My father in law came over today. He didn't make it yesterday and just showed up today. So, he and Christopher took the van out for a quick drive. It's the transmission. It will still drive in 2nd gear, but when in drive or overdrive, it won't go over 20 mph without just roaring in protest. He said go ahead and shift down to 2nd and it should still get Chris back and forth to work since it's just down the road.
I'm thankful we decided to just go ahead and get the truck fixed instead of taking the van in.
So, this coming weekend and early next week, we should have both our paychecks and the tax refund.
They're supposed to have the truck ready, so hopefully we'll have time to both drive up to the next town to see the van I found on CraigsList. From what I've read and heard from the guy when I emailed him, it's just like one we had back in 1999. It's actually a 1991 Plymouth Voyager, and yeah that's old, but I LOVED that van. maybe because it was my first minivan, but it was just a comfy van and it withstood everything we put it through. I still regret trading it in for the new van we couldn't afford (which we no longer have). So, really hoping Christopher has Friday off since he works this weekend.
I'm also really looking forward to writing the checks to pay off a BUNCH of these medical bills. We can't get them all paid off, but a big chunk will be gone. I'm going to have to add a file folder to my cabinet for PAID MEDICAL and watch it get full as the basket of past-due-bills gets closer to being empty. Yay!
Oh, today, I finally got out of the house! Went out with Christopher and Zoe to BigLots and Staples. The other two girls were on trips or sleepovers. Staples had an amazing rebate sale thing going on, but I only had money for a new ink cartridge and paper (though I admit we did get some stuff off their new $1 display. ) Then at BigLots, I got bright colored stacking bins (2 pack for $3.50) which I am using in the laundry room and under the girls bathroom sink. I replaced their green container for feminine things, and gave them a set of blue stackables which fit perfectly. So now one bin can be for those things and the other bin can be for the dyeing gloves and other hair products. The container I took out is now under the master bathroom sink and fit perfectly.
In the laundry room, I put a set of green stackables on the shelf. One is labeled "Lightbulbs and flashlights" and the top bin is for "Seasonal and Giveaway". So I can just toss in the stuff the kids have outgrown or don't like, or are wrong season and they finally have a place! The test will be if I can be good about taking the stuff from it when it's full and then sort them into boxes/bags and take stuff to storage or Goodwill/Habitat.
I also added a couple more containers I'd gotten at Dollar Tree the other day (I love their selection!) to the shelf in the laundry room. One is for "Cleaning Cloths" and I toss ragged old wash cloths and rip up old t shirts that can't be worn anymore.
The other is "Socks to be Matched" and again, I'm going to have to go through this often to find matches and keep it from overflowing. Of course before that's going to really be effective, I have GOT to go through the odd sock bag. It's actually a full tall kitchen-garbage-bag now! That's a lot of socks, and everytime I tell the girls to go through it and sort stuff, they tell me there are no matches. *eyeroll*. Just like when I used to tell them to fold the clothes in the dryer, they'd tell me they weren't dry yet and just restart the dryer and hope I'd forget (and I usually did.)
So, anyway, I'm just going to have to do it myself. I've been putting it off because there were just always socks EVERYWHERE, and I figured "What if I throw out a sock I later find the mate to?!?!" EEK! Then I realized ok, it's just a pair of socks. I can get more later. I'm sure I'll find enough mates to keep us all in socks for a few days.
So, I'm challenging myself to get rid of the sock bag completely and just use the little tiny basket on my laundry shelf. If I go a couple weeks without finding the mate, I'll have the girls search their rooms, and if still not found, then it gets tossed.
Already, my house is feeling SO organized and easy to keep clean. Faelyn had a friend over yesterday who came to pick her up to go out to eat together and then they ended up having a sleepover at their house, - but while the girl was here, I didn't feel that uneasy nervousness or sick feeling in my stomach about someone seeing my dirty house. Because it's Clean! Instead of having clutter and messes everywhere to see, she instead noticed the pictures of my kids on the hallway wall and commented on Faelyn's over the years. Faelyn was in a good mood, dressed nicely, and didn't mind her friend seeing the house. It was just a couple of minutes while she got her coat and purse, but it was a HUGE moment for me.
I've still got to do the Master Closet and Keepsakes, and am looking forward to finding out what the next challenge is. Hope y'all had a great weekend!
