we knew it was staying we started putting stuff back.  We also were adding back the soda, condiments, and such to the fridge - a little bit at a time to keep the temperature in the fridge from going up.  I filled plastic bottles with water.  It is recommended that the fridge be kept half full and we generally don’t have that much in it - and certainly we don’t now.  So bottles filled with water are going in.  We found out that the drawers stay a little warmer than the rest of the fridge, so husband’s insulin pens will go in there as too cold is more of a problem than them being a bit warmer than the food needs to be. 

Then it hit us.  Our reenactment unit’s big event at our headquarters would be on Sunday (this past).  We needed the table we had set up.  We needed access to 2 large box/benches that we bring for storage - and where the heck are the folding seats we have we bring with us?  So we did a lot of putting back quickly - the silver chest and goes under it, as well as what was on the table.  We broke down the table- the legs unscrew - and put the legs together in their carrier.  We took out the box benches to the middle of the room so I could sort through - make sure we had what we needed for this event and not bring things we did not - this including checking that we had money for change if we sold anything and setting my embroidery so I could work on the area I intended to stitch without taking out anything modern.  Husband packed a small loom he was taking with what he needed to work with it at the event.  This all went out into our van on last Friday - Saturday was to be rain and we did not want to load it all in the rain if we could avoid it.  Event went extremely well - hot day, but bearable, good sized crowd - no rain.  Everything from the event is back in place in the house.


Yesterday we went and visited my mom.  She has moved into what is called the “assisted living” building at the facility she has been in.  My sister’s plan had been for mom to go to same for a few weeks so mom would realize that she cannot be home alone and then move mom home with her and then into an apartment with aides.  Mom has liked it here so much that as of now we plan for to stay as long as the money can be found for her to do so.  (It is not cheap.)  It is the same group/agency as the one that runs the physical rehab she was in and it seems a wonderful place.  We had not visited since her move to assisted living until yesterday.  She has a small apartment - tiny main room with microwave and fridge and kitchen cabinets (no stove).  It is set up to put one’s own TV and attach to the cable.  It comes with a love seat and chair, as well as table and 2 chairs.  (My sister plans to bring the living room chairs from mom’s house and get her a drop leaf table.)  There is a good sized bedroom for one it is - another TV cable connection in same - she has a small TV for right now.  The bathroom has a walk in - no lip shower and seat to use in same.  Very nice, very modern, and housekeeping will keep it clean for her.  She has a key and locks the apartment when she leaves.  There are pull strings in case of emergency to get help.  Talk about an efficient setup that is nice.  Her meals are included so the cooking/fridge are just extra or if she wants to cook for herself.  The breakfast is served too early for her and instead they bring cold cereal and muffin for breakfast to her apartment.  There are trips - including shopping and entertainment trips that one can sign up for.  They will take her to the doctor.  Of course, she can go out with us whenever she wants and I am pretty sure she could call an Uber, Lyft or cab to go out if she wanted. Movies in a theater twice every day.  Other programs are in a large space which also functions for religious services.  My sister has decorating plans for it for mom with items from the house.  Husband and I were highly impressed. The halls look like one is in a hotel.  We were very impressed.  She has made friends already which is good as before she sat home alone.  The apartment is a model of efficiency and organization.

On the other hand the family now has to go through the house and deal with everything in it.  My sisters, their husbands and the adult children of one of them started last weekend.  (We couldn’t go as we were at the reenactment event.  I have to clear out the stuff left in the last bedroom I used in the house (and maybe in the other bedroom I used for awhile) and help with the rest of the house.  Since the house was hit by Hurricane Sandy the basement is empty.  I am actually glad of same now, as the toys down there would have been the hardest to go through and get rid of it.  I am not sure what is still in my old bedroom, but I think I can deal with it okay.  I let my sisters know that I embroidered a tablecloth when in high school and when I got married I could not find it  - I gave a description and told them that if they came across it to hold onto it for me.  I am lucky that one of my sisters has a plan for items that are not toss, donate or take - but try to sell as they are of value and will follow her suggestions.

Today the monitor we ordered for me came in.  I like it much better than the one we bought quickly at Walmart - it is squarer (more similar to my old one) and it can be turned vertical for when I am reading pages so I can see the full page.  We are not sure we may return the one we had bought for me or we may keep it in case we have another problem like this and need a spare monitor that is easy to move around. 

So last night - husband’s computer started shutting itself down while he was working on it.  We spent most of this afternoon pulling it out from under his work table, clearing off a space on the top of one file cabinets for it stay now.  We opened it and vacuumed it out.  (He read that too much dust in it would make it overheat and shut down.)  We then rewired everything so instead of connecting to the computer on the right side of his desk on the floor, it does on the left hand side of his desk on the file cabinet.  We may be getting rid of a printer that is rarely used and was where the computer now is.  Some small items have to be rearranged - including a label maker that may end up on top of our secondary printer and then be moved when that printer is needed.

Weather is very hot - over 91F today - and humid (thunderstorm tonight), plus everything we had to do - and I never even checked email yesterday - so we stopped at the supermarket while we were out and bought sliced deli turkey for us and potato salad for husband - added to bread in the house and turkey gravy we bought yesterday made a quick relatively cool dinner.  We normally have soup with dinner, but skipped it tonight.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

Oh, so many this week -

Make dinner quick and easy, even if it costs more than normal dinner, when you need to.

Just because a facility is a care facility does not mean that it cannot be nice.  (Oh, I forgot, mom had her hair cut and dyed today - first time in year.  She looks 20 years younger than she did before - she is 90, but to be honest, husband and I both liked her hair better how it was.)  One has to be open to what help one needs as hard as it is to admit to needing it and moving to have the help.

Keep your computer clean - outside and inside.

Hurricanes have a good side - I hate to think what it would take to go through the basement and decide what to keep and what to get rid of.