I'm thankful we decided to just go ahead and get the truck fixed instead of taking the van in.
So, this coming weekend and early next week, we should have both our paychecks and the tax refund.
They're supposed to have the truck ready, so hopefully we'll have time to both drive up to the next town to see the van I found on CraigsList. From what I've read and heard from the guy when I emailed him, it's just like one we had back in 1999. It's actually a 1991 Plymouth Voyager, and yeah that's old, but I LOVED that van. maybe because it was my first minivan, but it was just a comfy van and it withstood everything we put it through. I still regret trading it in for the new van we couldn't afford (which we no longer have). So, really hoping Christopher has Friday off since he works this weekend.
I'm also really looking forward to writing the checks to pay off a BUNCH of these medical bills. We can't get them all paid off, but a big chunk will be gone. I'm going to have to add a file folder to my cabinet for PAID MEDICAL and watch it get full as the basket of past-due-bills gets closer to being empty. Yay!
Oh, today, I finally got out of the house! Went out with Christopher and Zoe to BigLots and Staples. The other two girls were on trips or sleepovers. Staples had an amazing rebate sale thing going on, but I only had money for a new ink cartridge and paper (though I admit we did get some stuff off their new $1 display. ) Then at BigLots, I got bright colored stacking bins (2 pack for $3.50) which I am using in the laundry room and under the girls bathroom sink. I replaced their green container for feminine things, and gave them a set of blue stackables which fit perfectly. So now one bin can be for those things and the other bin can be for the dyeing gloves and other hair products. The container I took out is now under the master bathroom sink and fit perfectly.
In the laundry room, I put a set of green stackables on the shelf. One is labeled "Lightbulbs and flashlights" and the top bin is for "Seasonal and Giveaway". So I can just toss in the stuff the kids have outgrown or don't like, or are wrong season and they finally have a place! The test will be if I can be good about taking the stuff from it when it's full and then sort them into boxes/bags and take stuff to storage or Goodwill/Habitat.
I also added a couple more containers I'd gotten at Dollar Tree the other day (I love their selection!) to the shelf in the laundry room. One is for "Cleaning Cloths" and I toss ragged old wash cloths and rip up old t shirts that can't be worn anymore.
The other is "Socks to be Matched" and again, I'm going to have to go through this often to find matches and keep it from overflowing. Of course before that's going to really be effective, I have GOT to go through the odd sock bag. It's actually a full tall kitchen-garbage-bag now! That's a lot of socks, and everytime I tell the girls to go through it and sort stuff, they tell me there are no matches. *eyeroll*. Just like when I used to tell them to fold the clothes in the dryer, they'd tell me they weren't dry yet and just restart the dryer and hope I'd forget (and I usually did.)
So, anyway, I'm just going to have to do it myself. I've been putting it off because there were just always socks EVERYWHERE, and I figured "What if I throw out a sock I later find the mate to?!?!" EEK! Then I realized ok, it's just a pair of socks. I can get more later. I'm sure I'll find enough mates to keep us all in socks for a few days.
So, I'm challenging myself to get rid of the sock bag completely and just use the little tiny basket on my laundry shelf. If I go a couple weeks without finding the mate, I'll have the girls search their rooms, and if still not found, then it gets tossed.
Already, my house is feeling SO organized and easy to keep clean. Faelyn had a friend over yesterday who came to pick her up to go out to eat together and then they ended up having a sleepover at their house, - but while the girl was here, I didn't feel that uneasy nervousness or sick feeling in my stomach about someone seeing my dirty house. Because it's Clean! Instead of having clutter and messes everywhere to see, she instead noticed the pictures of my kids on the hallway wall and commented on Faelyn's over the years. Faelyn was in a good mood, dressed nicely, and didn't mind her friend seeing the house. It was just a couple of minutes while she got her coat and purse, but it was a HUGE moment for me.
I've still got to do the Master Closet and Keepsakes, and am looking forward to finding out what the next challenge is. Hope y'all had a great weekend!
Yay for you! (about the feeling of having a house that you're not afraid to let people into) I also do the FLYLady thing (as my husband calls it), and it's what's really helped me through rather interesting times.
ReplyDeleteYou're doing an amazing job. Good for you. :)
Thanks Lisa! Encouraging comments like this help a LOT! <3
ReplyDelete